President Ahmed al-Sharaa: Syria wants security cooperation with Israel | Israel-Palestine War News

In an interview with Al Jazeera, Ahmed al-Sharaa discusses regional security, Lebanon’s crisis and domestic issues.

Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa has revealed that Damascus is working to achieve a security agreement with Israel and several countries.

Speaking in a special interview on Al Jazeera’s Al Muqabala program, the full interview, which will be broadcast at 19:00 GMT, al-Sharaa said he hoped that the agreement with Israel could be the door to a comprehensive peace.

He also confirmed that such an agreement would not interfere with Syria’s independence in the Golan Heights, which Israel has occupied since 1973.

He added that Syria is avoiding any conflict with Israel, and that a security arrangement could pave the way for a solution.

It comes later repeated attacks on Israel and strikes in southern Syria, since al-Sharaa came to power in December 2024 following the fall of Bashar al-Assad’s government.

The crisis in Lebanon and the fear of the region

Al-Sharaa also confirmed that Syria has no intention of starting any war in neighboring Lebanon, despite many rumors about it.

Instead, his government is discussing ways in which the Lebanese authorities can help the country overcome the problems it is facing and lead them to security.

Southern Lebanon is currently occupied by Israel, amid months of fighting between Hezbollah and the Israeli army. The Lebanese government wants to restore the occupied territories and have control over all the weapons in the country.

In addition, he announced that Damascus strongly supports the ban on weapons and holding military and peace decisions in Lebanon.

Al-Sharaa emphasized that solving the Lebanon problem requires more than just a security solution but a solution to various problems.

Any decline in unrest in Lebanon would have direct consequences for Syria, and the spread of the US-Israeli conflict with Iran in the region could lead to a major regional collapse, he warned.

Punished, the SDF is a rare people

On domestic and economic issues, al-Sharaa said that simply removing the economic sanctions imposed by the US and other countries on his country would not be effective unless Syria was also removed from the list of sponsors of terrorism.

Speaking about the internal cooperation with the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), a coalition of Kurdish and Arab forces that control areas in the north and east of Syria, the president acknowledged the delay in its implementation.

However, he confirmed that the government is fully committed to the agreement and continues to bet on its success.

Al-Sharaa also announced that the Syrian government has established a special committee to monitor the issue of people missing during the Syrian war, between 2011 and 2011.

The UN estimates that around 100,000 people were present forcibly disappeared during the war, while the National Commission on Missing Persons of Syria believes that 300,000 Assyrians may be missing.

Al-Sharaa said the committee will work according to international standards, working in cooperation with countries that have special expertise in this matter.