Washington, November 11, 2025 (dpa/CrestNewsOnline) Syria’s interim president, Ahmed al-Sharaa, on Monday in Washington ruled out talks to normalise relations with neighbouring Israel for the time being.

When asked about U.S. President Donald Trump’s desire for Syria to join the Abraham Accords, a diplomatic initiative started under his first term in office that has seen a number of Arab countries establish ties with Israel since 2020, al-Sharaa pointed to Israel’s ongoing occupation of the Golan Heights.

Israel seized the Golan Heights from Syria in the 1967 Six-Day War and annexed it in 1981.

The annexation is not internationally recognised, but Israel has continued to occupy the territory.

Speaking to a U.S. media outlet, the Syrian head of state said that “the situation in Syria is different from the situation of the countries who [signed] the Abraham agreement.”

“Syria has borders with Israel, and Israel occupies the Golan Heights since 1967. We are not going to enter into a negotiation directly right now,” he said in Arabic in remarks translated by the US broadcaster.

“Maybe the United States administration with President Trump will help us reach this kind of negotiation.”

Al-Sharaa on Monday became the first Syrian head of state to be received at the White House since the country’s independence in 1946.

Israel and Syria have officially been at war since 1948, and a peace treaty has never been signed.

Since the fall of long-time ruler Bashar al-Assad in December 2024, the Israeli military has set up military positions on Syrian territory along the border and carried out airstrikes on weapons depots.

Israel also deployed additional troops to the Golan Heights, a central point of contention, after al-Assad’s fall and has since stepped up airstrikes in Syria with the stated aim to prevent Damascus’ weapons from falling into the hands of extremists.

(www.crestnewsonline.ng)