Reports have now come out that a high-level meeting between Israel and Syria has taken place, supposedly in Jordan. If reports are accurate, the meeting took place to try to ease tensions between the nations after an Israeli air strike on a Syrian airfield. What's interesting is the attendees: Syria's Foreign Minister, which isn't too surprising, and the head of the Israeli Mossad, which is.
The meeting is said to have taken place on Sunday.
High-level Israeli and Syrian officials met Sunday in an effort to lower the temperature between the countries after a recent airbase bombing, according to three sources with knowledge of the matter.
Why it matters: The meeting between Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani and the director of Israel's Mossad spy agency, Roman Gofman, took place days after an Israeli strike on a Syrian airbase sharply escalated tensions between the two countries.
Driving the news: On Tuesday, the Israeli Air Force dropped at least eight bombs on runways and hangars at the Abu al-Duhur airbase in northern Syria, about 45 miles from the Turkish border.
- Israel said the strike was aimed at preventing a Turkish military buildup at the base and that it had intelligence showing Turkey was planning to deploy drones and a radar system there.
Another report indicates there will be more talks in the near future.
Syria expects negotiations to resume soon with Israel over a security deal it hopes will lead to Israel's withdrawal from Syrian land, a top Syrian minister said, urging Israel to seize a "historic opportunity" as the door for diplomacy is open.
In a Reuters interview in Damascus on Saturday, days after Israel bombed a Syrian airbase, Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani also stressed that Damascus' priority is to halt Israeli attacks, saying confidence-building steps were needed in this direction.
The Mossad's involvement in these initial talks must have caused a few raised eyebrows. The Mossad is Israel's national intelligence agency, sort of the equivalent of our CIA and NSA rolled into one, and they are very, very good at what they do. When you are a small country on a strip of land with your backs to the ocean and are surrounded by bitter enemies who want everyone in your nation dead, you tend to develop some pretty good military skills as well as a top-notch intelligence service. That's what the Mossad is.
So, why would the Mossad be in on this round of talks? The top man in the Mossad, at that, if we are to believe these reports? That's a rather interesting question. It's a safe bet the Mossad has assets in Syria; it would be nothing short of insane for them not to have assets in Syria. Could the Mossad be offering some covert help in dealing with Syria's neighbor Turkey, with whom they share a long land border and with whom relations have not always been cordial? Or could the basis of any peace agreement with Syria depend on Damascus handing over, say, some known ISIS members who are sheltering in Syria and whom the Syrian government has to know about?
Mind you all this is speculation. International relations in this part of the world, though, are pretty much the definition of wheels within wheels. Keep an eye on this one.
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