Damascus, Syria – Syrian and Israeli officials are holding talks today, Thursday, in the Azerbaijani capital of Baku, aimed at containing the ongoing escalation in the southern Syrian province of Suwayda.
According to the U.S.-based outlet The National, the meetings are focused on reducing hostilities in Suwayda and preventing any direct confrontation in southern Syria.
Unnamed diplomats told the outlet that the “immediate goal is to stop the destruction of Syrian assets by Israel as part of a broader effort to avoid conflict.”
The sources added that Israeli officials will ask Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa to “leave the Druze community alone, for now.”
A separate Jordanian source confirmed to The National that the talks are taking place just ahead of an Israeli-imposed deadline demanding the full withdrawal of Syrian Ministry of Defense forces from Suwayda. Israel reportedly warned it would resume its air campaign if the withdrawal was not completed.
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One source noted that “The Israelis made it clear that they will not allow Al Shara free hand in Sweida,” adding that “It seems that he (Al-Sharaa) thought that he had enough US and Turkish support to ignore them,”
While the pace of attacks on Suwayda has slowed in recent days, pro-government Syrian forces reportedly continued assaults on rural Druze areas near the northern town of Shahba as recently as Wednesday.
Last month, senior Israeli and Syrian officials also met in Baku in a direct meeting brokered by Turkey, according to diplomatic sources. That meeting also cantered on southern Syria and reportedly explored the possibility of a broader peace agreement.
Separately, Axios reported two days ago that senior officials from the U.S., Syria, and Israel were preparing for a trilateral meeting, also scheduled for today, to address security arrangements in southern Syria and contain rising tensions.
U.S. diplomatic sources told Axios that U.S. Special Envoy for Syria, Thomas Barrack, is leading the mediation efforts and will participate in the meeting alongside officials from both governments.
According to those sources, the meeting marks the first high-level engagement of its kind since the latest clashes erupted in Suwayda and aims to improve security coordination to prevent broader conflict.
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The talks will reportedly focus on setting up security arrangements in southern Syria and establishing direct lines of communication between the parties to avoid future crises, especially in high-risk areas with overlapping presence of rival forces.
A senior Israeli official told Axios that “There is relative calm now, but the fundamental issues will not be resolved without comprehensive agreements between the U.S., Israel and the Syrian government.”
