Syrian, Israeli officials meet in Jordan to ease tensions- Axios
QAMISHLI, Syria (North Press) –Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani met on Sunday with Mossad chief Roman Gofman in Jordan in an effort to ease tensions between Syria and Israel following a recent Israeli strike on a Syrian airbase, Axios reported.
The meeting came days after Israel struck the Abu al-Duhur airbase in northwestern Syria, escalating tensions between Damascus and Tel Aviv. The talks were aimed at containing the fallout from the strike and preventing further escalation, according to Axios.
The meeting also follows a phone call between al-Shaibani and Gofman on Aug. 14, during which they discussed Turkey’s military presence in Syria, Reuters reported.
Israel’s strike on Abu al-Duhur was linked to concerns over a possible Turkish military deployment at the base. Syria and Turkey denied that such a deployment was planned.
U.S. officials have been working to establish a mechanism to prevent clashes and manage tensions involving Syria, Israel and Turkey.
Separately, al-Shaibani said Sunday that Syria expects security talks with Israel to resume soon, despite a lack of trust between the two sides, Reuters reported.
He said Damascus wants an end to Israeli military actions and the withdrawal of Israeli forces from Syrian territory as confidence-building steps before reaching a broader security agreement, according to Reuters.