BEIRUT (AP) — Syria’s foreign minister held a rare direct meeting with an Israeli delegation in Paris on Tuesday, talks that were brokered by the United States as part of a diplomatic push for Syria and Israel to normalize relations despite a recent surge in tensions between them.

Syria's state-run SANA news agency said Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shibani met with Israeli officials to discuss de-escalating tensions and restoring a 1974 ceasefire agreement — a deal that established a demilitarized separation zone between Israeli and Syrian forces and stationed a U.N. peacekeeping force to maintain calm.

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