U.S. envoy Thomas Barrack’s call for a Syrian governance model “short of federalism” landed as President Ahmed al-Sharaa said Damascus is in “advanced” talks with Israel on a security arrangement based on the 1974 disengagement lines, according to regional media reports and officials.
Barrack met Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem on Sunday to discuss Syria and Lebanon, Israeli officials said. Axios first reported the meeting, which followed Barrack’s consultations with Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer and Defense Minister Israel Katz. U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee also joined, and the U.S. team is due in Beirut, with Senator Lindsey Graham expected to take part, according to the same reports.
In remarks to Arab journalists, Sharaa said talks with Israel were progressing on a framework rooted in the 1974 disengagement line established after the 1973 war. Israeli television reports described draft principles that include demilitarization on the Syrian side of the Golan Heights, restrictions on weapons that could threaten Israel, and a humanitarian corridor to the Druze-majority Jabal al-Druze. In exchange, Syria would receive rehabilitation support from the United States and Gulf partners. Neither government has publicly confirmed the full package.
The diplomatic push overlaps with Barrack’s recent argument that Syria should consider alternatives to an “overly centralized” state. He has framed the goal as preserving communities’ “integrity, culture, and language” while avoiding a slide toward federalism. Those remarks were welcomed by minority and indigenous constituencies — including Syriac (Assyrian-Chaldean-Aramean) and Druze leaders — who have pressed for meaningful local authority and cultural protections after years of conflict.
Damascus has signaled resistance to formal federal or canton models and has moved to consolidate central control. Earlier this week, authorities excluded Deir ez-Zor, Raqqa, Hasakah and Sweida from upcoming parliamentary elections, citing security concerns — a step that drew criticism from actors in the northeast aligned with the Democratic Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (DAANES).
On the Lebanon file, Barrack backed a phased plan under which Hezbollah would disarm by year-end in exchange for an Israeli halt to air, ground and sea operations and a subsequent troop pullback from the south, according to statements from the envoy and Lebanese officials. Israel has not publicly committed to the roadmap. Hostilities over the past year displaced tens of thousands in northern Israel and southern Lebanon.
Tensions on the ground continue to test diplomacy. Syrian state media accused Israel of a limited incursion near Mount Hermon even as the talks were reported to advance; Israeli outlets characterized recent activity as routine security measures.
