Syria, Azerbaijan renew ties amid secret talks with Israel

Talks between Syrian and Israeli officials reportedly do not involve any Israeli withdrawal from the occupied Golan Heights

13.07.2025

News Desk

Source:https://thecradle.co/articles/syria-azerbaijan-renew-ties-amid-secret-talks-with-israel

Azerbaijan and Syria took steps toward restoring bilateral relations on 13 July, with both countries' leaders pledging enhanced cooperation, particularly in the energy sector, amid talks between Syrian and Israeli officials in the Azeri capital.

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev welcomed Syrian interim leader Ahmad al-Sharaa to Baku in a meeting that marked the first official engagement between the two governments since former president Bashar al-Assad's ouster in December 2024.

Sharaa, a former ISIS commander whose forces toppled Assad's government, thanked Aliyev for Azerbaijan's "brotherly support" and said that the previous Syrian administration had damaged Damascus's relationships with several countries, including Azerbaijan.

"The visit of the Syrian president to Azerbaijan will significantly contribute to the development of bilateral relations," Aliyev stated, according to the Azerbaijani presidency.

Central to the talks was a shared commitment to address Syria's ongoing energy crisis. The Azerbaijani government announced plans to begin exporting natural gas to Syria via Turkiye in the near future.

"This project will contribute to ensuring the energy security of Syria," the Azerbaijani presidency said in a statement, noting that the two countries would also explore Azerbaijani involvement in rebuilding Syria's devastated energy infrastructure.

Syria's major oil fields are occupied by the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and the US military in the northeast of the country, forcing Damascus to pay to purchase its own oil from the SDF leadership.

Syria's current leadership maintains strong ties with Turkiye, a key regional player and close ally of Baku. Azerbaijan has recently emerged as an intermediary between Turkiye and Israel, whose military occupation and bombing of Syria remain a point of contention.

According to diplomatic sources in Damascus speaking with AFP, Syria's interim president Sharaa visited Baku at the same time as a rare meeting between Syrian and Israeli officials took place in the Azerbaijani capital. Though Sharaa did not attend the meeting, the encounter reportedly focused on Israel's military occupation of Syria.

Israel's public broadcaster Kan confirmed the talks occurred, describing them as part of an effort to manage regional tensions.

Despite these developments, reports from Israeli media suggest any potential understanding would not include an Israeli withdrawal from the Syrian Golan Heights, territory Israel has occupied since 1967.

At the same time, informal security arrangements between Tel Aviv and Damascus may already be in place, with Israel reportedly having used Syrian airspace to launch an unprovoked war against Iran in June.