Syrian, Israeli ministerial meeting to take place on Thursday in Baku
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Syrian and Israeli officials are set to meet, yet again, in the Azerbaijani capital, following Sweida's brutal clashes.
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Soldiers inspect the damaged Syrian Defense Ministry building hit by several airstrikes in Damascus, Syria, on July 16, 2025 (AP)
A ministerial meeting between Syria and the Israeli occupation is scheduled to take place on Thursday in Baku to address security concerns in southern Syria, a diplomat told AFP.
Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani is set to meet with Israeli Minister of Strategic Affairs Ron Dermer, following a similar round of talks held in Paris last week. According to the diplomat, who spoke on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the matter, the Baku meeting will take place after Shaibani makes an unprecedented visit to Moscow earlier that day.
The Baku meeting will focus on "the security situation, particularly in southern Syria," the diplomat said.
Discussions in Paris centered on "recent security developments and attempts to contain the escalation in southern Syria," according to Syrian state television.
That meeting followed a deadly outbreak of violence in Syria’s Druze-majority Sweida province, where clashes claimed the lives of more than 1,400 people, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
"Israel," claiming to protect the Druze, struck the Syrian presidential palace and the army headquarters in Damascus.
Before the violence in Sweida, Syrian and Israeli officials had met in Baku on July 12.
Paris meeting
In an unprecedented political development, Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad Hassan al-Shaibani met with senior Israeli officials in Paris on Thursday, with mediation led by the US envoy to Syria, Tom Barrack, according to The Monitor's Ben Caspit on Friday.
According to the diplomat, al-Shaibani will travel to Moscow on Thursday for talks with Russian officials, where discussions will focus on a range of issues, including the future of Russian military bases in Syria. The negotiations aim to clarify the terms governing the continued operation of Russia’s naval facility in Tartus and its airbase in Hmeimim.
In January, Russia’s Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov met with Syria’s interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa in Damascus.
Al-Shaibani's visit is also expected to address broader bilateral cooperation, efforts to restore diplomatic and security relations, and strategies for handling internal security challenges and foreign fighters.
