In Damascus meeting, US drops reward for arrest of Syria’s new leader

A senior US diplomat told Syria’s new leader Ahmed Al-Sharaa on Friday that Washington was scrapping a reward for his arrest. (AFP)
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Updated 21 December 2024
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In Damascus meeting, US drops reward for arrest of Syria’s new leader

  • The United States agreed on those principles with top Arab and European diplomats as well as Turkiye during a meeting on December 14 in Aqaba, Jordan

DAMASCUS: A senior US diplomat told Syria’s new leader Ahmed Al-Sharaa on Friday that Washington was scrapping a reward for his arrest, and welcomed “positive messages” from their talks including a promise to fight terrorism.

Barbara Leaf, Washington’s top diplomat for the Middle East, made the comments after her meeting with Sharaa in Damascus — the first formal mission to Syria’s capital by United States diplomats since the early days of Syria’s civil war.

The lightning offensive that toppled president Bashar Assad on December 8 was led by the Islamist Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham (HTS), which is rooted in Al-Qaeda’s Syria branch but has sought to moderate its image in recent years.

Leaf’s meeting with HTS chief Sharaa came despite Washington’s designation of his group as a terrorist organization.

“Based on our discussion, I told him we would not be pursuing the Rewards for Justice reward offer that has been in effect for some years,” Leaf told reporters after their talks.

She said “we welcomed positive messages” from Sharaa.

“We will be looking for progress on these principles and actions, not just words,” she said.

“I also communicated the importance of inclusion and broad consultation during this time of transition,” she said.

“We fully support a Syrian-led and Syrian-owned political process that results in an inclusive and representative government which respects the rights of all Syrians, including women, and Syria’s diverse ethnic and religious communities.”

The United States agreed on those principles with top Arab and European diplomats as well as Turkiye during a meeting on December 14 in Aqaba, Jordan.

A Syrian official, speaking on condition of anonymity, earlier confirmed to AFP that the US delegation had met with Sharaa.

“The meeting took place, and it was positive. And the results will be positive, God willing,” the official said.

The US delegation also included the US pointman on hostages, who has been seeking clues on missing Americans including Austin Tice, a journalist kidnapped in Syria in August 2012.

On Friday, the US embassy added on social media platform X that the US and Syrian sides also discussed “regional events, Syria’s intention to be a good neighbor and the importance of common efforts on terrorism.”

On a regional tour prior to the Aqaba talks, Secretary of State Antony Blinken had stressed the need to prevent a resurgence of Daesh militants.

The US military said on Friday its forces had killed a Daesh leader and another operative in Deir Ezzor province, part of escalated US military action against the group since Assad’s overthrow.

The embassy said Leaf also met with Syria’s White Helmet rescuers, civil society leaders, activists and others “to hear directly from them about their vision for the future of their country and how the United States can help support them.”

Below a photograph of Leaf and others with a memorial wreath, the US embassy said she had also commemorated the tens of thousands of people murdered, tortured, disappeared or detained under Assad.

“The US commitment to hold accountable those responsible for these atrocities is unwavering,” the embassy said.

Leaf denied that her press conference in Damascus had been canceled for security reasons, saying she was delayed by street celebrations.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who backed Assad’s opponents, has stressed reconciliation and restoration of Syria’s territorial integrity and unity.

Turkiye has been putting pressure on Kurdish-led forces in Syria, and Erdogan said Friday it was time to destroy “terrorist” groups operating in the country, specifically IS and Kurdish fighters.

“Daesh, the PKK and their affiliates — which threaten the survival of Syria — must be eradicated,” he told journalists following a summit in Cairo, referring to Daesh and the Kurdistan Workers Party, respectively.

The autonomous administration in northeastern Syria is protected by the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces, mostly made up of the People’s Protection Units (YPG).

Turkiye accuses the YPG of being a branch of the PKK, which both Washington and Ankara consider a terrorist group.

Kurdish leaders in Syria have welcomed Assad’s ouster and raised the three-star independence-era militant flag, but many in the region fear continued attacks by Turkiye and allied fighters.

Leaf said Washington was urging a ceasefire between Turkish-backed forces and the SDF around the Kurdish-held Syrian border town of Kobani, also known as Ain Al-Arab.

On a visit to Ankara Friday, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock warned of the dangers of any “escalation” of the fighting, saying: “Security, especially for Kurds, is essential for a free and secure future for Syria.”

Iran and Russia had long helped to prop up Assad, but on Friday Leaf said she expected Syria would completely end any role for Iran.

Amy Pope, the head of the UN migration agency, on Friday urged “the caretaker government to continue to empower and enable women, because they are going to be absolutely critical to the rebuilding of the country.”

Pope also called for the raft of international sanctions on Syria to be reassessed to help the country regain its footing.

Syria’s civil war killed more than 500,000 people and sparked an exodus of millions of refugees.

Since Assad’s departure, which sparked celebrations at home and abroad, militants have thrown open prisons where tens of thousands of people were arbitrarily detained and tortured.

They have also located mass graves believed to hold some of the estimated 100,000 people who died or were killed in custody since 2011.


Rubio says US has not discussed deportation of Palestinians from Gaza to Libya

Updated 12 sec ago
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Rubio says US has not discussed deportation of Palestinians from Gaza to Libya

Rubio said he was not aware of Libya being included
He also said the US was pleased to see the resumption of food shipments to Gaza

WASHINGTON: US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Tuesday that the United States has not discussed the deportation of Palestinians from Gaza to Libya, but he said that Washington had asked other countries in the region if they would be open to accepting Gazans who want to move voluntarily.

“What we have talked to some nations about is if someone voluntarily and willingly says I want to go somewhere else for some period of time because I’m sick, because my children need to go to school, or what have you, are there countries in the region willing to accept them for some period of time?,” Rubio said, adding that he was not aware of Libya being included in that.

Rubio also told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee that the United States was pleased to see the resumption of food shipments to Gaza, adding that the United States understands that another 100 trucks are behind the initial ones to cross in to Gaza and more might enter in the coming days.

Lebanon pushes for local elections despite Israeli attacks

Updated 1 min 39 sec ago
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Lebanon pushes for local elections despite Israeli attacks

  • Interior minister underlines commitment to ensure elections are conducted with integrity and safety
  • Elections in the South and Nabatieh governorates, scheduled for their fourth phase this coming Saturday, will be held during ongoing Israeli incursions south and north of the Litani River

BEIRUT: The Lebanese government still faces one final — and perhaps the most security sensitive — electoral challenge: the elections in the South and Nabatieh governorates.

These elections, scheduled for their fourth phase this coming Saturday, will be held during ongoing Israeli incursions south and north of the Litani River.

Interior Minister Ahmad Hajjar, in the southern city of Sidon on Tuesday, affirmed that “the government is mindful of the potential for Israeli violations and assaults during the municipal elections scheduled for Saturday. However, the decision remains clear and resolute regarding the continuation of the electoral process regardless of the circumstances.”

The minister emphasized to Mansour Daou, the governor of South Lebanon, and representatives of the security, military, and judicial agencies in the South, “the state’s commitment to ensuring that the elections are conducted with integrity and safety,” underscoring their significance as part of the reconstruction process for the people of the South.

In the lead-up to the elections, an Israeli military drone targeted a motorcycle on the road between Mansouri and Majdalzoun in the Tyre district, resulting in reports from the Ministry of Health indicating that “nine individuals were injured, including two children, with three of the injured in critical condition.”

Another Israeli drone launched a bomb at fishermen off the coast of Ras Al-Naqoura.

Attention in the south is focused on two issues: observing the extent to which people will participate in the elections, particularly those whose homes were destroyed and displaced to other villages; and monitoring Hezbollah’s ability to maintain its popularity in the south, where the devastation and rubble are still visible to the public. To date, no reconstruction has occurred in any facilities either north or south of the Litani River, because Israel has turned the border area into a devastated and desolate zone, maintaining its occupation of five strategic hills and daily thwarting any attempts to establish readymade rooms for logistical purposes to assist the affected population.

The latest data from the Lebanese Ministry of Health, as of May 12, indicates that since the ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah took effect on Nov. 27, “Israel has killed 156 individuals and injured 376 others, with a total of 3,138 air and maritime violations recorded.”

According to the Israeli army, “by the end of April, around 140 Hezbollah members had been eliminated, with the vast majority of assassinations (more than 50 percent) taking place south of the Litani River. Assassinations north of the Litani River and in the Bekaa region accounted for 48 percent of the operations; 33.3 percent north of the Litani River and 14.7 percent in the Bekaa.”

The Israeli army claimed that “the majority of the assassinated members belonged to Hezbollah’s Aziz, Nasr and Badr units.” In a new study, the Israeli Alma Center stated: “Those individuals were involved in the rehabilitation of infrastructure on the ground.” 


Rubio says Syria could be weeks away from ‘full-scale civil war’

Updated 45 min 8 sec ago
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Rubio says Syria could be weeks away from ‘full-scale civil war’

  • US Secretary of State says Syria is weeks away from a potential collapse and splitting up

WASHINGTON: US Secretary of State Marco Rubio warned Tuesday that Syria could be weeks away from a fresh civil war of “epic proportions,” as he called for support to the transitional leadership.
“It is our assessment that, frankly, the transitional authority, given the challenges they’re facing, are maybe weeks — not many months — away from potential collapse and a full-scale civil war of epic proportions, basically the country splitting up,” Rubio told a US Senate hearing.
The top US diplomat spoke after a series of bloody attacks on the Alawite and Druze minorities in Syria, where Islamist-led fighters in December toppled Bashar Assad in a lightning offensive after a brutal civil war that began in 2011.
US President Donald Trump last week on a visit to Saudi Arabia announced a lifting of Assad-era sanctions and met with the guerrilla leader who is now Syria’s transitional president, Ahmed Al-Sharaa.
Sharaa, clad in a suit and complimented by Trump as a “young, attractive guy,” was until recently on a US wanted list over jihadist connections.
Rubio quipped: “The transitional authority figures, they didn’t pass their background check with the FBI.”
But he added: “If we engage them, it may work out, it may not work out. If we did not engage them, it was guaranteed to not work out.”
Rubio, who also met with Syria’s foreign minister in Turkiye on Thursday, blamed the renewed violence on the legacy of Assad, a largely secular leader who hailed from the Alawite sect.
“They are dealing with deep internal distrust in that country, because Assad deliberately pitted these groups against each other,” Rubio said.


UAE foreign minister holds phone call with his new German counterpart

Updated 20 May 2025
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UAE foreign minister holds phone call with his new German counterpart

  • Ministers discussed strengthening the UAE-Germany strategic partnership and enhancing cooperation in key sectors

LONDON: UAE Minister of Foreign Affairs Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al-Nahyan congratulated Johann Wadephul on his appointment as Germany’s minister of foreign affairs.

The two ministers discussed strengthening the UAE-Germany strategic partnership and enhancing cooperation in key sectors during a phone call on Tuesday, the Emirates News Agency reported.

Sheikh Abdullah hoped to achieve mutual prosperity between Germany and the UAE, whose diplomatic ties were established in 1972.

In 2023, the UAE became one of Germany’s most important business partners in the Middle East, with a bilateral trade volume exceeding €14 billion ($15.768 billion). According to Germany’s Federal Foreign Office report, German imports from the UAE experienced a 150 percent increase in the same year.

Wadephul, a veteran conservative and defense policy expert, assumed the foreign minister’s office on May 7 in Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s government.


Jordan and Syria agree on roadmap to cooperate in energy, transport

Updated 20 May 2025
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Jordan and Syria agree on roadmap to cooperate in energy, transport

  • Ayman Safadi says Jordan is Syria’s gateway to the Arabian Gulf, while Syria acts as Jordan’s gateway to Europe
  • Asaad Al-Shaibani: Syrians are tired after 14 years of war, and the country wants to focus on maintaining security and stability

LONDON: Ayman Safadi, Jordan’s minister of foreign affairs, on Tuesday discussed strengthening cooperation during a meeting in Damascus with his Syrian counterpart, Asaad Al-Shaibani.

The Jordanian delegation included the ministers of water, industry, trade, energy, and transport, who discussed coordination with their Syrian counterparts and signed an agreement to establish a coordination council between the two countries.

Al-Shaibani said that diplomatic efforts resulted in the lifting of European sanctions shortly after the US announced it would lift sanctions on the country. He added that lifting sanctions on Syria would enhance cooperation with Jordan in transport and energy, positively affecting the region.

The minister said Syria shares borders with Turkey, Lebanon and Jordan, and aims to maintain its security while addressing threats, as its security would affect neighboring countries.

Al-Shaibani and Safadi opposed the Israeli intervention in Syria after the change of rule in Damascus in December 2024, the SANA agency reported.

Al-Shaibani said Syrians are tired after 14 years of war, and the country wants to focus on maintaining security and stability while finding solutions for vital issues such as energy and electricity.

Safadi and Al-Shaibani have agreed to establish a roadmap to enhance cooperation in energy, transport, water, and health, SANA added.

Safadi said that Jordan is Syria’s gateway to the Arabian Gulf and the Arab world, while Syria is Jordan’s gateway to Europe, and affirmed Amman’s support for Syria.