The Syrian Ministry of Foreign Affairs denied reports of a security agreement between Syria and Israel during the upcoming visit of Syria’s transitional president, Ahmad al-Sharaa, to New York in September, stressing that al-Sharaa will deliver a speech at the UN General Assembly.

Qutaiba Idlibi, Director of the American Affairs Department at the Syrian Foreign Ministry, told Enab Baladi there is no planned meeting between President al-Sharaa and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in New York this September.

Idlibi confirmed that al-Sharaa will address the General Assembly during the 80th session, with the high-level general debate (for heads of state and government) scheduled for September 23–27, concluding on September 29, 2025.

According to a report published by al-Monitor on August 5, the United States is working to remove al-Sharaa and Interior Minister Anas Khattab from the UN Security Council’s terrorism lists. The outlet, citing informed diplomatic sources, noted that Washington is pressing to lift sanctions imposed on the Syrian president and the now-dissolved Hayat Tahrir al-Sham(HTS).

It remains unclear whether al-Sharaa’s name will be removed before his trip to the UN summit in New York, where he is expected to deliver the first speech by a Syrian president before the UN since 1967, the report said.

Talk of a security deal

On August 21, Independent Arabia reported, citing unnamed Syrian sources, that Syria and Israel were set to sign a US-brokered security agreement on September 25. The sources said the deal would follow al-Sharaa’s speech by a day, but clarified that no comprehensive peace treaty was expected in the near future, with the accord limited to security arrangements aimed at reducing tensions.

Meanwhile, Sky News Arabia quoted its sources on August 22 as saying the US was seeking to arrange a meeting in New York between the Syrian president and the Israeli prime minister, with the participation of US President Donald Trump. The channel claimed al-Sharaa even issued a decree appointing a plenipotentiary ambassador to the UN for the occasion.

According to Sky News, the proposed meeting came as a result of progress in talks between Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shibani and Israeli Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer in Paris.

On August 19, al-Shibani met an Israeli delegation led by Dermer in the French capital, in US-mediated talks aimed at de-escalation and stability in southern Syria. Discussions reportedly focused on monitoring the ceasefire in Suwayda (southern Syria), non-interference in Syria’s internal affairs, and exploring bilateral understandings to stabilize the south, Syrian state media (SANA) reported.

The meeting also covered reactivating the 1974 Disengagement Agreement, signed under UN auspices, which stipulates adherence to the ceasefire and maintenance of existing frontlines.

US news outlet Axios reported that the Trump administration is pushing for an agreement to establish a humanitarian corridor between Suwayda and Israel to deliver aid directly to civilians in southern Syria. The initiative is described as a possible entry point for wider de-escalation and limited normalization, within a phased US-led framework to revive Syria’s peace process.

This meeting marked the highest-level official contact between Syria and Israel in more than 25 years—since former US President Bill Clinton hosted talks in Shepherdstown in 2000 between then-Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak and Syrian Foreign Minister Farouk al-Sharaa.

The semi-public Paris meeting between al-Shibani and Dermer on July 25, attended by US envoy Tom Barrack, followed a series of secret contacts over recent months, some reportedly mediated by Turkey, according to Axios.