Sharaa Says Syria, Israel Reached 90 Percent Deal Before Talks Collapsed
"There were several sessions of negotiations with Israel, and we almost reached 90% of agreements," Sharaa told an Atlantic Council panel in New York, saying Israel then withdrew from the deal for "different reasons."
Sharaa accused Israel of escalating hostility toward Syria since the collapse of the former regime. "Since the fall of the former regime, Israel is repeating its attacks and aggressions against Syria. It is occupying new territories," he said, pointing to continued incursions, arrests and bombings on Syrian soil.
Despite this, he said Damascus remains committed to a diplomatic path. "Syria still chose to go through diplomacy and to solve that problem through talk and negotiations," he added. "We are still engaging in this track," he said, "but we need to protect the security and the rights of the Syrians. Before that, we can't talk about peace."
According to Sharaa, direct negotiations with Israel began roughly a year ago, with Damascus initially insisting that Israel retreat to its 1974 lines before any security talks could proceed. "If those arrangements succeeded, then we can get into discussions about lasting peace," he said.
He was unequivocal on the status of the Golan Heights: "The Golan Heights is Syrian territory under the recognition of the United Nations," he said. "So there is no discussion about that territory and to whom it belongs." Sharaa floated the idea of an international body to evaluate Israel's stated security concerns, distinguishing "what is only a perception" from "what is genuine concerns."
When pressed on the Trump administration's recognition of Israeli sovereignty over the Golan, Sharaa recalled a quip he made to President Donald Trump during a White House meeting: "Why don't you give New Jersey to the Israelis? You don't own the Golan Heights to give it to them, but you own New Jersey."
Sharaa's November visit to the White House marked the first by a Syrian head of state since the country gained independence in 1946. He had previously met Trump in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, in May 2025, shortly before Washington lifted its Caesar Act sanctions.
'I was 13 years old'
Asked about foreign troop presence in Syria, Sharaa said Russia's military footprint had contracted sharply, from roughly 170 bases down to two, which have since been "transformed" into training facilities for the Syrian army. He added that Türkiye's bases in the northwest are moving toward formal "legal status," pending endorsement from the People's Assembly.
Brett McGurk, who served as Middle East coordinator under former President Joe Biden, pressed Sharaa on the 25th anniversary of the September 11 attacks.
"I had nothing to do with that. At the time, I was 13 years old," Sharaa replied.
"Of course, I am sorry for all the victims who perished in the United States, or those who had fallen in the Middle East because of the policies that were pursued there that victimized a lot of people," he said. "We are completely disengaged from what happened then."
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