US, 'Israel', Syria to meet in Paris to discuss Sweida aid corridor
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The US is mediating talks between "Israel" and Syria to create a "humanitarian corridor" to Sweida, allegedly aiming to aid the Druze community amid security concerns and political risks.
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Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad Hassan al-Shibani attends a joint news conference with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov following their meeting in Moscow, Russia, Thursday, July 31, 2025 (AP)
The Trump administration is currently attempting to negotiate an agreement that would allegedly establish a humanitarian corridor connecting "Israel" to the city of Sweida in southern Syria to facilitate aid delivery to the Druze community in that region, according to statements from one US official and two Israeli officials who spoke to Axios.
A potential agreement between the Syrian and Israeli governments on a humanitarian corridor risks creating a false impression of progress, which could be exploited to allow "Israel" to achieve further gains in southern Syria.
While a humanitarian corridor could potentially ease conditions in Sweida, where instability persists despite a ceasefire, and the UN has raised alarms over blocked aid routes and worsening security, the Syrian government has warned the US that such a passage might be exploited by Druze militias for weapon smuggling.
US envoy to Syria Tom Barrack is scheduled to hold talks in Paris on Wednesday with Israeli Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer and Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shibani to broker an agreement, marking the second high-level meeting between the parties in just three weeks after a quarter-century of near-total diplomatic disengagement between "Israel" and Syria.
This follows an unprecedented diplomatic encounter on July 26, when al-Shibani held talks with high-ranking Israeli representatives in Paris, in a meeting facilitated by Barrack, as reported by Ben Caspit in The Monitor.
The report indicates the high-level discussions involved Dermer and Israeli National Security Advisor Tzachi Hanegbi, both key allies of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, representing the outcome of months of discreet diplomatic efforts that had been actively promoted by US President Donald Trump.
