ISTANBUL

Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa said Wednesday that his administration is engaged in negotiations with Israel through mediators to prevent an escalation in tensions between their countries.

Speaking at a news conference in Paris with French President Emmanuel Macron during his first visit to a European country since taking office, Sharaa said there “are indirect talks with Israel through mediators to de-escalate so that the situation doesn’t reach a point where neither side can contain it.”

“Israel carried out more than 20 airstrikes on Syria last week. It must stop its arbitrary actions and interference in Syrian affairs,” he said.

It marked the first time that the Syrian president revealed indirect talks with Israel

He emphasized that Damascus has reaffirmed to all parties its commitment to the 1974 Disengagement Agreement, which established a ceasefire line between Syria and Israel in the Golan Heights.

France “was a friend to the Syrian people and stood by them throughout the years of the revolution,” Sharaa said.

He added that he discussed with President Macron ways to advance issues of mutual interest, including France’s contribution to Syria’s reconstruction and stability, “which represents the stability of the entire region.”

Sharaa also said that he discussed with the French president prospects for cooperation in the fields of security, economy, justice and counterterrorism.

He also expressed his gratitude to Macron and the French people for “welcoming Syrian refugees in recent years and for receiving me today.”

He stressed that his administration “will not allow sectarian strife nor violations of Syria’s sovereignty by foreign parties,” adding firmly that “the future of Syria will not be shaped in closed rooms nor decided in distant capitals.”

Regarding the international sanctions on Syria, he said they “were imposed due to crimes committed by the former regime, and there is no justification for their continuation after its removal.”

Sharaa also noted that he discussed the border situation with Lebanon with Macron.

In response to a question from a reporter, he said that Syria “has suffered more than any other from terrorism under the former regime and stands in solidarity with victims of terrorism everywhere. We have no connection to any criminal act outside Syria.”

A new transitional administration led by President Sharaa was formed in Syria in January following the fall of the Assad regime.

Bashar al-Assad, who ruled Syria for nearly 25 years, fled to Russia in December, ending the Baath Party’s decades-long grip on power that began in 1963.