Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shibani met with his French counterpart Jean-Noël Barrot and U.S. Special Envoy to Syria Thomas Barrack in the French capital, Paris.

In a statement released on its official channels today, Friday, July 25, the Syrian Ministry of Foreign Affairs described the meeting as “frank and constructive,” stating it came “as part of cooperation among the participating parties at a critical moment for Syria.”

According to the Foreign Ministry, Syria, France, and the U.S. agreed on the need to:

• Swiftly engage in efforts to ensure the success of the transition process in Syria, in a way that guarantees the country’s unity, stability, and sovereignty over its entire territory.
• Commit to joint cooperation in combating terrorism in all its forms and supporting the capabilities of the Syrian state and its institutions to confront security challenges.
• Support the Syrian government in leading a political transition aimed at achieving national reconciliation and enhancing social cohesion, particularly in northeastern Syria and Suwayda Governorate.
• Hold a round of consultations between the Syrian government and the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in Paris as soon as possible to resume the implementation of the March 10 agreement.
• Support accountability efforts for perpetrators of violence and welcome the report by the Independent National Commission of Inquiry on the Syrian coast events.
• Affirm that neighboring countries should not pose a threat to Syria’s stability, and in return, reaffirm Syria’s commitment to not threaten the security of its neighbors to preserve regional stability.

This meeting followed another held a day earlier, on Thursday, July 24, where al-Shibani and Barrack met with Israeli Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer in Paris under U.S. sponsorship.

Commenting on the talks, Barrack tweeted on X: “Paris has always been the diplomatic heart of vital discussions like the one we had today,” adding, “A stable, secure, and united Syria is built on great neighbors and allies.” He continued, “We will keep working to build prosperity in Syria in partnership with friends and allies.”

Meanwhile, Kareem Qamar, the representative of the Autonomous Administration in northeastern Syria in France, told the pro-SDF news agency Hawar that the scheduled meeting between Administration representatives and officials from the Syrian transitional government had been postponed, without disclosing the reasons or a new date.

The negotiation track between Damascus and the SDF has stalled, with the latter insisting on forming a unified military bloc and citing events in Suwayda and the Syrian coast as justification for refusing integration under the Syrian state, according to a government source who spoke to the state-run al-Ikhbariya channel on July 24.

The source emphasized that “the Syrian state has not and will not accept any rhetoric based on threats or the imposition of preconditions that contradict the principle of state unity and its sovereign institutions.” He added that “genuine national dialogue cannot take place under the pressure of arms or by leveraging foreign support.”

Farhad Shami, Director of the SDF Media Center, stated in a July 23 interview with Al-Youm TV that the events in Suwayda reflect what he called the Syrian government’s “flawed” policies, which rely on security crackdowns and force while denying the rights of social groups—causing a rupture between the state and the Syrian people.

Shami warned that if similar events were repeated in other cities, it could mark “the end of the regime,” exacerbating Syria’s security chaos. “The government’s current approach doesn’t solve problems—it creates even bigger ones,” he said.