Published on 09/12/2025
The PMO dismissed reports of a Syria deal being refused, clarifying that while there were contacts under US auspices, they never progressed to any agreement or understanding.
A report in Saudi media that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu refused to sign a security agreement with Syria is “fake news,” the Prime Minister’s Office announced on Tuesday.
The PMO’s statement refers to a Monday report in Saudi outlet Asharq al-Awsat, citing sources who “preferred not to be named” that US mediation between Israel and Syria led to a meeting between Netanyahu and Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa at the United Nations General Assembly in September.
“There were contacts and meetings organized by the US but no agreements and understandings with Syria were ever reached,” the PMO said.
During September’s UNGA, Sharaa, as the first Syrian leader visiting the global conference since 1967, said that Israel’s policy runs counter to the world’s support for Syria and exposes the region to a whirlwind of new conflicts.
Sharaa previously claimed that his government was negotiating with Israel in a November interview with The Washington Post.
“We are engaged in direct negotiations with Israel, and we have gone a good distance on the way to reach an agreement. But to reach a final agreement, Israel should withdraw to their pre-December 8 borders,” Sharaa said at the time.
His mentioning of December 8 refers to the fall of the Assad regime and the commencement of Israeli strikes in Syria following the ouster.
Israel ‘fighting ghosts,’ Syrian president says, accuses Jerusalem of exploiting Oct. 7
Sharaa accused Israel of exploiting October 7 and its security concerns at the Doha Forum in Qatar on Saturday.
“Israel has become a country that is in a fight against ghosts,” Sharaa said, claiming that Israelis use “their security concerns, and they take October 7 and extrapolate it to everything happening around them.”
Israel often brings its crises to other countries and tries to evade taking responsibility for the “horrifying massacres it committed in Gaza,” Sharaa told the crowds.
