US envoy says Washington can play ‘honest intermediary’ between Israel and Syria

The US envoy to Syria is urging Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa to recalibrate his policies and embrace a more inclusive approach after a new round of sectarian bloodshed last week, or risk losing international support and fragmenting the country.

Thomas Barrack says he advised Sharaa in private discussions to revisit elements of the pre-war army structure, scale back Islamist indoctrination and seek regional security assistance.

In an interview in Beirut, Barrack tells Reuters that without swift change, Sharaa risks losing the momentum that once propelled him to power. Barrack says the new government should consider being “more inclusive quicker” when it comes to integrating minorities into the ruling structure.

But he also pushes back against reports that Syrian security forces were responsible for violence against Druze civilians last week. He claims that Islamic State group members may have been disguised in government uniforms and that social media videos are easily doctored and therefore unreliable.

“The Syrian troops haven’t gone into the city. These atrocities that are happening are not happening by the Syrian regime troops. They’re not even in the city because they agreed with Israel that they would not go in,” he says.

The US envoy says that Israel’s strikes on the Druze city of Sweida last week only added to the “confusion” in Syria.

Barrack says his message to Israel is to have dialogue to alleviate their concerns about Syria’s new Sunni leaders and that the US could play the role of an “honest intermediary” to help resolve any concerns.

He says Sharaa signaled from the beginning of his rule that Israel was not his enemy and that he could normalize ties in due time.

According to a report earlier this evening, Barrack is slated to mediate direct Israel-Syria talks later this week, possibly in Azerbaijan.