This is Beirut - Damascus

Erdogan Praises France’s Diplomatic Reengagement in Post-Assad Syria

This is Beirut, 2024-12-18 14:15 - Reading : 1 minute(s)

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan welcomed France's decision to send diplomats to Damascus after the fall of Syria's Bashar al-Assad, in a phone call with President Emmanuel Macron, the presidency said Wednesday. A French delegation arrived Tuesday at the country's embassy in Damascus, the first visit of diplomats from France since ...

UN Calls for Free Elections in Syria

This is Beirut, 2024-12-18 14:10 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

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United Nations special envoy Geir Pedersen called Wednesday for "free and fair elections" in Syria and urged humanitarian assistance to the war-torn country after Bashar al-Assad's ouster this month. Addressing reporters in Damascus, Pedersen said, "There is a lot of hope that we can now see the beginning of a new Syria," which he expressed hope ...

Assad's Fall Opens Path for US Strikes on ISIS

This is Beirut, 2024-12-18 12:00 - Reading : 3 minute(s)

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Bashar al-Assad's overthrow has cleared the way for US strikes against the Islamic State group in areas previously shielded by Syrian and Russian air defenses – but the jihadists may also try to exploit the vacuum left by his fall. The militant group,often referred to as ISIS or IS, rose out of the chaos of the Syrian civil war to seize swathes ...

First Flight Since Assad’s Fall Departs Damascus

This is Beirut, 2024-12-18 11:00 - Reading : less than a minute

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The first flight since the ouster of Syria's president Bashar al-Assad took off on Wednesday from Damascus airport to Aleppo in the country's north, AFP journalists saw. Forty-three people including journalists were on board the Syrian Air Airbus plane. Assad fled Syria as a lightning rebel offensive launched on November 27 wrested from his ...

UN Warns Syria’s War Isn’t Over

This is Beirut, 2024-12-18 09:25 - Reading : 3 minute(s)

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A UN envoy has warned that Syria's protracted conflict "has not ended yet", even as victorious Islamist-led rebels stepped up contacts with governments that deemed ousted president Bashar al-Assad a pariah. The United Nations' special envoy for Syria, Geir Pedersen, said on Tuesday "there have been significant hostilities in the last two weeks, ...

UN Says ‘Ambitious’ Aid to Country Possible as Western Powers Prepare Return

This is Beirut, 2024-12-17 15:30 - Reading : 6 minute(s)

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The United Nations humanitarian chief said Tuesday that he was "encouraged" after meetings in Damascus with Syria's new leaders, saying there was a "basis for ambitious scaling-up of vital humanitarian support", as Western diplomatic missions prepare to return to Damascus. "Moment of cautious hope in Syria," Tom ...

EU Chief Holds Talks on Syria With Turkey’s Erdogan

This is Beirut, 2024-12-17 11:55 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

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European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on Tuesday began talks with Turkish leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan during a key visit following the overthrow of Bashar al-Assad. The talks in the capital Ankara come after the EU Commission announced the launch of an "air bridge" operation to deliver an initial 50 tonnes of health supplies to Syria ...

HTS Leader Jolani Says Syrian Rebel Factions Will Be ‘Disbanded'

This is Beirut, 2024-12-17 09:10 - Reading : 5 minute(s)

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Syria's rebel factions will be "disbanded," the head of the group that led the ouster of Bashar al-Assad has pledged, as the former president denounced the country's new rulers as "terrorists". Assad fled Syria on December 8, as rebels led by Islamist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) captured the capital Damascus, ...

With Assad gone, Syrian pound starts to recover

This is Beirut, 2024-12-16 13:45 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

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The Syrian pound has begun to recover against the dollar after president Bashar al-Assad's ouster, moneychangers and traders said Monday as foreign currencies again became available on the local market. On December 7 -- the day before Damascus fell to a rebel coalition led by the Islamist Hayat Tahrir al-Sham group – the rate had plunged to ...

Syria's Kurds Call for End to All Military Operations in the Country

This is Beirut, 2024-12-16 13:20 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

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Syria's Kurds, who run a semi-autonomous administration in the northeast, called Monday for an end to all fighting in the country and extended a hand to the new authorities in Damascus. Hussein Othman, the head of the administration's executive council, called for "a stop to military operations over the entire Syrian territory in order to begin a ...

Israel Seeking to 'Expand Borders' Through Golan Plan: Turkey

This is Beirut, 2024-12-16 12:05 - Reading : 1 minute(s)

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Turkey on Monday denounced an Israeli plan to double the population living in the occupied and annexed Golan Heights as a bid to "expand its borders". "This decision is a new stage in Israel's goal of expanding its borders through occupation," the foreign ministry said in a statement condemning the move. Israel's government on Sunday approved a ...

EU Sending Envoy to Talk to Syria's New Leaders

This is Beirut, 2024-12-16 10:40 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

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EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said Monday the bloc's envoy to Syria was going to Damascus to talk to the new Islamist-led rulers, as Western powers stepped up engagement after the ouster of Bashar al-Assad. The outreach from Brussels comes after the United States and Britain said they had made contact with the new authorities in Damascus, ...

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