Türkiye: Most Arab Countries Won't Grant Syria ‘Blank Check’ by Rejoining Arab League

The Meeting of the defense ministers of Syria, Türkiye, Iran, and Russia in Moscow (Russian Ministry of Defense)
The Meeting of the defense ministers of Syria, Türkiye, Iran, and Russia in Moscow (Russian Ministry of Defense)
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Türkiye: Most Arab Countries Won't Grant Syria ‘Blank Check’ by Rejoining Arab League

The Meeting of the defense ministers of Syria, Türkiye, Iran, and Russia in Moscow (Russian Ministry of Defense)
The Meeting of the defense ministers of Syria, Türkiye, Iran, and Russia in Moscow (Russian Ministry of Defense)

Türkiye affirmed that the majority of Arab countries do not want to give the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad a "blank check" by returning to the Arab League.

Türkiye stated that most Arab countries are unwilling to allow Syria unrestricted return to the Arab League, and everyone wants to ensure the exclusion of a military solution and the safe return of refugees.

Ankara asserted that its military operations would continue against Kurdish armed groups in northern Syria and Iraq and that it does not wish for Assad to resort to a military solution.

It noted that the negotiations for normalizing relations with Syria take into consideration its people's interests.

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu indicated that the recent contacts between Syria and Arab countries aimed to allow Syrians to return to their country.

During a televised interview, Cavusoglu said that most Arab countries would not allow the Assad regime to return to the Arab League without taking steps toward a political process to unify Syria.

Cavusoglu warned that if the regime doesn't take serious steps toward a political solution, the Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) will become stronger.

YPG is the largest component of Syria's democratic (SDF), which Ankara considers an extension of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK).

Regarding the negotiations for the normalization of relations between Türkiye and Syria, Cavusoglu said that Russia had determined May 10 for the first meeting of its kind at the level of the foreign ministers of Türkiye, Russia, Syria, and Iran in Moscow.

He indicated that there might be a joint press conference at the end of the meeting.

The scene in Syria is expected to become very complex and challenging in the future, said the FM, adding that Ankara has engaged in dealing with the regime's government to see how it would develop.

The minister asserted that a military solution is not possible, and the Syrian regime must clarify if it still believes that a political solution is possible. He warned against dividing Syria and another wave of migration due to the dire economic situation.

Meanwhile, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced that the military operations carried out by Türkiye beyond its borders had not ended yet.

Erdogan indicated that Ankara would soon destroy PKK's terrorist hideouts in Mount Qandil in northern Iraq.

Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar said that his country's forces tore down the terrorist corridor to be established in northern Syria, killing the terrorists.

Akar stressed that terrorism had not ended yet, and the struggle continues with the same determination and at an increasing pace.

The Turkish Ministry of Defense said, in a statement on Saturday, that the border forces arrested four people, including three terrorists, while trying to infiltrate from Syrian territory into Türkiye.



Lebanon Begins Removing Palestinian Arms Outside of Refugee Camps

The army enters a position of a Palestinian group. (Lebanese Army)
The army enters a position of a Palestinian group. (Lebanese Army)
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Lebanon Begins Removing Palestinian Arms Outside of Refugee Camps

The army enters a position of a Palestinian group. (Lebanese Army)
The army enters a position of a Palestinian group. (Lebanese Army)

Lebanon kicked off on Saturday the process of removing weapons in possession of Palestinian factions outside of their refugee camps.

The arms are mainly held by groups allied with the ousted Syrian regime that were based in several areas in the Bekaa, South, Beirut and the border with Syria.

The Lebanese army announced on Saturday that it had taken over three military positions that were affiliated with two Palestinian factions that were close to Bashar al-Assad's former regime.

Two of the positions are in the eastern and western Bekaa and belonged to the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine – General Command. The third, in Rashaya, belonged to the Fatah al-Intifada group.

A security source told Asharq Al-Awsat that the army intelligence has been working on this issue for some time now and was close to completely resolving it.

The army said it had seized a large number of weapons and ammunition, as well as military gear.

The removal of the weapons outside state control is part of the ceasefire agreement reached between Israel and Hezbollah and which calls for dismantling all non-licensed military facilities that manufacture weapons in Lebanon.

The agreement also calls for removing all unlicensed weapons starting from regions south of the Litani River.

A similar agreement for the removal of Palestinian weapons was reached in March 2006, but it was never implemented.

A Lebanese security source, however, said that the latest progress in removing the Palestinian weapons has nothing to do with the ceasefire. Rather, it is related to the collapse of Assad's regime.

These factions were loyal to the regime, and they received funding and equipment from it, the source told Asharq Al-Awsat.

Hisham Debsi, the Director of the Tatweer Center for Studies, said the positions the army has taken over are tied to factions that are affiliated with Syrian security agencies.

He told Asharq Al-Awsat that the army should have been able to take over these locations as soon as United Nations Security Council resolution 1559 was issued in 2004.

The Palestinian Authority at the time agreed to the handover of weapons outside and inside refugee camps, but Hezbollah objected to the move and said it needed to be discussed at a dialogue among Lebanese political powers, Debsi went on to say.

At the dialogue, Hezbollah agreed to the removal of weapons inside and outside the camps, but it later thwarted the plan, he added.

The current removal of arms is tied to the implementation of resolution 1701 and others, notably 1559. It is also directly connected to the sudden and dramatic toppling of the Assad regime, he explained.

The Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, Syria’s interim rulers, had issued orders for Palestinian groups affiliated with the regime to lay down their arms. “These factions, which had raised the Palestinian flag and done nothing but harm the Palestinian and Lebanese people, no longer have their regional and Lebanese backers,” so they had no choice but to yield to the orders, Debsi said.

The conditions are ripe for the Lebanese state to impose its sovereignty, through the army, across all its territories and end the presence of any Palestinian armed groups outside the refugee camps, he stressed.

Moreover, the state has the right to impose its authority over the camps and remove the weapons there, he remarked.

At the moment, the removal of Palestinian weapons does not appear to be a precursor to Hezbollah laying down its weapons in areas north of the Litani.

Such a move demands a “major political decision that is off the table at the moment,” said the sources.