Sharaa jokes to Trump about giving New Jersey instead of Golan Heights

Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa said at a United Nations session in New York that he told Donald Trump he had no authority to give the Golan Heights to Israel and could give him New Jersey instead. Sharaa said lasting peace could not be established without ensuring Syria’s territorial integrity and security.

Sharaa jokes to Trump that New Jersey could replace the Golan Heights

Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa said he made a joke about U.S. President Donald Trump’s recognition of Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights, which are occupied by Israel. Sharaa said he told Trump that he had no authority to hand the Golan Heights over to Israel and that he could give him New Jersey instead.

Speaking at a session held in New York as part of the United Nations General Assembly proceedings and moderated by former U.S. official Brett McGurk, Sharaa said the Golan Heights belonged to the people of the region. He said no leader had the right to give up these lands or hand them over to another party.

Dispute in negotiations with Israel

Sharaa said the sides had repeatedly approached an agreement in negotiations with Israel, but that Israel had stepped back for various reasons during the final stage of the talks. Saying the process had stalled after the parties had reached approximately 90 percent of an agreement, Sharaa said the Damascus administration was continuing to pursue diplomacy, dialogue and negotiations.

Sharaa alleged that Israel had continued its attacks on Syria after the previous administration was overthrown, taken control of new areas, conducted operations inside the country, carried out arrests and attacked various locations. He said they had responded to these developments through diplomatic channels.

Sharaa said the first priority was for Israel to withdraw from the areas it had controlled after December 8, 2024, and return to its 1974 positions. He said security arrangements could be addressed only afterward and that lasting peace could be discussed if those arrangements proved successful.

Sharaa said the Golan Heights was recognized by the United Nations as Syrian territory and that the area’s status was not a matter for debate. He said Israel’s security concerns were also being addressed in the negotiations and that an international committee could be established to assess those concerns.

Gaza’s impact on the security debate

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

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

Foreign military presence in Syria

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 said the number of Russian bases had been reduced from approximately 170 to two.

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

Sharaa said all foreign military presence in Syria needed 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. He said the withdrawal had taken place without a war and through mutual understanding, and that the Syrian state had assumed control in the relevant areas.

Kurdish rights and the political transition

Sharaa said the Syrian state had established control across a large part of the country, particularly in areas previously controlled by the Syrian Democratic Forces. He said relations with Kurdish society had to be separated from the process of integrating an armed group under the state umbrella, adding that Kurds were part of Syrian society.

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

Sharaa said the People’s Assembly would establish two committees to review laws and prepare a draft constitution within the framework of the political transition. He said the process could be completed before the end of the five-year transitional period. He said the transition was advancing through the establishment of security, the holding of a national conference, the issuance of a constitutional declaration, the formation of a government and the holding of People’s Assembly elections.

Sharaa said the elections were not flawless but were appropriate for the current period. He said the transitional period should not be viewed as a permanent model of state governance, adding that the administration aimed for the rule of law and institutional governance rather than a power-sharing system based on ethnic, religious or geographic quotas.

Lebanon, Iraq and a possible presidential candidacy

Asked whether he would run in future presidential elections, Sharaa said he had not yet made a decision. He said his priority was to serve the people and develop the country economically and politically, adding that he could run if he deemed it necessary to assume responsibility.

On Lebanon, Sharaa said they supported strengthening the Beirut government and state institutions and placing weapons under state control. He said Syria was seeking to help improve Lebanon’s economic, social and political conditions. He added that they were in communication with the Lebanese government on the implementation of the Taif Agreement.

Sharaa said they wanted to develop economic ties with Iraq and announced that work was under way on a project to connect Iraqi oil fields to Syrian ports. He said the route could provide an alternative to Bab al-Mandeb and the Suez Canal for oil transportation, adding that it had existed since the 1950s but had not been used because of political problems.

Sharaa said relations with the Kurdistan Regional Government of Iraq were very good and that cooperation was taking place in the economic and security fields. He said the regional government had supported Syria in the process of incorporating the Syrian Democratic Forces into the state structure.

Army restructuring and comments on his past

Sharaa said armed groups had been dissolved as part of the restructuring of the Syrian army, weapons had been brought under a single army command and training camps had been established. He said many people had been rapidly accepted at the beginning of the transitional period to prevent the country from disintegrating. Acknowledging that incidents had occurred in the army and security institutions during this process, Sharaa said various countries had provided training support to professionalize Syrian forces.

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. He said conditions in the region had pushed many young people toward certain orientations in the past, adding 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 under the previous administration.

The Austin Tice case

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

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