Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shibani said that the current talks with Israel are focused on Israel’s withdrawal from territories it occupied in southern Syria after the fall of the Assad regime, and not on the Golan Heights issue.
Speaking at a security conference in Munich, al-Shibani emphasized the importance of a full Israeli withdrawal to reach a security agreement between the two countries.
“The negotiations will certainly not reach a point where there is acceptance of the current situation imposed by Israel in southern Syria," al-Shibani said. According to him, the process will ultimately lead to an Israeli withdrawal, a halt to interference in Syria’s internal affairs, respect for Syrian airspace, and non-interference with Syrian sovereignty.
He noted that the new Syrian regime has been working from day one to rebuild the country and unify internal ranks. However, he added, Israel may not view Syrian policies favorably or might be seeking to provoke conflicts in the region.
In another context, al-Shibani said that the Syrian regime is working to integrate the civil and military institutions of the Kurdish minority within the Syrian government, and that there is no possibility of re-admitting ISIS-affiliated fighters who were held by the Kurdish militia and were recently transferred to Iraq.