Syria leader in US, plays down Israel normalization

Syria’s new leader Ahmed Al-Sharaa, visiting New York for the UN General Assembly, voiced hope Monday for a security deal that eases tensions with Israel but he played down the prospect of recognition.

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Sharaa, a former rebel whose forces toppled longtime leader Bashar Al-Assad in December, met US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and later will deliver the first address in decades by a Syrian leader to the General Assembly.

Syrian officials have set a goal of reaching military and security agreements by the end of the year with Israel, whose military has repeatedly battered its neighbor and longtime adversary in the chaos since Assad’s fall.