U.S. Ambassador to Turkey and special envoy to Syria Tom Barrack reaffirmed Washington’s backing of Syria’s new government, stating there is “no Plan B” for unifying the war-ravaged country despite ongoing sectarian clashes and Israeli military strikes.
Speaking from Beirut, Barrack criticized Israel’s intervention in southern Syria as poorly timed and disruptive to stabilization efforts. “The killing, the revenge, the massacres on both sides” are “intolerable,” he said, but credited Syria’s leadership for doing “the best they can as a nascent government with very few resources to address the multiplicity of issues that arise in trying to bring a diverse society together.”
Barrack stressed that the U.S. had no role in the Israeli decision. “The United States was not asked, nor did they participate in that decision, nor was it the United States’ responsibility in matters that Israel feels is for its own self-defense.” He added that the strikes “came at a very bad time” and “create another very confusing chapter.”
His comments followed over a week of deadly fighting in Syria’s Sweida province between Druze militias and Sunni Bedouin tribes. Syrian forces initially intervened but sided with the Bedouins before pulling back under a U.S.-brokered ceasefire with Druze factions. Hundreds were killed.
Israel, which maintains close ties with the Druze, launched strikes on Syrian military convoys in Sweida and bombed the Defense Ministry in Damascus. Barrack later announced a ceasefire between Syria and Israel, after which Syrian forces redeployed to help prevent renewed clashes, and evacuations of civilians from both sides began.
The ceasefire only covers Sweida and does not resolve Israel’s broader concerns over military activity south of Damascus. “Whether you accept that Israel can intervene in a sovereign state is a different question,” Barrack said.
He questioned Israel’s strategic goals, suggesting it “would prefer to see Syria fragmented and divided rather than a strong central state in control of the country,” and added, “Strong nation-states are a threat — especially Arab states are viewed as a threat to Israel.” He said Syria’s minorities appear to support unity: “We’re better off together, centralized.”
Barrack said ongoing talks between Damascus and the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces to merge into a national army remain on course. After speaking with SDF commander Mazloum Abdi, he predicted a breakthrough “in the coming weeks.”
Turkey, which opposes Kurdish forces near its border and has tense relations with Israel, has offered to provide defense aid to Syria. Barrack said the U.S. would not intervene, stating, “It’s not in the U.S.’s business or interest to tell any of the surrounding nations with each other what to do.”
