DAMASCUS — Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa has ruled out joining the Abraham Accords, stressing that Syria’s conflict with Israel is fundamentally different from that of other Arab states.

Speaking to journalists on Tuesday, Al Sharaa said Syria’s approach is based on “zero problems” with its neighbors, but normalization with Israel is not under consideration.

“The accords were signed with states that had no occupied land or direct conflicts with Israel. Syria’s situation is different, we have the Golan Heights under occupation,” Sharaa said.

The Abraham Accords, signed in 2020 during U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration, normalized ties between Israel and the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Sudan, and Morocco.

Al Sharaa said Damascus’ immediate priority is to revive the 1974 UN-brokered Disengagement Agreement, or establish a similar arrangement, to stabilize southern Syria under international supervision.

The Syrian leader also pointed to his planned participation at the United Nations General Assembly in New York this September — the first by a Syrian president since 1967 — calling it a sign of Syria’s gradual reintegration into international diplomacy.

“This participation is itself a message Syria is no longer in isolation,” he said, noting improved ties in recent years with the U.S., Türkiye, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Qatar, and several European states. — Agencies