Israel
did not ask Syria
to sever its ties with Iran,
the London-based Arabic-language newspaper al-Sharq al-Awsat reported Friday morning, quoting a Syrian source involved in the indirect negotiations
between Jerusalem and Damascus.
According to the source, Tehran expressed its understanding over the negotiations and is also holding talks "with other elements".
| Islamic Republic |
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| Iranian defense minister: Israel-Syria talks 'philosophical' / Dudi Cohen |
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'Syria has right to regain sovereignty over the Golan, but current talks between Jerusalem and Damascus are merely philosophical,' Mostafa Mohammad Najjar says after meeting Syrian counterpart in Tehran |
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According to the source, the next round of talks is expected to deal with "the fundamental issues". He added that the regional issues, including the ties between Syria and Iran, Hizbullah
and Hamas,
were postponed to future talks.
On Tuesday, Syrian President Bashar Assad dismissed
Israeli demands for Syria to abandon an alliance with Iran as a requirement for a peace deal.
Assad told British MPs that the Baath Party government intended to maintain its "normal relations" with Iran while it conducts indirect talks with Israel to regain the Golan Heights, a source familiar with the meeting told Reuters.
The source stressed that an agreement had been reached in the past regarding the main principles in four issues raised in the talks: The security arrangements, the water, the borders and the normalization.
The source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, Israel accepted the security arrangements between the two countries, which will be temporarily implemented until trust is built between them.
In regards to the security arrangements, the source added that they will be mostly based on understandings reached in past talks, and that the security demands were made by both sides.
"The Syrians insist that the security arrangements will be shared by both sides," he said. "There is an Israeli agreement on this issue. This matter was dealt as a fundamental issue along with the rest of the issues discussed with the Israelis."
Reuters contributed to this report
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