DAMASCUS:
A Syrian and an Israeli official are expected to meet in Baku later Saturday on the sidelines of President Ahmed al-Sharaa’s visit to Azerbaijan, a diplomatic source in Damascus with knowledge of the issue said.
“There will be a meeting between a Syrian official and an Israeli official on the sidelines of the visit being conducted by Sharaa in Baku,” said the source, who requested anonymity due to the sensitivity of the issue.
Israel is a major arms supplier to Azerbaijan and has a significant diplomatic presence in the Caucasus nation which neighbours its arch foe Iran.
The diplomatic source stressed that Sharaa himself would not attend the Baku meeting, which would focus on “the recent Israeli military presence in Syria”.
After the overthrow of longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad in December, Israel carried out hundreds of air strikes in Syria to prevent key military assets falling into the hands of the Islamist-led interim administration headed by Sharaa.
