Latest news with #al-Shaibani
Al-Ahram Weekly
04-07-2025
- Politics
- Al-Ahram Weekly
Syria ready to work with US to return to 1974 disengagement deal with Israel - Region
Syria said on Friday it was willing to cooperate with the United States to reimplement the 1974 disengagement agreement with Israel, a deal that created a United Nations-patrolled buffer zone separating the two countries' forces on the Golan Heights. In a statement following a phone call with his US counterpart Marco Rubio, Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani expressed Damascus's 'aspiration to cooperate with the United States to return to the 1974 disengagement agreement.' The accord, reached a year after the 1973 Arab-Israeli war, established an 80-kilometre (50-mile) UN-monitored buffer zone between Israeli-occupied territory and Syrian-controlled land. While the Golan Heights is internationally recognised as Syrian territory, Israel captured around two-thirds of the area during the 1967 Arab-Israeli war and unilaterally annexed it in 1981—a move not recognised by most of the international community. Following the ouster of President Bashar al-Assad in December 2024, the Israeli army occupied outposts on the Syrian-controlled sector of Mount Hermon, inside the UN Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF) buffer zone. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu claimed Syrian forces had abandoned their positions after Assad's fall and said he ordered the army to 'temporarily' seize the area until new security arrangements could be made. Netanyahu later declared the 1974 agreement 'collapsed' and expanded Israeli military control into parts of the demilitarised zone, citing security concerns. The UNDOF condemned the move as a 'severe violation' of the ceasefire and said Israeli activity breached the terms of the agreement. At the 34th Arab League Summit in May 2025, al-Shaibani described Israel's ongoing violations as posing 'a direct threat to regional stability,' urging international pressure for Israeli withdrawal, according to Anadolu Agency. Despite widespread international condemnation, Israel has shown no intention of pulling back. In recent weeks, Washington has intensified diplomatic efforts to broker a normalisation deal between Syria and Israel. US envoy Thomas Barrack told The New York Times that the two sides were engaged in 'meaningful' US-brokered talks aimed at ending their decades-long border conflict. Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said on Monday that Israel had an 'interest' in normalising relations with Syria and Lebanon. However, he insisted the Golan Heights 'will remain part of the State of Israel' under any future agreement. Syrian state media reported that al-Shaibani and Rubio also discussed US sanctions, the chemical weapons dossier, Iranian involvement in Syria, counterterrorism efforts against ISIS, and repeated Israeli attacks on southern Syria. Rubio reportedly warned that the worst outcome would be a fragmented Syria or a return to civil war. Syria and Israel have technically remained in a state of war since 1948. Israel has carried out frequent airstrikes and incursions across Syria, particularly in the south, targeting army positions and killing civilians. *This story was edited by Ahram Online. Follow us on: Facebook Instagram Whatsapp Short link:
New Straits Times
25-04-2025
- Politics
- New Straits Times
Syrian foreign minister raises new flag at UN headquarters
UNITED NATIONS, United States: Syria's foreign minister on Friday raised his country's new flag at UN headquarters in New York, hailing the move as a "proclamation of a new existence" after the fall of Bashar al-Assad. Asaad al-Shaibani raised the three-starred flag, officially adopted after Assad's December ouster, and later spoke to the Security Council, where he urged a lifting of international sanctions and for Israel to be pressured to leave Syrian territory. "This flag is not a mere symbol, but rather a proclamation of a new existence," he said in his first United Nations speech. Since Assad's fall to Islamist-led forces, Israel has deployed troops in a UN-controlled buffer zone that has separated Israeli and Syrian forces on the strategic Golan Heights since 1974. "We would like to ask the Council to make pressure on Israel to withdraw from Syria," al-Shaibani said in his first UN speech. Israel has also launched airstrikes in Syria, which al-Shaibani slammed Friday as "not only a flagrant violation of international law and Syrian sovereignty, but also a direct threat to regional stability." "We have repeatedly announced our commitment that Syria will not constitute any threat to any of the neighbouring countries or any country around the world, including to Israel," he said. He also called for the lifting of all sanctions imposed under the previous government. Economic sanctions have hit the country hard, with more than 90 per cent of Syrians living below the poverty line, according to the UN. Al-Shaibani was backed by the UN's special envoy to Syria, Geir Pedersen, who warned that Israel's "violations of Syria's territorial integrity are undermining the transition." He said Israel's "highly confrontational" approach was "not warranted" given the space for diplomacy. Pedersen also called for sanctions to be eased. Some European and other Western states have eased certain sanctions on Syria, while others including the United States have said they would wait to see how the new authorities exercise their power, opting instead for targeted and temporary exemptions. Shaibani's visit to the UN comes after Syria's central bank governor and finance minister this week attended spring meetings at the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank, for the first time in more than 20 years. Pedersen said the country's transition from the Assad years was at a "truly critical juncture." Much has been achieved, but "the situation is extremely fragile," he warned, calling for more political inclusion and economic action. Pedersen, who was in Damascus two weeks ago, stressed the "urgent challenge" facing the Alawite community. In early March the minority – associated with Assad – were targeted by massacres, particularly on the coast, which killed more than 1,700 people, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
Asharq Al-Awsat
25-04-2025
- Politics
- Asharq Al-Awsat
US Lists Demands at UN as Syria Seeks Sanctions Relief
The United States publicly spelled out at the United Nations on Friday the steps it wants Syria to take before Washington will change its stance toward the country, as Syria's foreign minister appealed for tough sanctions to be lifted. Reuters reported last month that Washington had handed Syria a list of conditions it wants Damascus to fulfill in exchange for partial sanctions relief. On Friday, acting US Ambassador to the UN Dorothy Shea listed them publicly. She said the US wants Syria's authorities to fully renounce and suppress terrorism, adopt a policy of non-aggression to neighboring states, exclude foreign terrorist fighters from any official roles, prevent Iran and its proxies from exploiting Syrian territory, destroy weapons of mass destruction, assist in the recovery of US citizens disappeared in Syria, and ensure the security and freedoms of all Syrians. "The United States continues to observe the actions of the interim authorities and will determine our actions based on a pattern of behavior. The core leadership must move beyond its past," Shea told the 15-member Security Council. Former President Bashar al-Assad was toppled in December by a lightning opposition offensive after a brutal 14-year civil war and there is now a new leadership in Damascus. The newly adopted Syrian flag was raised at the UN on Friday. SYRIA SEEKS TO SHOW PROGRESS Syria's Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani, addressing the Security Council for the first time, sought to show that Syria was addressing some of the demands listed by the US and appealed for sanctions to be lifted. "Those who demand more from Syria are the same ones who insist on maintaining many sanctions imposed against it. These sanctions force Syria to play the role of an aid dependent country rather than being a partner in global economic growth," he told the Security Council. Tough US sanctions imposed during Assad's rule remain in place. In January, the US issued a six-month exemption for some sanctions to encourage aid, but this has had limited effect and Reuters reported in February that efforts to pay public sector salaries with foreign financing had been hampered by uncertainty over whether it could breach US sanctions. "These restrictive measures imposed against the previous regime prevent capital and expertise from entering our country while allowing illicit networks to flourish," al-Shaibani said. He said Syria was combating ISIS militants, working constructively with the UN chemical weapons watchdog, uniting military factions, preserving state institutions and taking steps toward constitutional reform. It had also launched a national dialogue, he said. "We will also announce genuine steps towards a national parliament that represents the Syrian people," al-Shaibani said. He said Syria would establish a commission for missing persons and was ready to coordinate with the US to also search for Americans missing in Syria.
Al Arabiya
14-03-2025
- Politics
- Al Arabiya
Syria FM's Iraq visit focuses on security
Syria's interim foreign minister said in Baghdad on Friday his government was ready to 'reinforce cooperation' with Iraq in the fight against remnants of ISIS. Asaad al-Shaibani's visit to Syria's neighbour coincided with Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani announcing that security forces had killed a senior IS leader. It was also al-Shaibani's first visit to Iraq since his opposition group toppled Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad in December. Relations between neighbors Syria and Iraq have become more complicated since the ouster of al-Assad, who was a close ally of the government in Baghdad. Iraq is home to a Shia Muslim majority, and while it is a strategic partner of the United States, it is also a key ally of Iran, once a main backer of al-Assad's rule. While al-Assad's key support came from Russia, Iran and Hezbollah in Lebanon, Iraqi armed groups were also engaged in defending his rule during the 13-year civil war sparked by his crackdown on democracy protests. The opposition group that ended up ousting al-Assad in December are Sunni Muslim, and interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa, who has sought to present a more moderate image since coming to power, once fought with al-Qaeda in Iraq against US forces and their allies. In Baghdad on Friday, al-Shaibani met Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein, the official INA news agency reported. 'Security is a shared responsibility,' Shaibani told a joint news conference with Hussein. 'We are ready to reinforce cooperation with Iraq in the fight against Daesh (an Arabic acronym for ISIS) along the whole length of the border. Terrorism knows no borders.' Alawite killings Sudani on Friday posted on X that Abdullah Makki Muslih al-Rufayi, the ISIS leader killed by Iraqi security forces, 'was considered one of the most dangerous terrorists in Iraq and the world.' He said the extremist, who was targeted by US sanctions in 2023, was ISIS's so-called governor of the group's Syrian and Iraqi provinces. Sudani did not say when al-Rufayi was killed, but applauded the operation by Iraqi intelligence that was carried out in cooperation with the US-led anti-extremists coalition in Iraq. At the joint news conference with al-Shaibani, Hussein said Iraq hoped there would be 'tangible results' from an investigation launched by Syria's new authorities into mass killings of civilians by the security forces that largely targeted the Alawite minority. 'We discussed what happened to the Alawite community... and we expressed our concern,' he said, adding that he hoped a commission of inquiry formed by Damascus 'would achieve tangible results that establish civil peace in Syria.' Baghdad condemned the massacre of at least 1,383 civilians in coastal Syria earlier this month by security forces and allied groups. The vast majority of the civilians killed were Alawites, members of Assad's sect, itself an offshoot of Shia Islam. Baghdad said earlier this week it was investigating an attack on Syrian workers in Iraq after a newly formed group in the country vowed to avenge the mass killing of Alawite civilians. Supporters of pro-Iran armed groups in Iraq have launched an online campaign against Syrians who they say support the mass killings. Iraqi forces have in recent days arrested at least 13 Syrians accused of 'promoting terrorist groups' and supporting the mass killings in Syria, two interior ministry officials told AFP on condition of anonymity. On Wednesday, Syria's foreign ministry denounced the violence against its citizens, and urged Baghdad to take 'necessary measures to ensure the security of Syrians residing in Iraq.'
