U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Wednesday that an agreement had been reached to restore calm in Syria by the end of the day, describing the current situation as a “misunderstanding” following Israeli strikes on Damascus and southern Syria.
“We have agreed on specific measures that will put an end to this troubling and terrifying situation by tonight,” Rubio wrote on X, adding that he now expected “all parties to uphold their commitments.”
Rubio, who also serves as National Security Advisor, did not elaborate on what these “specific measures” were or whom he had spoken with.
Earlier, he had expressed hope for an imminent “de-escalation” in Syria.
“We’ve been engaged with both parties throughout the morning and overnight, and we believe we are on a path toward genuine de-escalation,” he said in the Oval Office, seated alongside President Donald Trump and the Crown Prince of Bahrain.
“In the coming hours, we hope to see real progress,” he added, while acknowledging the complexity of the situation.
“It’s complicated,” Rubio said, citing “longstanding historical rivalries among different groups in southwestern Syria—Bedouins, the Druze community—which have led to an unfortunate situation and, it seems, a misunderstanding between the Israeli and Syrian sides.”
According to local sources, an Israeli drone targeted a convoy belonging to Syria’s General Security Directorate in Sweida province on Wednesday, amid ongoing ceasefire efforts.
Syrian army units also began withdrawing from Sweida province on Wednesday, in what appears to be part of a broader agreement aimed at easing tensions and restoring calm following several days of deadly clashes.
The Syrian army "has begun withdrawing from the city of Sweida in implementation of the terms of the adopted agreement after the end of the sweep of the city for outlaw groups," a defense ministry statement said, without mentioning the withdrawal of any other government security forces deployed to the city.
Earlier in the day, Israel bombed the Syrian army’s headquarters in Damascus after threatening to intensify strikes on government forces if they did not withdraw from the Druze-majority region of Sweida, where over 300 people have been killed in recent violence.
U.S. State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce called on the Syrian government to withdraw its troops from the conflict zone in southern Syria to ease tensions with Israel.
“We are calling on the Syrian government to pull back its forces to allow all parties to de-escalate and work toward a solution,” she told reporters, without specifying the exact area where a withdrawal should occur.
She declined to say whether the U.S., Israel’s main military ally, had requested that the Israeli strikes cease.
Earlier in the day, Rubio had voiced deep concern over the situation in Syria, urging an end to the fighting.
“We are speaking to both sides, all involved parties, and we hope to reach a resolution, but we are very concerned,” he said in response to a question about the Israeli strikes.
Rubio added that he had spoken to various parties by phone, though he did not name them.
He noted that the U.S. had secured a ceasefire the previous night, but that it was “immediately broken,” offering no further details.
Speaking on the violence in southern Syria, Rubio warned that it posed “a direct threat to efforts aimed at building a peaceful and stable Syria.”
AFP
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