Al-Sharaa jokes to Trump about offering New Jersey for the Golan Heights

Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa said he joked with U.S. President Donald Trump about the Golan Heights during a session held in New York. Al-Sharaa said negotiations with Israel had made no progress and that lasting peace could not be established without guarantees for Syria’s territorial integrity and security.

Syrian President al-Sharaa jokes to Trump about giving Golan Heights New Jersey

Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa said that, in a joke about U.S. President Donald Trump’s recognition of Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights, he told Trump that he had no authority to give the territory to Israel. Al-Sharaa said he could offer New Jersey instead.

Al-Sharaa spoke at a session held in New York on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly meetings and moderated by former U.S. official Brett McGurk. Saying that the Golan Heights belonged to the people of the region, Al-Sharaa said that no leader had the right to relinquish the territory or give it to another party.

Stalemate in negotiations with Israel

Al-Sharaa said the parties had come close to an agreement each time during negotiations with Israel, but argued that Israel had stepped back for various reasons at the final stage of the process. Saying that progress halted when the talks had reached about 90 percent of an agreement, Al-Sharaa said the Damascus administration was continuing to pursue diplomacy, dialogue and negotiations.

Al-Sharaa claimed that Israel had continued attacking Syria after the previous administration was overthrown, taken control of new areas, carried out operations inside the country, made arrests and launched attacks on various locations. He said they had responded to these developments through diplomatic means.

According to Al-Sharaa, the first priority was for Israel to withdraw from the areas it had controlled after December 8, 2024, and return to the 1974 positions. Saying that security arrangements could be discussed after this step, Al-Sharaa said lasting peace could be addressed if the arrangements succeeded.

Al-Sharaa said the Golan Heights was recognized by the United Nations as Syrian territory and that its status was not open to debate. He added that Israel’s security concerns were also being considered in the negotiations and said an international committee could be established to examine those concerns.

Gaza and regional security

Al-Sharaa said he understood the security concerns Israelis had experienced after the October 7 events, but that those events could not become the basis for all policies toward Syria. Saying that what had happened in Gaza also needed to be taken into account, Al-Sharaa said more than 70,000 people, including many women and children, had been killed.

Arguing that security could not be achieved without respecting the security of others, Al-Sharaa said Israel needed to change its policies. Referring to attacks on airports and the presidential palace in Syria and arrests carried out on Syrian territory, Al-Sharaa said it was necessary to question how these attacks had enhanced the security of Israelis.

Foreign military presence in Syria

Al-Sharaa said they wanted Syria to have no foreign military bases and for state sovereignty to be fully established. He said that when the new administration arrived in Damascus, it inherited Russia’s military presence in the country. He added that the number of Russian bases had been reduced from approximately 170 to two.

Al-Sharaa said the two bases were planned to be used to train the Syrian army and would not be used to conduct operations against other countries or provide logistical support. Saying that talks with Russia were continuing, Al-Sharaa noted that the points agreed upon had been incorporated into a memorandum of understanding currently in force.

Al-Sharaa said that any foreign military presence in Syria had to be approved by the People’s Assembly and have a legal status. He also addressed the withdrawal of U.S. forces from the country, saying that it had taken place without a war and through mutual understanding. He added that the Syrian state had taken control of the relevant areas.

Kurdish rights and the political transition

Al-Sharaa said the Syrian state had established control over most of the country, particularly in areas previously controlled by the Syrian Democratic Forces. Saying that relations with Kurdish society should be kept separate from the integration of an armed group into the state, Al-Sharaa said Kurds were part of Syrian society.

Al-Sharaa said the decree recognizing the cultural and linguistic rights of Kurds had been issued before the integration of armed elements and would become part of the Constitution. He said teams from the Ministry of Education were carrying out technical work on its implementation and that instructions had been issued for Kurdish to be taught as an elective subject for two lessons a week in some areas.

Al-Sharaa said the People’s Assembly would establish two committees to review laws and prepare a draft constitution as part of the political transition. He said the process could be completed before the end of the five-year transition period. He added that the transition was advancing through the establishment of security, the convening of a national conference, the publication of a constitutional declaration, the formation of a government and elections for the People’s Assembly.

Al-Sharaa said the elections were not perfect but were suitable for the current period. Saying that the transition period should not be viewed as a permanent model of government, Al-Sharaa said the administration aimed to uphold the rule of law and institutional governance rather than divide power according to ethnic, religious or geographic quotas.

Presidential election and neighboring countries

Asked whether he would run in future presidential elections, Al-Sharaa replied that he had not yet made a decision on the matter. Saying that his priority was to serve the people and develop the country economically and politically, Al-Sharaa said he could run for office to assume responsibility if he deemed it necessary.

Al-Sharaa said they supported strengthening the Beirut government and state institutions regarding Lebanon and that weapons should be brought under state control. He said Syria was trying to help improve economic, social and political conditions in Lebanon and was communicating with the government on implementing the Taif Agreement.

Al-Sharaa said they wanted to strengthen economic ties with Iraq and that a project was being developed to connect Iraqi oil fields with Syrian ports. He said the route could provide an alternative to Bab el-Mandeb and the Suez Canal for transporting oil, adding that it had existed since the 1950s but had not been used because of political problems.

Al-Sharaa said relations with the Kurdistan Regional Government of Iraq were very good and that the sides cooperated in economic and security fields. He added that the regional government had helped Syria during the process of integrating the Syrian Democratic Forces into the state structure.

Army restructuring and comments on his past

Al-Sharaa said armed groups had been disbanded, weapons had been brought together under a single army and training camps had been established during the restructuring of the Syrian army. He said that, at the beginning of the transition, large numbers of people had been accepted quickly to prevent the country from breaking apart. Acknowledging that incidents had occurred within the army and security institutions during this process, Al-Sharaa said various countries had provided training support to help professionalize the Syrian forces.

Al-Sharaa said he had no connection to the September 11 attacks and that he had previously answered questions about alleged past ties to al-Qaeda. Saying that conditions in the region had pushed many young people toward certain orientations in the past, Al-Sharaa argued that his own motivation had been to end the persecution of people in the face of allegations of killings, arrests, torture and chemical weapons use during the previous administration.

The Austin Tice case

Addressing the case of missing U.S. journalist Austin Tice, Al-Sharaa said he had met Tice’s mother and brought her together with his own mother, who had waited for years for news because she believed her son had been killed. Estimating that approximately 150,000 people were still missing in Syria, Al-Sharaa said the National Institution for Missing Persons was seeking to benefit from international expertise in forensic medicine and criminal investigations.

Al-Sharaa said he could not disclose all the details of Austin Tice’s case because it contained security and intelligence information. However, he said they tried to pass on every piece of information as they reached the family.