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Israel making progress on Syria pact but deal still far off, Netanyahu says
Published by Global Banking & Finance Review®
Posted on September 21, 2025
2 min readLast updated: January 21, 2026
Global Banking & Finance Review®
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Published by Global Banking & Finance Review®
Posted on September 21, 2025
2 min readLast updated: January 21, 2026
Israel and Syria are progressing in security talks, but a deal is not imminent. Netanyahu cites victories against Hezbollah as pivotal.
(Reuters) -Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday there has been progress on a security deal with Syria but an agreement was not imminent.
Speaking at the outset of a cabinet meeting, Netanyahu said victory against Hezbollah in Lebanon had opened up the possibility of peace with Israel's northern neighbours.
"We are holding talks with the Syrians, there is some progress, but there was still a ways to go," he said. "In any case these discussions, as well as the contacts with Lebanon, would not have been possible without our decisive victories on the northern front and others."
Syria's President Ahmed al-Sharaa said on Wednesday that ongoing negotiations with Israel to reach a security pact could lead to results "in the coming days."
He said a security pact was a "necessity" and that it would need to respect Syria’s airspace and territorial unity and be monitored by the United Nations.
Syria and Israel are in talks to reach an agreement that Damascus hopes will secure a halt to Israeli airstrikes and the withdrawal of Israeli troops who have pushed into southern Syria.
(Reporting by Steven Scheer and Tala Ramadan; Editing by Hugh Lawson)
Netanyahu mentioned that there has been progress on a security deal with Syria, but emphasized that an agreement is not imminent.
Syria's President Ahmed al-Sharaa stated that ongoing negotiations could lead to results 'in the coming days' and that a security pact is a necessity.
The proposed security pact would need to respect Syria’s airspace and territorial unity, and it would be monitored by the United Nations.
The talks are taking place in the context of Israel's recent victory against Hezbollah in Lebanon, which has opened up possibilities for peace with its northern neighbors.
Syria hopes that the negotiations will secure a halt to Israeli airstrikes and the withdrawal of Israeli troops from southern Syria.
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