Former US official: Obstacles to Israel-Syria peace

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00:00For people who are watching who think this is all a little early, shouldn't some concessions

00:05and some promises and some assurances be made by the new leadership in Syria before anything

00:13is given to them by way of an olive branch?

00:16I mean, what do you say to that?

00:18Well, I would caution in viewing the situation between Syria and Israel or Lebanon and Israel

00:24in any way similar to the way it is between the Israelis and Palestinians.

00:28You just don't have the same number of challenges and conflicts and problems as you do between

00:35the Israelis and Palestinians, for example.

00:36So as it is, it is an easier deal to make between the Syrians and Israelis.

00:42Yes, with any peace deal, you have a series of steps that would need to happen.

00:46You have mutual recognition.

00:47You have a promise to respect each other's borders, of course.

00:52You have with Syria specifically, you have the question of the Golan Heights, which is

00:55a significant one.

00:56That's not something that the Lebanese have, for example.

00:59So you do have these things, but they are surmountable.

01:03And the reason for that is that al-shara sees the light on the other side.

01:09He sees that peace would come with acceptance in the international financial system.

01:14Already Trump has removed sanctions.

01:16But the Trump administration was also very clear that that removal of sanctions comes with

01:21an invitation to join the Abraham Accords.

01:23And they are working on that at the moment.

01:25And they are working on that at the moment.