Syria expects negotiations on a security agreement with Israel to resume soon after months of suspension following the Iran-Israel war outbreak in February 2026 [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]. Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani told reporters the door remains open to diplomacy, stating, "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. We do not trust Israel currently" [1]. He added, "Israel has tried to maintain its security through brute force and it hasn’t succeeded anywhere. I believe negotiations will resume soon" [1].

The security talks froze in February when the Iran-Israel war erupted, and contacts were further severed after an Israeli airstrike on the Abu al-Duhur airbase in northern Syria on August 18, 2026 [1, 4]. Prior to the strike, Syria had informed Israel that the airbase would not become a Turkish military base, a claim Syria maintains despite ongoing military reliance on Turkey [4].

The conflict intensified after Israel’s 2024 seizure of Syrian territory following the fall of Bashar al-Assad, who was toppled after 14 years of civil war. Israel bombed multiple Syrian military sites during that period [1, 2, 3, 5]. Syrian officials hope the security agreement will lead to Israel’s withdrawal from those areas, with al-Shaibani saying, "Syria had very great hope of building stable relationships with its neighbours" [2].

Earlier in 2026, negotiations had nearly finalized all provisions on paper, including plans to create buffer zones near the Israel-Syria border, some under UN monitoring [4]. Syria’s priority remains halting Israeli attacks and establishing confidence-building measures [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]. Meanwhile, Israel justifies its troop presence and air strikes citing continuing security threats from Syria [1, 2, 3, 5]. The U.S. has pressed Israel for over a year to return to talks with Damascus [1, 2].

Al-Shaibani called on Israel to seize the diplomatic opportunity, saying, "The door remains open to diplomacy" despite the difficulty of trusting Israel [4]. The latest public indication of Syria’s intent comes after his August 22-23 interviews reaffirmed their expectation that talks will restart soon [1, 2, 3, 4, 5].