Israeli And Syrian Officials Hold A Meeting In Baku To Substitute Today's Violence

Syrian security forces in Sweida on July 14, 2025. (Wikimedia Commons/Syrian Ministry of Interior)

JAKARTA - Officials from Syria and Israel will meet in Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan on Thursday to discuss efforts to reduce hostilities in the Sweida region, the majority of which are Druze's population in southern Syria, senior diplomats familiar with The National said.

The move comes after the Damascus attack that has attracted Sunni militants and poses a risk of regional instability.

Axios first reported Tom Barrack, the United States envoy to Syria, had arranged the meeting, without specifying its location. However, officials from Turkey, the strongest supporter of the post-Bashar Al Assad government in Syria, will also be present in Baku, along with US officials, the source said.

"The direct goal is to stop the destruction of Syrian assets by Israel as part of a deconflict agreement," a diplomat said.

"In return, Israel wants (Syria President Ahmad) al-Sharaa to let Druze himself, for now," he continued.

Meanwhile, a second source in Jordan said the meeting was set just before the deadline set by Israel for all Syrian government forces to withdraw from the Sweida region. Israel says it will continue its air campaigns otherwise.

Syrian and Israeli officials held a face-to-face meeting in Baku last month, which was regulated by Turkey and attended by senior officials from both sides.

The meeting discussed southern Syria and touched on a broader potential peace agreement, the source said.

"Israel insists they will not allow al-Sharaa to move freely on Sweida. It seems he thinks he has enough support from the US and Turkey to ignore them," said one source.

It is known that Damascus deployed thousands of militants near the border with Jordan as part of a government attack to control Sweida.

Israel accuses Damascus of violating a demilitarized agreement prohibiting the Syrian government from placing the military in the south.

Israel launched an airstrike last week that killed hundreds of Syrian military personnel, which managed to quell government attacks on Sweida.

The city's Druze leaders have largely opposed Damascus's efforts to deploy security forces to control the region. The central government was dominated by Hayat Tahrir Al Sham (HTS), the Al Qaeda splinter group that toppled the previous regime in December.

Although the offensive push in Sweida eased on weekends, government forces on Wednesday still attacked the rural area of Druze next to Shahba City, near the city of Sweida, the provincial capital.