Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani with Turkish counterpart Hakan Fidan, Ankara, Turkey, January 15, 2025
The Riyadh Conference on Syria’s Future
UPDATE 1608 GMT:
Syria’s administration has denied a report that it banned Russian, Iranian, and Israeli goods from entering the country.
Claims circulated on Arab-language media that a decree from the Finance Ministry on Thursday ordered confiscation of any goods discovered at land and sea border crossings.
The media outlets cited a Telegram account “General Authority for Land and Maritime Crossings”.
But Mazen Alloush, the public relations officer of the actual General Authority for Land and Maritime Crossings, told Enab Baladi that the Telegram account was impersonating the Authority.
Alloush said lists will be issued by the Economy Ministry in coming days, as the decision is still under study by specialized committees.
He said the Authority has no social media accounts, and any order will be posted on the sites of the State news agency SANA.
UPDATE, JAN 19:
Germany’s Development Minister Svenja Schulze is proposing partnerships between German and Syrian medical clinics.
There are around 6,000 Syrian doctors in Germany, and more German-Syrian medical staff with German passports.
“They know what their colleagues on the ground need. I want to raise this knowledge,” Schulze said.
She said she had discussed the initiative with the Syrian Health Minister: “I plan to bring Syrian doctors and health workers together in Germany in February.”
At the end of December, the Development Minister commissioned €60 million in aid projects for Syria through UN agencies and non-governmental organizations.
UPDATE 1157 GMT:
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has reissued threats to eliminate Kurdish groups in northern Syria “peacefully or by force”.
Addressing a provincial congress of his Justice and Development Party, Erdoğan said, “Our goal is to ensure the peaceful or forceful elimination of all terrorist organizations in Syria.”
He said of the Turkish Kurdish insurgency PKK and the Syrian Kurdish militia YPG, linking them with the Islamic State:
Like every structure that has expired while serving the agenda of others, it is close to being thrown into the trash.
If those who turned Syria and our region into hell with the plot of Daesh [Islamic State] in the recent past are once again attempting to set the same trap, this time they will not succeed.
UPDATE, JAN 18:
The International Criminal Court’s chief prosecutor Karim Khan has met Syria’s leader Ahmed al-Sharaa in Damascus, discussing accountability for crimes committed during the rule of the Assad regime.
Khan was invited to the discussion, which included Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani.
UPDATE 1631 GMT:
During a visit to Damascus, Qatar Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim al-Thani has demanded that Israeli forces leave southwest Syria.
“The Israeli occupation’s seizure of the buffer zone is a reckless… act and it must immediately withdraw,” Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim al-Thani said at a press conference alongside Syrian leader Ahmed al-Sharaa.
Al-Sharaa also called for an immediate withdrawal, saying the Israeli pretext of countering Iran was no longer justified. He reiterated Syria’s readiness to welcome international peacekeeping forces and maintain respect for the 1974 disengagement accord.
Israel has expanded its zone of occupation since the fall of the Assad regime last month, and has bombed military facilities which were used by the regime, Iran, and Hezbollah.
Al-Thani said Qatar is ready to partner with Syria’s new administration to rebuild and develop the country, offering technical support for the rehabilitation of infrastructure and supply of 200 megawatts of electricity. He emphasized the “urgent need” to lift Assad-era sanctions.
UPDATE 1616 GMT:
Syria’s leader Ahmed al-Sharaa hosted a Spanish delegation, led by Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares, in Damascus on Thursday.
No details were given of the discussion. Albares posted a photo of the meeting and said:
I conveyed to the new authorities that Spain wants a peaceful and inclusive political process for all Syrians.
Spain is committed to the future of the Syrian people.
En Damasco me he reunido con Ahmed al-Sharaa. He trasladado a las nuevas autoridades que España quiere un proceso político, pacífico e inclusivo para todos los sirios y sirias.
España está comprometida con el futuro del pueblo sirio. pic.twitter.com/3RYmT4wjLG
— José Manuel Albares (@jmalbares) January 16, 2025
Albares also raised the Spanish flag over the country’s Embassy, which had been closed since 2012. He visited Sednaya Prison, where tens of thousands of detainees were killed by torture, execution, or poor conditions during the rule of the Assad regime.
ORIGINAL ENTRY: Senior officials of Syria’s new government have made their first official trip to Turkey.
Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shibani, Defense Minister Murhaf Abu Qasra, and intelligence head Anas Khattab met their counterparts in Ankara.
Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said, “We have informed them and the neighboring countries that we are ready to provide operational support in the fight against Daesh [the Islamic State].”
Fidan said co-operation will include control of prisons and camps in eastern Syria that hold ISIS members.
The facilities are currently controlled by the US-backed, Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces. Turkish-backed Syrian fighters are clashed with the SDF and the Kurdish YPG militia for control of areas in northern Syria.
Ankara considers the Kurdish groups to be part of the Turkish Kurdish insurgency PKK.
Al-Shaibani maintained a cautious line. Saying is there no need for the presence of threatening groups in the new Syria, he said, “We assure that Syria will not pose any threat to any country, especially to our neighboring country, in any way.”
The Foreign Minister added, “We are working to bring the region back under the sovereignty of the central government and to restore the Arab identity.”
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