UAE mediating secret talks between Israel and Syria, sources tell Reuters

The United Arab Emirates has set up a backchannel for talks between Israel and Syria, three people familiar with the matter said, as Syria's new rulers seek regional help to manage an increasingly hostile relationship with their southern neighbour.

The indirect contacts, which have not been previously reported, are focused on security and intelligence matters and confidence-building between two states with no official relations, a person with direct knowledge of the matter, a Syrian security source, and a regional intelligence official, said.

The first source described the effort, which began days after Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa visited the UAE on April 13, as currently focused on "technical matters," and said there was no limit to what may eventually be discussed.

The senior Syrian security source told Reuters the backchannel was limited strictly to security-related issues, focusing on several counterterrorism files.

The source said that purely military matters, particularly those concerning Israeli army activities in Syria, fell outside the scope of the current channel.

The intelligence source said UAE security officials, Syrian intelligence officials, and former Israeli intelligence officials were involved in the mechanism, among others.

They spoke on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the situation.

Syria's presidency and the UAE foreign ministry did not respond to a request for comment. The Israeli prime minister's office declined to comment.

Reuters