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Syria agrees to further talks with Israel, state media reports
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ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Syria has blamed Israel for recent unrest in Suwayda province but has agreed to meet again after US-mediated talks between them in Paris this week produced no results, Syrian state-run media reported.
'The meeting did not result in any final agreements, but rather consisted of preliminary consultations aimed at reducing tensions and reopening communication channels amid the ongoing escalation since early December,' a diplomatic source told al-Ikhbariah TV.
On Thursday, US special envoy for Syria Tom Barrack said he held talks with Syrian and Israeli officials in Paris. The Syrian side included representatives from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the General Intelligence Service, according to al-Ikhbariah.
Barrack said the goal of the talks was 'dialogue and de-escalation.'
Nearly 1,400 people were killed in clashes this month in Suwayda province between Druze fighters, Bedouin tribes, and government forces, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. The violence drew in Israeli intervention in support of the Druze before the US brokered a ceasefire.
The diplomatic source said Syria blamed the violence on Israel and warned that continued 'aggressive policies' threaten regional security. Damascus also demanded the 'immediate withdrawal of Israeli forces from the points they recently advanced to.'
'The unity, integrity, and sovereignty of Syrian territory is a non-negotiable principle, and Suwayda and its people are an integral part of the Syrian state, whose status cannot be compromised or isolated under any pretext,' the source told al-Ikhbariah.
Damascus has agreed to further meetings 'with the aim of continuing discussions and evaluating steps that would consolidate stability and contain tension in the south,' the source said.
