A Syrian source quoted in the Arabic daily A-Sharq il-Awsat said Friday that Israel and Syria had recently made significant progress in negotiations. Syrian, Israeli, and Turkish leaders recently announced that the two countries would be holding indirect negotiations with no preconditions.

The countries have agreed to temporary security arrangements that will be put into place as a confidence-building measure during the ongoing talks, the source said. He added that the subject of Syria’s ties with Iran, Hamas, and Hizbullah had been pushed off and will not be discussed at this time.