Syria denies reports of meetings between Sharaa, Israeli officials in UAE

Syrian and Israeli sources on Tuesday denied reports of a meeting between Israeli National Security Council chief Tzachi Hanegbi and Syrian President Ahmad Al-Sharaa in the UAE capital Abu Dhabi.

Israeli sources said that normalization with Syria remains a distant goal due to Al-Sharaa’s refusal to negotiate a peace treaty while Israel continues to occupy Syrian territory it seized in December 2024.

The official Syrian news agency SANA quoted a source at the Ministry of Information as saying: “There is no truth to the reports about any sessions or meetings being held between President Ahmad Al-Sharaa and Israeli officials.”

The Israeli newspaper Maariv also reported on Tuesday that there was no meeting between Hanegbi and Sharaa in Abu Dhabi.

On Monday, Al-Sharaa travelled to the United Arab Emirates on an official visit, part of his second Gulf tour since most international sanctions on Syria were lifted. He was received by UAE Foreign Minister Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan.

“Normalisation between Israel and Syria is still far from making a breakthrough. This is due, among other reasons, to the fact that Syrian President Ahmad Al-Sharaa refuses to discuss starting a normalization process with Israel — the first step of which is security cooperation — as long as the Israeli army remains present in Syrian territories occupied after the fall of the Assad regime,” the Israeli news website Walla quoted an official as saying.

However, according to Walla, another official stressed that following the “successful” Israeli-US attack on Iran — which reportedly damaged its nuclear and ballistic missile programmes — a unique opportunity has emerged to reshape the Middle East, including agreements with Lebanon and Syria.

“Until recently, Iran dominated Lebanon and Syria through Hezbollah. We’ve broken that axis — it’s over. While reaching agreements with Lebanon and Syria is not expected in the near future, it is possible.”

SANA reported that Al-Sharaa’s current tour of Gulf countries aims to enhance economic cooperation and attract investment to support Syria’s reconstruction and comprehensive economic development plans.

Observers believe the visit is linked to recent developments in “indirect” talks between the Syrian government and Israel, considering that the UAE, which normalised ties with Israel in 2020, plays a mediation role between the two sides.

The Israeli daily Yedioth Ahronoth reported May 25 that the UAE “sponsored and arranged three meetings between Syrian figures close to President Ahmad Al-Sharaa and Israeli figures.”

Last May, Al-Sharaa stated in a joint press conference with French President Emmanuel Macron that his country was engaging in indirect talks with Israel through mediators to de-escalate tensions. In response to a question from an Alaraby TV reporter, he said: “Stability in Syria means stability in the region, Europe, and the entire world,” adding that Israel must “stop interfering in Syria”.