A fifth round of talks between Israel and Syria started on Monday in Paris, the first meetings in nearly two months, after progress toward a security arrangement between the two countries stalled.

The negotiations were expected to last two days, Axios reported on Sunday, citing an Israeli official and another source with knowledge of the details.

Syrian state news agency SANA reported that the talks, mediated by the US, resumed on Monday.

SANA, citing a Syrian government source, said the Syrian delegation was led by Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shibani and intelligence chief Hussein al-Salama. The resumption of the talks reflected a push by Damascus to reclaim what it describes as its non-negotiable national rights, the source said.

The discussions are focused on reviving a 1974 disengagement agreement that established a UN-monitored buffer zone between Israel and Syria after the 1973 Yom Kippur War, SANA reported.

US President Donald Trump, who has been eager for a deal to be signed, asked Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to restart the talks when they met last week at Mar-a-Lago, according to Axios.

While Netanyahu agrees with Trump that a deal must be reached soon, he has insisted that an agreement not cross........

© The Times of Israel