Syria foreign minister says door open for diplomacy with Israel

Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani says the door for diplomacy with Israel is open, urging it to seize a “historic opportunity”.In an interview with the Reuters news agency, published on Sunday, al-Shaibani said he expects the talks over a security deal that would lead to Israel’s withdrawal from Syrian territory to resume soon.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemslist 1 of 3Everything you need to know about the Syria – Israel deal in Parislist 2 of 3Analysis: Syrian airbase attack is an Israeli message to Damascus, Ankaralist 3 of 3Syrian official says ‘no plans’ to establish Turkish military presenceend of listHe said negotiations over the security agreement were frozen at the start of the US-Israel war on Iran and that no date has been set for a resumption of talks.Al-Shaibani also stressed that Damascus’s priority is to halt Israeli attacks, saying confidence-building steps were needed in this direction.The United States has been trying to broker a security deal between Israel and the government of Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa, a new US ally in the Middle East, for ⁠more than a year. But an agreement has proven elusive as Israel has sent troops into Syrian territory an...