Current sectionIsrael NewsIsrael SecurityDays after Israel bombed a Syrian airbase, al-Shaibani says he believes negotiations will resume soon, cautioning that it is 'very hard to bet on Israel'Share to FacebookShare to XArticle printing is available to subscribers onlyPrint in a simple, ad-free formatSubscribeComments: Zen reading is available to subscribers onlyAd-free and in a comfortable reading formatSubscribeSyrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani, speaks during an interview with Reuters in Damascus, Syria, August 22, 2026. REUTERS/Khalil Ashawi Credit: Khalil Ashawi/רויטרסSyrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani, speaks during an interview with Reuters in Damascus, Syria, August 22, 2026. REUTERS/Khalil Ashawi Credit: Khalil Ashawi/רויטרסReuters11:20 AM • August 23 2026 IDTSyria expects negotiations to resume soon with Israel over a security deal it hopes will lead to Israel's withdrawal from Syrian land, Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani said, ⁠urging Israel to seize a "historic opportunity" as the door for diplomacy is open. In a Reuters interview in Damascus on Saturday, days after Israel bombed a Syrian airbase, al-Shaibani also stressed that ⁠Damascus' priority is to halt Israeli attacks, saying confidence-building steps were needed in this direction.Washington has been seeking to forge a security deal between Israel and the government of Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa, a new U.S. ally in the Middle East, for over a year. But it has proven elusive as Israel has sent troops into Syrian territory and attacked government assets, citing threats to its security.Shaibani said negotiations over the security agreement had been frozen since the start of the Iran war, but he expected them to restart. Contact between Syria ‌and Israel was cut after the airbase strike, he said.A satellite image shows craters on the runways of Abu al-Duhur airbase near Syria's Aleppo after an Israeli attack, last week. Credit: Pleiades Neo © Airbus DS 2026 / ReutersA satellite image shows craters on the runways of Abu al-Duhur airbase near Syria's Aleppo after an Israeli attack, last week. Credit: Pleiades Neo © Airbus DS 2026 / Reuters"We believe there should be contact, especially with a party that constantly threatens the security of Syria. But if this contact doesn't bring results, then we ‌don't need it," Shaibani said. "We do not trust Israel currently." The Israeli prime minister's office did not respond to a request for comment."Israel has tried to maintain its security through brute force and it hasn't succeeded" anywhere, Shaibani said. "I believe negotiations will resume soon." No date has been set. "The U.S. is trying continuously to put pressure on Israel to return to the dialogue table," he added.Asked how optimistic he was, Shaibani said: "It's very hard to bet on Israel." But Syria had "very great hope" of building stable relationships with its neighbours. "Syria is extending its hand for understandings, for peace, for diplomacy" and regional stability.In the NewsAttacking Erdogan or Clinging to the Status Quo? Israel's Turkey ParadoxSettlers Call Them 'Hikes.' Palestinians Keep Ending Up DeadTrump's Envoy Was Right to Condemn Netanyahu Over Syria StrikeBen-Gurion Airport Has Everything Israel Loves: Privilege, Racism and a Way OutNetanyahu's Need for Constant Security Crises Sparks Rare Clash With WashingtonRemembering and rebuilding two years laterICYMIIDF Marks Detained Palestinians With Numbers as Northern West Bank Raids ExpandThe American Jewish Establishment Is Defending an Israel That No Longer ExistsSo Will It Be a Problem if Miriam Adelson Flies to Israel to Vote?An Israeli Startup Is Reinventing Salmon Farming. It May Upend a Global IndustryIsraeli Army Orders Criminal Probes Into Killing of Hind Rajab, Gaza MedicsGo to Qusra to See What Israel Is Trying to Hide