US reshuffles Syria team amid talks on Israel-Syria pact

Some of the top US diplomats involved with Syria have been dismissed from their positions in recent days, as Washington seeks to integrate the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) with the Syrian government in Damascus.

Reuters, citing five informed sources, said the diplomats had been part of the Syria Regional Platform, the de facto US mission to the country based in Istanbul.

They reported to Tom Barrack, the US special envoy to Syria and long-time friend and adviser of President Donald Trump. Barrack, appointed last May, has led a shift in regional policy that supports a unified Syrian state under President Ahmad al-Sharaa, who assumed power after Bashar al-Assad was ousted late last year.

A US diplomatic source told Reuters that "some" staff at the Syria Regional Platform were informed their assignments had ended as part of a team reorganisation. The source added that the departure would not affect US policy in Syria and that the decision was not due to disagreements between the diplomats and Barrack or the White House.

The sources - which also included two Western diplomats and two US-based sources - described the changes as sudden and involuntary, taking place last week.

A State Department official told Reuters the department does not comment on "personnel decisions or administrative reorganisations", adding: "Core staff working on Syria-related issues continue to operate from multiple locations."

Barrack has urged the SDF, backed by the US, to move more quickly to finalise a March agreement with Sharaa that would place areas under SDF control back under state authority and integrate the forces into government security structures.

Two weeks ago, negotiators from the Autonomous Administration demanded "international guarantees for concluding any agreement with the government, particularly from Washington, Paris, and Riyadh", according to affiliated media outlets.

This comes as Damascus seeks to manage the fallout of crimes and abuses against civilians in the coastal and Suweida regions, which have weakened its negotiating position with the SDF.

Separately, Axios reported that Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani will visit Washington this week to discuss lifting remaining US sanctions. Senator Lindsey Graham said Shaibani would meet lawmakers on Thursday to review sanctions imposed under laws such as the Caesar Act, with a view to their permanent removal. Shaibani is expected to meet US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Friday, according to Axios.

Graham told the outlet he would support lifting sanctions if Syria moved formally toward a new security agreement with Israel and joined an alliance against the Islamic State group.

The visit marks the first by a Syrian foreign minister to Washington in more than 25 years, the last being Farouk al-Sharaa’s trip in December 1999 for peace talks with Israel.

Israel’s Channel 12 reported that Shaibani also met Israeli Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer in London this week, with Barrack present. Axios cited informed sources as saying the meeting lasted five hours and made progress on a draft security agreement proposed by Israel.

Sharaa told reporters in Damascus on Wednesday that negotiations with Israel "could yield results in the coming days". Reuters quoted him as saying there was a "need" for such an agreement, stressing it must respect Syrian airspace and territorial integrity and be subject to UN monitoring.

Reuters also reported earlier this week that Washington is pressing Syria to finalise a deal before the UN General Assembly convenes in New York.

Sharaa denied this, saying the US is acting as mediator, while noting that Israel had conducted more than 1,000 airstrikes and 400 ground incursions into Syria in December last year, when Assad’s regime was toppled.

AFP reported on Thursday that an unnamed Syrian foreign ministry official said Syria will strike several security and military agreements with Israel by the end of the year.

"There is progress in the talks with Israel," said the official who requested anonymity because they were not allowed to brief the media, adding that several agreements are expected to be signed "by the end of the year".

"Primarily, these would be security and military agreements," they said.