New message from the Syrian government
Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa has accused Israel of spreading the crisis in other countries and of “fighting an imaginary enemy.” He made the accusations amid continued Israeli incursions and airstrikes in southern Syria. Sharaa made the remarks in an interview with CNN’s Christiane Amanpour on the sidelines of the Doha Forum in Qatar on Saturday.
The Syrian president reiterated his demand that Israel abide by a 1974 ceasefire agreement that forbade Syrian and Israeli troops from clashing. Israeli forces entered southern Syria a year ago after the fall of Bashar al-Assad’s government and still occupy the strategically important Mount Hermon, which overlooks Israel, Lebanon and Syria. It has been a “buffer zone” for 50 years. Israeli officials say they will remain in the areas they seized a year ago indefinitely.
The Syrian president said Syria was adamant on adhering to the 1974 agreement and would not accept any alternative buffer zone. “We demand that Israel return to the position it was in before December 8 (2024),” he said. He added that the United States was participating in the talks. Last December, when al-Shara’s rebel forces entered the Syrian capital,
Damascus, forcing then-President Bashar al-Assad to flee. “Attempting to amend the agreement would push us into a serious and dangerous situation,” the Syrian president said. “If the Syrian army or the Syrian forces are not there, who will protect this buffer zone or demilitarised zone?” he asked. Allusion to Israel, Shara added, “Syria’s airspace has been violated extensively since the revolution a year ago. We have been hit by more than a thousand airstrikes.
There have been more than four hundred infiltrations.’ At least 13 people were killed in an Israeli military operation in Syria late last month. Al-Shara also reiterated its commitment to holding accountable those responsible for the massacre of hundreds of Alawites, a minority group in Syria’s coastal region, earlier this year. Several Alawites were killed in the incident. Most of the Alawites support the Assad government.
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