US envoy aims for ‘redefining Turkish-Syrian-Israeli relations,’ says Damascus will help confront Hamas, Hezbollah

Tom Barrack, the US ambassador to Turkey and special envoy for Syria, writes in a lengthy social media post following Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa’s White House visit that the next steps after the meeting include a new stage in relations between Israel, Turkey and Syria.

Barrack writes that among the topics discussed at a meeting between US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan and Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani were “redefining Turkish-Syrian-Israeli relations, and advancing the alignment that underpins the Israel-Hamas ceasefire, as well as various Lebanese border issues.”

He also calls on the US Congress to lift sanctions on Syria. And he says Syria will assist the US in “confronting and dismantling the remnants of ISIS, the IRGC, Hamas, Hizballah, and other terrorist networks.” The IRGC is Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

Barrack, who has reserved harsh criticism for Lebanon in the past, has pushed Middle Eastern countries to join the Abraham Accords and normalize ties with Israel. Israeli-Turkish ties are likewise at something of a nadir after collapsing during the Gaza war.

After his meeting on Monday with US President Donald Trump at the White House, the first ever by a Syrian leader, Sharaa threw cold water on the prospect of Syria normalizing ties with Israel.