Al-Sharaa Open To U.S.-Brokered Talks With Israel, Calls White House Visit ‘A New Era’ For Syria

In an interview with Fox News, Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa discussed the possibility of U.S.-brokered negotiations with Israel and described his visit to the White House on Monday as the beginning of a new chapter in Syria’s relations with Washington and the region.

“Syria has borders with Israel, and Israel occupies the Golan Heights since 1967,” al-Sharaa said. “We are not going to enter into a negotiation directly right now. Maybe the United States administration, with President Trump, will help us reach this kind of negotiation.”

Reflecting on his historic meeting with President Trump, al-Sharaa noted, “This is the first time a Syrian president visits the White House since the establishment of Syria in the 40s of the last century. After the fall of the former regime, Syria has entered into a new era. And this will build on a new strategy with the United States.”

When asked if Syria would join the coalition against the Islamic State (ISIS) terrorists, al-Sharaa replied, “We participated in so many battles against ISIS for 10 years… I have lost much of my forces in the battles against ISIS. The US presence in Syria must now be coordinated with the Syrian government.”

Pressed on his past designation as a foreign terrorist affiliated with Al-Qaeda, al-Sharaa shifted focus, saying, “We talked about the future, the present and the past. We talked about lifting the sanctions… There was a decision at the United Nations to lift the sanctions on myself and other people.”

He continued, “We did not discuss [Al-Qaeda] actively. We talked about investment opportunities… Syria is no longer looked at as a security threat. It is now looked at as a geopolitical ally… especially extracting gas.”

Regarding former Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, who was ousted by rebels led by al-Sharaa last year, he stated, “Justice must prevail… We have established a justice commission… so that everyone can be held accountable for what they did, including Bashar Al-Assad.”

Al-Sharaa also addressed the case of missing American journalist Austin Tice, saying, “I have met with the mother of Tice… I’m going to do everything in my power so that she can have important and enough information about her son.”