Head of US military's Central Command meets Syrian leader in Damascus

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DAMASCUS, Syria (AP) — The head of the U.S. military's Central Command held talks Friday with Syria's interim President Ahmad al-Sharaa in Damascus in a rare meeting between the new Syrian leader and a top U.S. military officer.

The visit by Adm. Brad Cooper included U.S. Ambassador and Special Envoy for Syria Thomas Barrack, Central Command said. The two officials met al-Sharaa at the presidential palace in the Syrian capital.

Al-Sharaa’s office issued a statement saying they discussed political and military cooperation and how to boost security and stability in Syria as it struggles to recover after the country's 14-year civil war.

The meeting focused on the threat still posed by the militant Islamic State group, as well as efforts to integrate Syrian armed groups into the government's military, Central Command said.

“Eliminating the ISIS threat in Syria will reduce the risk of an ISIS attack on the U.S. homeland while working towards President Trump’s vision of a prosperous Middle East and a stable Syria at peace with itself and its neighbors,” the command said in a statement.

The United States has hundreds of troops deployed in eastern Syria part of the international coalition to fight IS.

Despite the militant group's defeat in Syria in March 2019, IS sleeper cells still carry deadly attacks in the country, mainly against the U.S.-backed and Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces.

Prisons controlled by the Kurdish-led forces have been holding some 9,000 IS members without trial for years, while al-Hol Camp near the border with Iraq is home to tens of thousands of people, mostly wives, widows and children of IS fighters.

Those held at al-Hol camp include Syrians and Iraqis, as well as nationals from Western and Asian countries who traveled to join IS at the height of its power, after it declared a caliphate in 2014.

Later Friday, al-Sharaa gave an interview to state-run Al-Ikhbariah TV saying that negotiations are still ongoing with Israel to reach a security agreement in the near future.

Since the fall of former President Bashar Assad’s government in early December, Israel has carried out hundreds of airstrikes around the country destroying much of the Syrian army’s assets and captured areas in southern Syria. The push by Israel came despite a 1974 agreement that established a demilitarized separation zone between Israeli and Syrian forces, stationing a U.N. peacekeeping force, known as UNDOF, there to maintain calm.

Asked if an agreement with Israel will be reached before his expected visit to New York to take part in the U.N. General Assembly later this month, al-Sharaa said that negotiations are still ongoing in which he hopes once the deal is reached, Israeli forces will return to where they were before the fall of Assad’s government.

“Israel considered the fall of the regime as Syria’s withdrawal from the 1974 agreement, even though Syria showed its commitment to it from the very first moment,” al-Sharaa said. He added that Syria has demonstrated its commitment to the 1974 ceasefire agreement, sent a message to the United Nations and requested that UNDOF return to its previous role.

“ Negotiations are underway for a security agreement so that Israel returns to the situation as it was before Dec. 8,” al-Sharaa said, referring to when insurgents led by his militant group marched into Damascus removing Assad from power.

Earlier this week, a Russian delegation headed by Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak visited Syria as the two countries work on improving relations after Moscow was a main backer of Assad and joined Syria’s civil war on his side a decade ago.

Al-Sharaa said Syria had multiple ties with Russia in the past, and “we inherited them, so they must be preserved and managed calmly and wisely.”

Speaking about Iran, which was another main backer of Assad and sent thousands of Tehran-backed fighters from the region to fight on his side, al-Sharaa said that “with Iran, the wound was somewhat deeper, but we are not saying there will be a permanent rupture between us and the Iranians.”

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Abou Aljoud reported from Beirut. Associated Press writer Bassem Mroue contributed to this report from Beirut.