US envoy calls for Syria-Israel non-aggression pact

U.S. Special Envoy for Syria Thomas Barrack called for a non-aggression agreement between Syria and Israel during a high-profile visit to Damascus on Thursday, signaling a major diplomatic shift in the region.

Barrack proposed the pact as a first step toward normalizing relations between Jerusalem and Damascus, following his meeting with Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa at the presidential palace, AFP reported.

The initiative comes as the United States and Syria restore official diplomatic engagement after more than a decade of severed ties.

Barrack, who also serves as ambassador to Turkey, raised the American flag over the U.S. ambassador’s residence in Damascus for the first time since the embassy closed in 2012. The symbolic act marks a significant thaw in relations since the Syrian civil war began in 2011.

The Trump administration’s approach has rapidly evolved following the ousting of President Bashar Assad in December 2024. Assad was replaced by Sharaa, whose rise to power was backed by his Sunni Islamist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, formerly affiliated with Al-Qaeda. The group now forms a key part of Syria’s reconstructed governance.

President Donald Trump met with Shara’a in Riyadh on May 13 and has begun easing U.S. sanctions on Syria. In an additional conciliatory step, Barrack told Reuters the administration plans to remove Syria from its list of state sponsors of terrorism, citing a desire to offer the new leadership a chance to govern without U.S. interference.

The renewed diplomacy marks a dramatic pivot from more than a decade of Western isolation and pressure on the Syrian regime, which included severe economic sanctions and diplomatic disengagement.

Israel has not publicly responded to Barrack’s proposal. While Israel and Syria remain technically at war, there have been intermittent discussions about reducing tensions, particularly along the Golan Heights.