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☆ Arabs bring Syria's Assad back into fold but want action on drugs trade
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-09 | by ( Maya Gebeily | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

Hezbollah, which deployed fighters to Syria to aid Assad's war efforts, has denied any role in the drugs trade. Aided by Iran and Russia, Assad steadily beat back his rebel enemies, some of whom had support from U.S.-allied Arab states that have now restored ties. The United States, United Kingdom and European Union have all placed new sanctions on Damascus in recent weeks over captagon. The United States has said it will not normalize ties with Assad and its sanctions remain in full effect. "I would put ending the captagon trade right at the top alongside the other issues", she said.

[1/6] A general view shows the opening session of the meeting of Arab foreign ministers at the Arab League Headquarters, to discuss the Sudan and Syrian situations, in Cairo, Egypt May 7, 2023. It was taken at a closed meeting of foreign ministers at the Arab League's headquarters in Cairo, said Gamal Roshdy, spokesman for the Arab League's secretary general. While Arab states including the United Arab Emirates have pushed for Syria and Assad's rehabilitation, others, including Qatar, have remained opposed to full normalisation without a political solution to the Syrian conflict. Syria's membership of the Arab League was suspended in 2011 after a crackdown on street protests against Assad that led to a devastating civil war, and many Arab states pulled their envoys out of Damascus. Recently, Arab states have been trying to reach consensus on whether to invite Assad to an Arab League summit on May 19 in Riyadh to discuss the pace of normalising ties and on what terms Syria could be allowed back.

☆ Arab nations set to rehabilitate Syria’s pariah president in defiance of US
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-05 | by ( Nadeen Ebrahim | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

Officials and analysts have said that Syria’s re-admission into the Arab League, while symbolic, comes with the hope that it could pave the way for President Bashar Al Assad’s rehabilitation internationally, and potentially the removal of crippling sanctions against his regime. Arab states have argued that the status quo in Syria is untenable and has caused them a headache at home. Syria has over the past decade turned into a narco-state, exporting highly addictive amphetamines across the border to Jordan and to Saudi Arabia. It’s unclear if the US will stand in the way of Arab states’ efforts to bring Syria back into the regional fold. “The US will not impose a veto on their allies when it comes to normalization with Assad,” said Hellyer.

journalist Austin Tice, reacts after a news conference in Beirut, Lebanon December 4, 2018. Austin Tice, a former U.S. Marine and a freelance journalist, was kidnapped in August 2012 while reporting in Damascus on the uprising against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. President Joe Biden last year said Washington knows "with certainty" that Tice has at times been held by the Syrian government. "We’re extensively engaged with regard to Austin – engaged with Syria, engaged with third countries – seeking to find a way to get him home. The Wall Street Journal on Wednesday reported that the Biden administration has renewed direct talks with Syria over Tice's case and those of other Americans, citing Middle East officials familiar with the efforts.

☆ Arab ministers discuss how to normalise ties with Syria
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-01 | by ( Suleiman Al-Khalidi | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

AMMAN, May 1 (Reuters) - A group of Arab foreign ministers held a landmark meeting with their Syrian counterpart in Jordan on Monday to discuss how to normalise ties with Syria as part of a political settlement of the country's more than decade-old conflict, officials said. Jordan has called on Syria to engage with Arab states jointly on a step-by-step roadmap to end the conflict, tackling the issues of refugees, detainees, drug smuggling and Iran-backed militias in Syria - all of which affect its neighbours. Amman has been fighting armed groups smuggling narcotics from Syria, including the highly-addictive amphetamine captagon. Arab states and those most impacted by the conflict are trying to reach consensus on whether to invite Assad to the Arab League summit on May 19 in Riyadh, to discuss the pace of normalising ties with Assad and on what terms Syria could be allowed back. Washington, which said it would not change its policy towards the Syrian government which it terms a "rogue" state, has urged Arab states to get something in return for engaging with Assad.

☆ Syrian refugees deported from Lebanon face arrest, conscription, say relatives
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-01 | by ( Maya Gebeily | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

[1/5] Youssef, a Syrian refugee and single father of two girls, attends an interview with Reuters, in Beirut, Lebanon April 26, 2023. One refugee told Reuters he and his three brothers were detained in a raid on a camp in Lebanon in late April. Another refugee said he was briefly held by the Fourth Division after being deported but paid smugglers to return to Lebanon. The Access Center for Human Rights (ACHR), a rights organisation, said it had documented the detention of at least two deported Syrians by the Fourth Division. Youssef, a Syrian refugee and single father-of-two, said he was so afraid of being deported and conscripted that he had stopped leaving his home in Lebanon.

☆ Jordan to host talks on Syria's return to Arab League
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-30 | by ( Suleiman Al-Khalidi | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Summary Meeting brings Syrian FM together with group of Arab statesJordan seeks an Arab-led peace road mapAMMAN, April 30 (Reuters) - Jordan will host a meeting of Arab foreign ministers and Syria's top diplomat on Monday to discuss Syria's return to the Arab League as part of a broader political settlement of Syria's more than decade-old conflict, officials said. The meeting comes two weeks after talks in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia between the Gulf Cooperation Council, as well as Egypt, Jordan and Iraq, failed to reach agreement on Syria's possible return to the Arab fold. Arab states and those most affected by the conflict are trying to reach consensus on whether to invite Assad to the Arab League summit on May 19 in Riyadh, to discuss the pace of normalising ties with Assad and on what terms Syria could be allowed back. Officials said the Jordanian initiative calls on Damascus to engage with Arab governments collectively on a step-by-step road map to end the conflict. At the Jeddah meeting there was resistance to the move to invite Assad to the Arab League summit, with Qatar, Jordan and Kuwait saying it was premature before Damascus accepts to negotiate a peace plan.

☆ Iranian president to visit Syria next week
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BEIRUT, April 28 (Reuters) - Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi will visit Damascus next week, a senior regional source close to the Syrian government told Reuters on Friday. The visit will be the first by an Iranian president to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad since war broke out in Syria in 2011. The senior regional source told Reuters that a warming of ties between Saudi Arabia and Iran, as well as a thaw in Arab states' isolation of Syria, had paved the way for the visit. This month, regional sources revealed that Iran had secretly brought weapons and other military equipment to Syria by disguising the transfers as part of the relief effort following the devastating February earthquakes in Syria and Turkey. Reporting by Laila Bassam, Writing by Maya Gebeily; Editing by Kevin LiffeyOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Saudi Arabia, Syria welcome thaw in ties, agree to fight drug trafficking
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-12 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/3] Deputy Minister of Saudi Foreign Ministry, Waleed El Khereiji meets with Syrian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates, Faisal Mekdad in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, April 12, 2023. Saudi Press Agency/Handout via REUTERSRIYADH, April 12 (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia and Syria's foreign ministers on Wednesday welcomed a thaw in bilateral ties, including steps to resume consular services and flights, and agreed to cooperate to fight drug trafficking and facilitate Syria's return to the Arab fold. Assad, with the help of his main allies Iran and Russia, regained control over much of Syria, and Saudi Arabia has said isolating him was not working. Much of it is thought to be sold to buyers in Gulf Arab countries, including Saudi Arabia. Mekdad's trip to Jeddah came two days before Saudi Arabia hosts another meeting of regional foreign ministers that will discuss Syria's return to the Arab League.

☆ Ministers may meet in Moscow to advance Turkey-Syria ties
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-10 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

ANKARA, April 10 (Reuters) - The foreign ministers of Turkey, Russia, Iran and Syria may hold consultations in early May as part of Russia's attempt to help broker a rapprochement between the Turkish and Syrian governments, Turkey' foreign minister said on Monday. "The meeting will most probably take place in early May, in Moscow," Minister Mevlut Cavusoğlu told broadcaster A Haber, saying it could lead to a leaders' meeting. Syrian and Turkish defence ministers held talks in Moscow in December in the highest-level encounter since the war began. Moscow is Assad's main ally and Russia has encouraged a reconciliation with Ankara. But Damascus demands full withdrawal of Turkish troops for relations to be restored.

☆ Factbox: In Middle East, once improbable ententes set new tone
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-06 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

Some U.S. allies had concluded their interests are not best served by a highly polarised Middle East, he added. The agreement between leading Sunni Arab power Saudi Arabia and the Shi'ite Islamist government in Tehran could defuse tensions and conflicts such as the Yemen war. Saudi Arabia has turned to China at a time of strain in its historic alliance with the United States. Saudi Arabia took the lead in rebuilding ties in 2021, declaring an end to the boycott of Qatar. Sources say Syria and Saudi Arabia have agreed to reopen embassies.

Gamal Roshdy, spokesperson for the Arab League secretary general, said the organisation is not privy to every move on the bilateral level between Arab countries. Assad's attendance at an Arab League summit would mark the most significant development in his rehabilitation within the Arab world since 2011, when Syria was suspended from the organisation. The Saudi foreign ministry did not confirm an agreement was reached but said it was in talks with the Syrian foreign ministry to resume consular services. Arab League heavyweight Egypt has also resumed contacts with Assad. An Egyptian security source told Reuters the visit was aimed at putting in place steps for Syria's return to the Arab League through Egyptian and Saudi mediation.

☆ Lebanon has 'no other way out' than IMF deal, U.S. official says
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-30 | by ( Maya Gebeily | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/3] Retired Lebanese army officer holds Lebanese pound banknotes during a protest over the deteriorating economic situation in Beirut, Lebanon March 30, 2023. REUTERS/Emilie MadiBEIRUT, March 30 (Reuters) - Lebanon has no alternative for economic recovery but to make progress on a deal with the International Monetary Fund, a senior U.S. official said on Thursday. Leaf said in an online briefing she had urged Lebanese officials to make progress on the full deal and to end a months-long vacuum in the presidency. Leaf said that talks between Israeli and Palestinian officials in Egypt and Jordan in recent weeks had "very slowly, painstakingly" been moving towards de-escalation. Reporting by Maya Gebeily; Editing by Alex Richardson, Alison Williams and Jonathan OatisOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ U.S. sanctions Syrian leader Assad's cousins, others over drug trade -Treasury
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

It said the trade in captagon was estimated to be a billion-dollar enterprise and the sanctions highlight the role of Lebanese drug traffickers and the Assad family dominance of captagon trafficking, which helped fund the Syrian government. Assad's government denies involvement in drug-making and smuggling and says it is stepping up its campaign to curb the lucrative trade. Also sanctioned were Khalid Qaddour, who the Treasury said was a Syrian businessman and close associate of Bashar al-Assad's brother, the head of the army's Fourth Division. Hassan Daqqou was sentenced in 2021 to seven years in prison in Lebanon on charges of captagon trafficking, according to the same source. Reporting by Doina Chiacu, Daphne Psaledakis and Brendan O'Brien in Chicago; editing by Mark HeinrichOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Summary Saudi Arabia, Syria cut ties more than a decade agoAgreement on reopening embassies follows Saudi-Iran dealBEIRUT/RIYADH, March 23 (Reuters) - Syria and Saudi Arabia have agreed to reopen their embassies after cutting diplomatic ties more than a decade ago, three sources with knowledge of the matter said, a step that would mark a leap forward in Damascus's return to the Arab fold. Contacts between Riyadh and Damascus had gathered momentum following a landmark agreement to re-establish ties between Saudi Arabia and Iran, a key ally of President Bashar al-Assad, a regional source aligned with Damascus said. The decision was the result of talks in Saudi Arabia with a senior Syrian intelligence official, according to one of the regional sources and a diplomat in the Gulf. The United States and several of its regional allies, including Sunni-led Saudi Arabia and Qatar, had backed some of the Syrian rebels. But Saudi Arabia has been moving far more cautiously.

JANDARIS, Syria, March 22 (Reuters) - Hussein Mankawi has little hope he will ever rebuild his home and food distribution businesses in the north-west Syrian city of Jandaris after they were reduced to rubble by last month's deadly earthquake, wiping out his life's work. There is nothing but tents," he said, standing by the mangled ruins of his home in the rebel-held region. The Feb. 6 earthquakes were the worst modern-day natural disasters to strike Syria and Turkey, killing more than 56,000 people across the two countries. The U.N. says more than 100,000 people have been displaced in the region since the first quake struck on Feb. 6. "We were looking for a better life," he said as he waited to be let through the border with his family.

☆ Qatar’s emir criticises delay in aid to earthquake victims in Syria
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-05 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

DOHA, March 5 (Reuters) - Qatar's emir said on Sunday he was puzzled by the delay in delivering aid to victims of last month's earthquake in Syria, adding that it was wrong to abuse humanitarian aid for political purposes, in an apparent swipe at the Syrian government. The death toll in Turkey has risen to above 45,000, bringing the total toll including Syria to about 51,000. In Syria, the northwest region controlled by rebels at war with President Bashar al-Assad was the worst hit. The United Nations has called for access by all parties in Syria, already devastated by years of civil war, in order to scale up aid deliveries. Other aid agencies say hardline rebels have blocked aid deliveries from government-held parts of Syria, further complicating efforts.

Summary Egyptian FM says 'goal of visit primarily humanitarian'And to 'pass on our solidarity' from people of EgyptArab League suspended Syria in 2011DAMASCUS, Feb 27 (Reuters) - Egypt's foreign minister met Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu on Monday in the first visits to Syria and Turkey by a top Egyptian diplomat in a decade. "The goal of the visit is primarily humanitarian, and to pass on our solidarity – from the leadership, the government and the people of Egypt to the people of Syria," Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry told reporters in Damascus. "When the foreign minister of Egypt comes to Damascus, he comes to his home, his people, and his country," Mekdad said. Shoukry also visited Turkey, pointing to another shift in Egypt's foreign ties. "Foreign minister offers condolences for the victims of earthquake, affirms solidarity of Egyptian leadership, government and people with Turkey, and asserting continuity of aid for supporting Turkey and its brotherly people," Ahmed Abu Zeid, spokesperson for Egypt's Foreign Ministry, said.

☆ Egypt's foreign minister to visit Syria, Turkey on Monday
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-26 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Feb 26 (Reuters) - Egypt's Sameh Shoukry will travel to Damascus on Monday in the first visit by an Egyptian foreign minister since Syria's conflict erupted in 2011, according to a statement by the Egyptian foreign ministry. Shoukry will visit Turkey and Syria - both hit hard by a deadly earthquake on Feb. 6 - to "convey a message of solidarity from Egypt with the two countries" according to the foreign ministry statement. Turkey's foreign ministry confirmed the visit, saying Shoukry will hold talks with his Turkish counterpart Mevlut Cavusoglu and visit the southern province of Adana and the port of Mersin, where an Egyptian aid ship is set to arrive. Egypt's President Abdul Fattah al-Sisi spoke with Assad by phone for the first time on Feb. 7 and on Sunday, a delegation of top parliamentarians from around the region - including Egypt's parliament speaker - met Assad in Damascus. Relations began thawing in 2021, part of a push by Turkey to ease tensions with several regional powers.

☆ Syria's Assad meets senior Arab lawmakers in Damascus
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-26 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/3] Syrian parliament members and Parliamentary Speaker Hammouda Sabbagh meet with a delegation from the Arab Inter-Parliamentary Union in Damascus, Syria February 26, 2023. They met with Syrian parliamentarians and with Assad, according to Syrian state news agency SANA. The Arab League suspended Syria's membership in 2011 and many Arab countries pulled their envoys out of Damascus. Assad then traveled to Oman on Feb. 20 - the first time he left Syria since the quake. Assad's 2022 visit to the UAE was his first trip to an Arab state since the 2011 outbreak of war.

The senior source familiar with Syrian government thinking said that the UAE role in persuading Assad should not be underestimated. A Syrian source close to the Gulf said the UAE had used its "soft power" on Assad and a Turkish official also said the UAE had played a part in persuading him. Moscow has tussled with Western states repeatedly at the Security Council over cross-border aid into Syria, arguing it violates Syria's sovereignty. Other Arab states, including U.S. allies, have also moved to normalise ties with Assad. The UAE official said there was an "urgent need to strengthen the Arab role in Syria".

[1/2] Police officers stand amid the rubble of a damaged building at the site of a rocket attack in the Kafr Sousa neighbourhood of central Damascus, Syria, February 19, 2023. Its support for Damascus and the Lebanese group Hezbollah has drawn regular Israeli air strikes meant to curb Tehran's extraterritorial military power. A source close to the Syrian government with knowledge of Sunday's strike and its target said it hit a gathering of Syrian and Iranian technical experts in drone manufacturing, though he said no top-level Iranian was killed. "The strike hit the centre where they were meeting as well as an apartment in a residential building. On Sunday, the Iranian Foreign Ministry condemned what it described as attacks on "residential buildings in Damascus which killed and maimed innocent Syrian citizens".

☆ Quake deals new blow to Syrian medics after years of war
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-21 | by ( Khalil Ashawi | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

AL-DANA, Syria, Feb 21 (Reuters) - As a nurse working near the frontlines of the Syrian war, Ibrahim Zeidan endured many desperate moments including when shelling destroyed a hospital, leaving him trapped by rubble. But he says an earthquake which hit the region on Feb. 6 has proved the most difficult challenge yet for medics in the rebel-held region, overwhelming health facilities already battered by more than a decade of conflict. The night of the disaster, Zeidan oversaw the evacuation of infants from the hospital where he was working in the town of al-Dana. CCTV footage from the hospital showed masonry falling and equipment shaking as the quake struck. Zeidan previously worked at a hospital that operated out of a cave in the Kafr Zeita region of the rebel-held northwest.

The quake killed at least 36,187 in southern Turkey, while authorities in neighbouring Syria have reported 5,800 deaths - a figure that has changed little in days. While several people were found alive in Turkey on Wednesday, the number of rescues has dwindled significantly. Neither Turkey nor Syria have said how many people are still missing. More than 4,000 fatalities have been reported in the rebel-held northwest, but rescuers say nobody has been found alive there since Feb. 9. Deliveries from Turkey were severed completely in the immediate aftermath of the earthquake, when a route used by the United Nations was temporarily blocked.

☆ Syria quake response needs outstrip resources, Assad says
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-16 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/2] People search under the rubble of a damaged building, in the aftermath of an earthquake, in rebel-held town of Jandaris, Syria February 15, 2023. "The scale of the disaster and the duties we must undertake are much greater than available resources," Assad said in his first televised address since the earthquake struck last Monday. The U.N. has said nearly 9 million Syrians were affected by the quake and launched a $400 million appeal to cover immediate humanitarian needs over the next three months. The quake eased Assad's international isolation after more than 11 years of civil war, with aid pouring in mostly from Arab states, including Saudi Arabia, which had funded the armed opposition to his government. Senior diplomats also met with him in Damascus including Jordan's foreign minister on Wednesday in the first such meeting since the war began.

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