Baba UmarWashington DC — The United States has asked Syrian government to pull back its military from the flashpoint area of Sweida in the wake of Israeli bombardment of key Syrian facilities that has left three people dead, 34 wounded and spiked tensions in the volatile region.
"We are calling on the Syrian government to, in fact, withdraw their military in order to enable all sides to de-escalate and find a path forward," State Department spokeswoman Tammy Bruce told reporters, without specifying the exact area.
"And I think that that's obviously the goal because of the nature of what's happened and the secretary's (Marco Rubio) phrasing that this was a misunderstanding, he's optimistic that this can be achieved."
US has not condemned Israeli strikes on the Syrian Defence Ministry, near the presidential palace in the capital Damascus, and elsewhere — attacks that Tel Aviv claims are meant to protect the Druze community.
Bruce declined to comment on whether the United States wanted Israel to halt its strikes.
She also declined to comment on whether the US deems Syrian government targets legitimate for Israeli strikes.
"I'm not going to comment on how Israel makes its decisions about what it feels the need to do," she added.
"We understand, again, that they intervened to protect the Druze … but we are clearly involved in the framework of stopping this and de-escalating. We will no doubt have more answers as the days go on."
'Miscommunication, not escalation'
The Israeli army launched air strikes on Syrian territory since Tuesday, particularly in Sweida where Syrian army deployed forces to restore security following clashes between armed Druze and Bedouin groups that left at least 30 people dead.
On Wednesday, the Syrian Interior Ministry declared a ceasefire agreement with Druze leaders in Sweida.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio also confirmed that there was an agreement to restore calm in Syria by late on Wednesday.
"We have agreed on specific steps that will bring this troubling and horrifying situation to an end tonight," Rubio wrote on X.
Trump has staunchly backed Israel, including in its wars on Gaza and against Iran.
However, he has been prioritising diplomacy with Syria's leadership, seeing an opening following the removal of Bashar al Assad in December.
Asked if US was given advance warning that Israel was going to strike Damascus, Bruce said: "Not that I'm aware of."
"I think that the reaction of the President and Secretary of State indicate that we're reacting as we should when it comes to seeing something that was unexpected and could be resolved."
Bruce refused to call Israeli strikes escalatory, echoing Rubio's framing of the attacks.
"I think that what is clear still comes from the secretary's remarks. Regarding the issue of it being a miscommunication, essentially, and I think that's significantly different than an escalation."
