Syria and Israel reportedly resume secret talks in Baku amid Sweida crisis
High-level meeting set for July 31 as Syrian FM also heads to Moscow; recent clashes leave over 1,400 dead in southern Syria
BAKU, Azerbaijan (MNTV) — Senior Syrian and Israeli officials met in the Azerbaijani capital for a confidential dialogue aimed at de-escalating tensions in southern Syria, diplomatic sources told AFP.
The talks will bring together Syria’s Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani and Israeli Minister for Strategic Affairs Ron Dermer, marking their second known encounter this month following a similar meeting in Paris.
A diplomat familiar with the matter, who requested anonymity due to its sensitive nature, while talking to aze.media, said the dialogue comes in the wake of a deadly escalation in Syria’s Druze-majority Sweida province and will coincide with al-Shaibani’s official visit to Moscow.
According to Syrian state television, the Paris meeting focused on managing recent security developments and averting further violence in the south.
The deteriorating situation in Sweida has resulted in more than 1,400 deaths, as reported by the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, with clashes breaking out between Druze militias and Sunni Bedouin tribes before drawing in government forces and prompting Israeli military interventions.
Israeli forces reportedly targeted the presidential palace and military headquarters in Damascus during the height of the violence. A U.S.-brokered ceasefire between Syrian and Israeli forces was reached on the night of July 18.
Sources revealed that Syrian and Israeli envoys had previously met in Baku on July 12, underscoring the strategic role of Azerbaijan as a neutral host for backchannel diplomacy.
Syria and Israel remain technically at war, with no formal peace agreement since the 1948 Arab-Israeli conflict.
Although the 1974 disengagement agreement established a UN-patrolled buffer zone in the Golan Heights, Israel’s formal annexation of the territory in 1981 remains internationally unrecognized.
The latest developments come amid shifting political dynamics in Syria, where a new interim government led by President Ahmad al-Sharaa took power following the ouster of former President Bashar al-Assad during a rebel offensive last December.
Meanwhile, Russia has confirmed that Foreign Minister al-Shaibani will arrive in Moscow for bilateral talks with his Russian counterpart, Sergey Lavrov.
The visit marks the first official trip by a Syrian official from the new leadership since Assad’s removal.
Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said the talks would address Syrian-Russian relations and broader regional issues.
Although Assad was previously a key ally of Moscow, Russia chose not to intervene during the Damascus offensive that ended his rule.
Assad later claimed on social media that Russian forces evacuated him from the capital, flying him to the Hmeimim airbase in Latakia hours after it fell on December 8.
Since assuming office, President al-Sharaa has adopted a more pragmatic approach toward Moscow. A Russian delegation visited Damascus in January, and in February, President Vladimir Putin held a phone call with al-Sharaa, which the Kremlin described as “constructive.”
Despite reduced involvement, Russia has retained a limited military presence along Syria’s coast and continues to provide fuel shipments.
Al-Sharaa recently thanked Moscow for opposing Israeli airstrikes and condemning violations of Syrian sovereignty during the recent Sweida conflict.
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