Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa has dismissed the possibility of immediate talks with Israel, despite renewed US efforts to expand the Abraham Accords. Speaking to Fox News on Monday, Sharaa said Syria’s position is fundamentally different from that of nations that have normalised ties with Israel under the US-brokered agreements.
He cited Israel’s continued occupation of the Syrian Golan Heights, which was expanded in 2024 following the fall of the Assad regime, as a primary obstacle to dialogue. “I believe that the situation in Syria is different from the situation of the countries who signed on to the Abraham Accords,” he said in translated remarks.
“Syria has borders with Israel, and Israel occupies the Golan Heights since 1967. We are not going to enter into negotiation directly right now,” he added. However, the Syrian leader left open the possibility of future mediation, suggesting the Trump administration could help facilitate eventual talks.
The Abraham Accords, launched during Trump’s first term, established diplomatic ties between Israel and several Muslim-majority countries, including Bahrain, Morocco, Sudan and the United Arab Emirates. Kazakhstan became the latest nation to join last week. Trump has expressed optimism that both Syria and Saudi Arabia might one day join the normalisation framework, though Damascus’s stance remains firmly tied to Israel’s withdrawal from occupied territories.
Asked about potential cooperation against ISIS, Sharaa acknowledged the continued US military presence in Syria but said coordination must occur directly with Damascus. “We need to discuss these matters, and we need to talk about and get into an agreement about ISIS,” he said, signalling guarded openness to limited engagement with Washington.