US, “Israel”, Syria to Hold Paris Talks on Suwayda Aid Corridor

By Staff, Agencies

US President Donald Trump administration is reportedly working to establish a humanitarian corridor from "Israel" to Suwayda, southern Syria, to deliver aid to the Druze community, according to US and "Israeli" officials cited by Axios.

A potential agreement- between the Syria and "Israel" on a humanitarian corridor-risks creating a false impression of progress, which could be exploited to allow "Israel" to achieve further gains in southern Syria.

While a humanitarian corridor may ease Suwayda’s crisis, Syria has warned the US it could be used by Druze militias to smuggle weapons, amid ongoing instability and UN concerns over aid access.

US envoy to Syria Tom Barrack is scheduled to hold talks in Paris on Wednesday with "Israeli" Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer and Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shibani to broker an agreement, marking the second high-level meeting between the parties in just three weeks after a quarter-century of near-total diplomatic disengagement between "Israel" and Syria.

This follows an unprecedented diplomatic encounter on July 26, when al-Shibani held talks with high-ranking "Israeli" representatives in Paris, in a meeting facilitated by Barrack, as reported by Ben Caspit in The Monitor.

The report indicates the high-level discussions involved Dermer and "Israel’s" so-called National Security Advisor Tzachi Hanegbi, both key allies of Netanyahu, representing the outcome of months of discreet diplomatic efforts that had been actively promoted by Trump.