France tries to convince Israel that Syria won’t pose a threat to it
French Foreign Ministry spokesman Pascal Confavreux said that his country is working to reassure Israel that Syria won’t be a threat to it in the future, explaining that the French vision on this file is very close to the US position.
Speaking to Syrian journalists in Paris on February 10th, he noted that reaching final understandings requires additional rounds of negotiations.
At the same time, Confavreux criticized Israel’s control of areas inside Syrian territory, expressing Paris’ hope that Israel would abide by international law.
He also stressed the importance of preserving Syria’s unity and strengthening its sovereignty away from any external interference, considering that the strength of the Syrian state reduces the possibilities of external interventions, while its weakness leads to the opposite.
The French spokesman revealed that Syrian-Israeli discussions have already taken place in the French capital.
US and Israeli media reports have previously reported that the two sides are moving to accelerate the pace of negotiations with the aim of reaching new security arrangements, including confidence-building measures and reducing military tensions.
According to those reports, the idea of establishing a joint mechanism for information exchange and security and diplomatic coordination was put forward, with US proposals to establish a trilateral liaison cell in the Jordanian capital Amman to follow up on security developments in southern Syria and supervise talks related to disarmament and the withdrawal of Israeli forces.
On the other hand, Syrian government sources said that the talks are focused on reactivating the 1974 disengagement agreement, which would ensure the withdrawal of Israeli forces to the pre-2024 lines, at a time when Israel still holds positions within the governorates of Quneitra and Dara’a.
