Reference News Network, July 13 report - According to AFP, on July 12, a diplomatic source familiar with the situation of negotiations between Syria and Israel revealed that Syrian and Israeli officials met in Baku, Azerbaijan. This meeting took place during the visit of Syria's transitional leader Ahmad al-Khatib to Azerbaijan.

In May this year, US President Trump claimed after meeting with the Syrian leader that the latter was willing to respond to his request and normalize relations with Israel. Since 1948, Syria and Israel have been in a state of formal war.

A diplomatic source, who requested anonymity due to the sensitivity of the issue, revealed: "A Syrian official met with an Israeli official during al-Khatib's visit to Baku." The source said that al-Khatib did not attend this meeting.

The diplomatic source previously pointed out that both sides would discuss "Israel's recent military presence in Syria." This specifically refers to several areas where Israeli forces entered after the fall of Bashar al-Assad last December.

The diplomatic source did not disclose the specific identities of the two officials. Neither Israel nor Syria has made an official response immediately.

Al-Khatib had assured that Syria does not want to have conflicts with its neighboring countries. In early July, Syria had stated its readiness to cooperate with the United States to restore the security agreement reached with Israel in 1974.

Since last December, Israel has launched hundreds of strikes against Syria and deployed troops in the demilitarized buffer zone of the Golan Heights. The UN pointed out that this move violates the agreement. Damascus has not taken retaliatory actions, while acknowledging that it has engaged in indirect negotiations with Israel to ease tensions with this neighbor.

On the end of June, Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said that his country is "interested" in normalizing relations with Syria, but at the same time emphasized that Israel has no intention of returning the Golan Heights. Subsequently, a Syrian official insisted that discussions on Syria and Israel signing a peace agreement were "too early." (Translation/ Liu Zhuo)

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