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Senior US Official Denies Plans to Withdraw from Syria

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan during his meeting with Under Secretary of State Victoria Nuland last Sunday. (Turkish Foreign Ministry)
Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan during his meeting with Under Secretary of State Victoria Nuland last Sunday. (Turkish Foreign Ministry)
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Senior US Official Denies Plans to Withdraw from Syria

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan during his meeting with Under Secretary of State Victoria Nuland last Sunday. (Turkish Foreign Ministry)
Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan during his meeting with Under Secretary of State Victoria Nuland last Sunday. (Turkish Foreign Ministry)

A senior US official has said the US firmly rejects any consideration of withdrawal from Syria in the face of the persistent ISIS threat, emphasizing the significance of collaboration with Türkiye despite differences in opinions regarding how to conduct the fight.

The US is not withdrawing its forces from Syria, Under Secretary of State Victoria Nuland said in an interview with CNN Turk.

Nuland explained that ISIS was "still active in too many places."

Speaking about Türkiye, Nuland stated, “We have been partners in the fight against terrorism for decades. In particular, we have been strong partners in the fight against ISIS, wherever it is. This needs to continue with Türkiye, whether in Iraq or Syria.”

The interview was broadcast following Nuland’s participation in the Türkiye-US Strategic Mechanism meetings.

“Even though we do not always agree on how to conduct this fight, it is more important than ever to strengthen our cooperation,” she said.

“One of the issues we talked about was re-strengthening cooperation in the fight against terrorism and establishing a dialogue on what path to follow in Syria because both sides have important interests there, especially in the fight against terrorism.”

Persistent discord characterizes the relationship between Türkiye and the US concerning Washington's assistance to the Kurdish People’s Protection Units, a pivotal faction within the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF).

The US views the SDF as a crucial ally in the fight against ISIS, while Türkiye perceives it as an extension of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, a designated terrorist organization by Türkiye, the US, and Europe.

Tensions have escalated regarding the US military presence in Syria, gaining momentum following a recent report by Foreign Policy, which unveiled that the US is considering ending its military presence in Syria.

“While no definitive decision has been made to leave, four sources within the Defense and State Departments said the White House is no longer invested in sustaining a mission that it perceives as unnecessary. Active internal discussions are now underway to determine how and when a withdrawal may take place,” according to the report.

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Palestinians Receptive to Lebanon’s Call to Limit Possession of Weapons in Refugee Camps

The Lebanese-Palestinian Dialogue Committee meets at the government headquarters. (Dialogue committee)
The Lebanese-Palestinian Dialogue Committee meets at the government headquarters. (Dialogue committee)
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Palestinians Receptive to Lebanon’s Call to Limit Possession of Weapons in Refugee Camps

The Lebanese-Palestinian Dialogue Committee meets at the government headquarters. (Dialogue committee)
The Lebanese-Palestinian Dialogue Committee meets at the government headquarters. (Dialogue committee)

Lebanon has started to exert serious efforts to restrict the possession of weapons inside Palestinian refugee camps in the country in line with President Joseph Aoun’s inaugural speech.

The president had demanded that the possession of weapons in the country and the camps be limited to the state.

The Lebanese-Palestinian Dialogue Committee met at the government headquarters in Beirut three days ago to discuss the issue.

All Palestinian factions attended the meeting, and the gatherers agreed to “completely” resolve the Palestinian possession of arms outside the camps. They also agreed to outline how to restrict weapons inside the camps in line with the president’s speech.

The Lebanese state has yet to come up with the mechanism to confiscate the weapons inside the camps.

A Lebanese security source told Asharq Al-Awsat that the arms will be tackled through a political approach drawn up by the government. “It will be carried out by the army with the security agencies and in coordination with the Palestinian factions in the camp, led by the Fatah movement, which is the official representative of the Palestinian people,” it added.

The Palestinians have expressed their “complete understanding” of the issue, it remarked.

The laying down of weapons by Palestinian factions is a step towards all illegal weapons throughout the country being turned over to the Lebanese state, it went on to say.

“There are no longer any excuses for weapons to remain in possession of any organization,” stressed the source.

Lebanese groups will be demanded to lay down their arms after the Palestinian ones do, it added.

In a first, the Palestinian factions have been very receptive to a Lebanese head of state’s demand to cooperate in limiting the possession of weapons in the refugee camps.

Member of the Palestinian National and Central Councils Haitham Zaiter said that the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) recognizes that the camps are part of Lebanese territories, so they come under the authority of the state and its laws.

He told Asharq Al-Awsat that “complete coordination” is ongoing between the Lebanese security agencies and PLO inside the camps where several wanted Lebanese and Palestinian suspects and others from other nationalities have been turned over to the authorities.

The suspects had sought refuge in the camps to avoid justice in the crimes they have committed, he acknowledged.

“The PLO is the sole representative of the Palestinian people inside Palestine and in the diaspora,” he stated.

Moreover, Zaiter explained that Palestinian weapons in Lebanon are either carried by the Palestinian Front for the Liberation of Palestine – General Command (PFLP-GC) outside the camps or by non-partisan individuals inside the camps.

The PFLP-GC laid down its weapons as soon as the Syrian regime of Bashar al-Assad collapsed in December.

Heavy weapons inside the camps had been previously brought in with the aim to undermine the PLO, he added.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas “has constantly called for coordination with Lebanese authorities to limit the possession of these weapons,” Zaiter said.