Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa said Tuesday that his government is engaged in direct negotiations with Israel � the first such acknowledgment since he seized power last year.

�We are engaged in direct negotiations with Israel, and we have gone a good distance on the way to reach an agreement,� Sharaa told The Washington Post in an interview. �But to reach a final agreement, Israel should withdraw to their pre-December 8 borders.�

The date Sharaa cited � December 8, 2024 � refers to the fall of Bashar al-Assad�s regime, when Israel launched sweeping airstrikes across Syria to destroy leftover weapons stockpiles, including chemical arms, precision missiles, and air bases. Israel also maintains a limited military footprint in southern Syria, citing ongoing security threats.

Sharaa�s disclosure comes as Washington quietly brokers a potential security pact between Syria and Israel, aiming to stabilize their shared frontier and formalize deconfliction measures. A Syrian official told AFP that several �security and military agreements� could be finalized by year�s end, though they would not necessarily signal Syria�s entry into the Abraham Accords, the U.S.-backed normalization framework linking Israel with Arab states.

�The United States is with us in these negotiations,� Sharaa said. �President Trump supports our perspective and will push as quickly as possible to reach a solution.�

Still, Sharaa�s remarks carried an unmistakable edge. While portraying his restraint toward Israeli strikes as proof that Damascus is focused on �rebuilding Syria,� he accused Israel of harboring �expansionist ambitions� and warned that its security doctrine could lead to perpetual occupation.

�They say they occupy to protect themselves,� he said. �If this continues, they will reach Munich on that pathway.�

Sharaa also claimed that Iranian militias and Hezbollah have been expelled from Syria � a key Israeli and American demand � and rejected international calls to demilitarize the south, arguing only Syrian forces can prevent cross-border attacks.

�Who would stop rebel groups from attacking Israel if there are no Syrian forces?� he asked.

Addressing concerns about minority repression under his rule, Sharaa insisted that Syria�s diversity remains intact, comparing his country�s postwar rebuilding to that of the United States after its Civil War.

�We are in the stage of rebuilding the state and the law,� he said. �It�s not the end of the story � but it�s the beginning of stability.�

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)