LONDON: Senior Israeli and Syrian officials met Sunday in an effort to ease tensions after an Israeli strike on a Syrian airbase, Axios reported, citing three sources familiar with the matter.
The meeting between Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad Al-Shaibani and Mossad Director Roman Gofman came days after Israel bombed Abu Al-Duhur airbase in Idlib Governorate, northern Syria, escalating already fraught relations between the two countries.
On Tuesday, Israeli warplanes dropped at least eight bombs on runways and hangars at the base, about 72 km from the Turkish border.
Israel said the strike was intended to prevent a Turkish military buildup, citing intelligence that Turkiye planned to deploy drones and a radar system there. It also warned that it could take military action unless preparations for the deployment stopped.
In talks involving Israel, Syria and the US before the attack, Syrian officials denied that Damascus intended to permit a Turkish military presence at the base, according to Axios.
