A meeting held on Sunday between Israeli and Syrian officials “went well” amid ongoing efforts to lower tensions between the two countries, a source familiar with the meeting told The Jerusalem Post.
Those in attendance included Mossad chief Roman Gofman and Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani, according to N12 News.
The meeting came after comments from Shaibani to Reuters on Saturday, in which he urged Israel to seize a “historic opportunity” for diplomacy.
“We believe there should be contact, especially with a party that constantly threatens the security of Syria. But if this contact doesn’t bring results, then we don’t need it,” he said. “We do not trust Israel currently.”
Shaibani’s comments follow Israel’s strike against Syria’s Abu al-Duhur military airfield on Tuesday.
Israel, Syria disagree on threat of Turkish military presence
Two sources told the Post on Saturday that the strike was intended to prevent the placement of a Turkish radar and air defense system.
Shabaini emphasized to Reuters that the Abu al-Duhur was not at risk of becoming a Turkish base and said he believed Israel carried out the strike even after that message was conveyed.
A spokesperson from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office, in a statement released on Friday, stated that Israeli intelligence had identified that Turkish troops were going to be deployed to the base.
The spokesperson claimed that Syria “chose to ignore” warnings from Israel regarding the base prior to the strike.
Corinne Baum, Jerusalem Post Staff, and Reuters contributed to this report.
