Reuters, citing “six sources familiar with the matter,” claimed in a report on Nov. 6 that the United States is preparing to establish a military presence at an airbase in Damascus to help enable a security pact that Washington is brokering between Syria and Israel. Reuters claims further that the U.S. plans for the presence in the Syrian capital would be a sign of Syria’s strategic realignment with the U.S. following the last year’s fall of longtime leader Bashar al-Assad, an ally of Iran.
The base sits at the gateway to parts of southern Syria that are expected to make up a demilitarized zone, as part of a non-aggression pact between Israel and Syria. That deal is being mediated by U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration. The report comes as Trump is set to host Syrian President (and Al Qaeda commander) Ahmed al-Sharaa at the White House on Nov. 10, the first such visit by a Syrian head of state.
Two Syrian military sources said the technical talks have been focused on the use of the base for logistics, surveillance, refueling and humanitarian operations, while Syria would retain full sovereignty over the facility. A Syrian defense official said the U.S. had flown to the base in military C-130 transport aircraft, to make sure the runway was usable. A security guard at one of the base’s entrances told Reuters that American aircraft were landing there as part of “tests.” Reuters agreed not to reveal the location of the base.
A source in the Foreign Ministry in Damascus, however, told SANA that the Reuters report about the U.S. military coming to Damascus is “untrue,” but otherwise seemed to endorse its basic thrust. “The current stage marks a transformation in the U.S. position towards direct engagement with the Syrian central government in Damascus, and towards supporting the country’s unity while rejecting any calls for partition,” the source said.
