Gideon Sa'ar welcomes Syria's participation in EU-Middle East Meeting
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar said on Monday that Israel welcomes the participation of Syria in the EU-Middle East meeting in Brussels.
"We welcome the participation of the Syrian minister. We will be together in the same meeting. Let's see what will happen," Sa'ar told reporters ahead of Monday's meeting.
Sa'ar's announcement on Monday comes two weeks after he said that Israel was interested in establishing official diplomatic relations with Syria, as well as Lebanon. However, the foreign minister specified that regarding Syria, Israel will not negotiate the Golan Heights in any peace agreement.
Days before Sa'ar announced Israel's interest in diplomatic ties, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said that the Trump administration is expecting Syria to be one of the next countries to join the Abraham Accords.
"The president is certainly hopeful that more countries in the region will sign on to the Abraham Accords," she said.
In late May, EU ambassadors reportedly reached an agreement to lift sanctions on Syria.
Kaja Kallas, the high representative of the union for foreign affairs and security policy, had said earlier that she hoped EU foreign ministers would agree in Brussels to lift sanctions, adding that, "we want to ensure that the Syrian people have job opportunities and livelihoods so that the country becomes more stable.'
Seth J. Frantzman contributed to this report.
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