Erdogan says won't let terror ‘drag Syria back to instability'
ISTANBUL: Turkiye will not allow extremists to drag Syria back into chaos and instability, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Monday after a suicide attack killed 22 at a Damascus church.'We will never allow our neighbor and brother Syria... be dragged into a new environment of instability through proxy terrorist organizations,' he said, vowing to support the new government's fight against such groups.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Arab News
36 minutes ago
- Arab News
Pakistan plans to finalize Roosevelt Hotel privatization structure at next cabinet committee meeting
KARACHI: Pakistan is expected to finalize the transaction structure for the privatization of the Roosevelt Hotel in New York at the next meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Privatization, the government said in a statement on Saturday. Located in Midtown Manhattan, the hotel is owned by Pakistan International Airlines Investment Limited (PIAIL) and occupies a full city block on Madison Avenue and 45th Street. It has also remained one of Pakistan's most high-profile yet politically sensitive overseas assets. 'The base price and expected proceeds from the privatization of the Roosevelt Hotel will depend on the transaction structure and final terms approved by the government,' the Privatization Commission said in an official handout. 'The transaction structure is expected to be finalized at the next meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Privatization.' The statement informed no base price had yet been set for the property, rebutting some local media reports that claimed the government had fixed a $100 million floor. It also pointed out such a value could only be determined at the time of bidding, adding that the deal's potential value would depend on the transaction structure and final terms approved by the cabinet committee. Over the past two decades, successive Pakistani governments have floated plans to sell, lease or redevelop the property, but no proposal has advanced beyond early-stage planning. Earlier this month, Muhammad Ali, the prime minister's adviser on privatization, told Arab News that the government had completed the hotel's baseline valuation and appointed US-based consultancy JLL to conduct market sounding. 'We just need to get approval from the cabinet committee on the structure, and we'll move ahead,' he said.
Asharq Al-Awsat
9 hours ago
- Asharq Al-Awsat
Syria, Jordan Seek to Restart Historic Hejaz Railway Line
Cooperation between Syria and Jordan in the fields of economy, trade, and transport has taken a significant leap forward since the fall of Bashar al-Assad's regime late last year, with the latest development marked by an agreement to hold a meeting aimed at reviving the historic Hejaz railway line. The joint Syrian-Jordanian technical committee on land transport concluded a two-day meeting in Amman on Wednesday, focusing on boosting bilateral relations, particularly in land transport, a vital sector supporting trade and people's movement, Syria's state news agency SANA reported. A key topic was linking Damascus and Amman by rail. Both sides agreed to hold a soon-to-be-scheduled technical meeting with relevant authorities to explore the feasibility of reopening the Hejaz railway line, initially for freight transport. The committee also agreed to reduce and unify transit fees to 2 percent in both countries, down from Jordan's previous 5 percent charge. The Jordanian delegation underscored the importance of facilitating the passage of transit trucks across both territories and pledged to remove any technical or procedural obstacles to enhance trade flow and regional economic integration. This renewed cooperation follows years of suspension due to the former Syrian regime's policies. Meanwhile, Syria's General Authority for Land and Sea Borders announced on Wednesday it had reached an agreement with Jordanian authorities to cancel the $115 diesel tax previously imposed on Syrian trucks entering Jordanian territory, making the measure reciprocal. In April, Zahi Khalil, Director-General of the Jordanian Hejaz Railway Foundation, announced plans to launch tourist train trips from Jordan to Syria, passing through historic stations along the border. The proposed route would start at Amman's Hejaz station, pass through Zarqa and Mafraq, cross into Syria via the Jaber border, and terminate at Damascus' Al-Qadam station, the last stop on the Hejaz line. Khalil noted that Syrian counterparts would handle maintenance within Syria, while technical and security challenges, especially line interruptions inside Syria, are still being addressed. The Hejaz railway, built during the reign of Ottoman Sultan Abdul Hamid II, is a 1,050- mm-wide gauge rail connecting Damascus to Madinah. Constructed between 1900 and 1908 to serve Muslim pilgrims and consolidate Ottoman control, it was operational until World War I, with construction costs initially estimated at 3.5 million Ottoman lira, supplemented by donations from within the empire and other Islamic countries. The line's route follows the traditional pilgrimage path from Syria's Hauran region through Daraa into Jordan, continuing to Madinah, shortening pilgrimage travel time from 40 days by camel to just five days by rail. The surge in Syria-Jordan cooperation in economic, trade, and transport sectors reflects a broader effort to reshape bilateral relations on economic grounds, aiming for sustained long-term collaboration after Assad's fall. In late May, Damascus and Amman inaugurated the 'Higher Coordination Council' following a visit by Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi to Syria, where he met with his Syrian counterpart, Asaad al-Shabaan. This came after Jordan's Ministry of Industry, Trade, and Supply announced on February 27 the resumption of operations at the Syria-Jordan joint free zone. In early June, Amman's chambers of commerce president Khalil al-Haj al-Tawfiq reported a sharp rise in trade exchange with Syria, driven by economic openness and reconstruction efforts, describing trade figures as unprecedented. Between mid-December 2024 and late May 2025, 55,566 trucks entered Jordan through the Jaber border crossing, including 30,154 Jordanian, 5,768 Syrian, and 19,644 foreign trucks. Outbound trucks totaled 59,788, comprising 21,574 exports and 36,805 transit trucks from other centers, with 1,409 empty trucks. These developments follow a long period of border tension under the previous Syrian regime, when border areas became hubs for smuggling drugs, weapons, and militants. Such activities have declined since the regime's downfall. Abed Fadliya, an economics professor at Damascus University, told Asharq Al-Awsat newspaper that Syrian-Jordanian economic and trade ties have noticeably improved over recent months thanks to joint government efforts. 'Geographically, Jordan is one of Syria's most important neighbors due to its openness and its role as a gateway for Syrian goods and people to most Arab countries, especially the Gulf states with which Syria maintains close cooperation across several sectors, particularly trade and investment,' Fadliya said. He added that Jordan is among the key Arab countries that have distinguished relations with Syria, alongside Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Qatar, emphasizing the need for sustained government efforts to cement these ties on a stable political foundation framed by bilateral agreements.
Asharq Al-Awsat
9 hours ago
- Asharq Al-Awsat
Türkiye Resolves Residency Dispute of Exiled Brotherhood Judge Sharaby
An exiled Egyptian judge affiliated with the Muslim Brotherhood said he ended an open-ended hunger strike after Turkish authorities intervened to resolve his residency status, following a public plea to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Waleed Sharaby, who fled to Türkiye in 2016 after being sentenced in Egypt, announced on Facebook late Thursday that he was halting his protest, which began outside a police station where he had been staging a sit-in. He said the hunger strike was in response to Turkish authorities preventing him from leaving the country and refusing to renew his residency for nearly two years. Sharaby claimed Turkish security services had acted on pressure from Egypt's intelligence services, prompting him to appeal directly to Erdogan. He did not provide evidence for the alleged interference. Moreover, Sharaby said he ended a two-day hunger strike and sit-in protest in Türkiye after receiving a call from a senior Turkish official who pledged to resolve his legal and residency issues. Sharaby wrote on Facebook that he returned home and resumed eating on Thursday after the official, whose identity he did not disclose, invited him to a meeting and assured him that part of the issue would be resolved soon. 'We may succeed in fully resolving the matter following this initial step,' he said. Sharaby, who fled Egypt in 2016 after court rulings against him, began his hunger strike on Wednesday outside a police station in protest over what he described as Turkish authorities' refusal to renew his residency for nearly two years and a travel ban that prevented him from leaving the country. According to sources, Turkish authorities briefly detained him on Wednesday while attempting to depart the country, citing alleged financial violations involving Turkish citizens. He was held for a day before being released, after which he launched his protest. During his sit-in, Sharaby publicly appealed to Erdogan via Facebook, asking for a personal meeting or for the issue to be referred to the appropriate authorities. He claimed he had been subjected to 'severe harassment' and travel restrictions, including pressure on a business he owns in Türkiye and a ban on leaving the country to seek asylum, reportedly in a European state, where his wife and children relocated nearly two years ago. Turkish authorities have not publicly commented on the case. Türkiye has hosted several exiled members of the Muslim Brotherhood following the group's ouster from power in Egypt in 2013, though Ankara has since moved to restore ties with Cairo. Sources close to Sharaby said Turkish authorities have agreed to grant him humanitarian residency, allowing him to remain in the country permanently despite the expiry of his Egyptian passport. The move aligns with similar measures taken for other members of the Muslim Brotherhood, which is designated a terrorist organization by the Egyptian government.
