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Macron Discusses Mideast Crisis with Egypt’s Sisi, Israel’s Netanyahu

French President Emmanuel Macron waits for the arrival of Lebanon's caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati (not seen) before a meeting at the Elysee Palace in Paris, France, April 19, 2024. (Reuters)
French President Emmanuel Macron waits for the arrival of Lebanon's caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati (not seen) before a meeting at the Elysee Palace in Paris, France, April 19, 2024. (Reuters)
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Macron Discusses Mideast Crisis with Egypt’s Sisi, Israel’s Netanyahu

French President Emmanuel Macron waits for the arrival of Lebanon's caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati (not seen) before a meeting at the Elysee Palace in Paris, France, April 19, 2024. (Reuters)
French President Emmanuel Macron waits for the arrival of Lebanon's caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati (not seen) before a meeting at the Elysee Palace in Paris, France, April 19, 2024. (Reuters)

French President Emmanuel Macron held phone calls on Monday with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to discuss ways of avoiding an escalation in the Middle East crisis, said France and Egypt.

The French presidency said Macron, in his call with Netanyahu, had reaffirmed Paris's desire to avoid an escalation in the Middle East and to stand up to what it said were Iran's efforts to destabilize the region.

The French presidency added that Macron had also reiterated to Netanyahu that France wanted an immediate and lasting ceasefire in Gaza and said Paris was working to ease tensions arising from clashes on the border between Israel and Lebanon.

In a separate statement, Egyptian presidential spokesperson Ahmed Fahmy said Macron had also discussed the Middle East crisis with the Egyptian leader and that both Macron and Sisi had agreed on the need to avoid further regional escalation.

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EU Foreign Ministers to Tackle Syria Sanctions Relief at End of Month

Syria's Foreign Minister Asaad Hassan al-Shibani attends a meeting on Syria, following the recent ousting of president Bashar al-Assad, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, January 12, 2025. REUTERS
Syria's Foreign Minister Asaad Hassan al-Shibani attends a meeting on Syria, following the recent ousting of president Bashar al-Assad, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, January 12, 2025. REUTERS
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EU Foreign Ministers to Tackle Syria Sanctions Relief at End of Month

Syria's Foreign Minister Asaad Hassan al-Shibani attends a meeting on Syria, following the recent ousting of president Bashar al-Assad, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, January 12, 2025. REUTERS
Syria's Foreign Minister Asaad Hassan al-Shibani attends a meeting on Syria, following the recent ousting of president Bashar al-Assad, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, January 12, 2025. REUTERS

European foreign ministers will meet at the end of January to discuss the lifting of sanctions on Syria, the EU foreign policy chief said on Sunday in Riyadh ahead of a meeting of top Middle Eastern and Western diplomats and Syria's new foreign minister.

Kaja Kallas, the EU foreign policy chief, said the foreign ministers would convene in Brussels on Jan. 27 in an effort to decide how the 27-nation bloc would relax sanctions on Syria, Reuters reported.

After 13 years of civil war, Syria's President Bashar al-Assad was ousted in a lightning offensive by insurgent forces led by the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) a month ago. The group has since set up a caretaker government in Damascus.

Any European decision to ease sanctions would be conditional on the new Syrian administration's approach to governing, which must include "different groups" and women and "no radicalization", Kallas said, without elaborating.

"If we see the developments going to the right direction, we are ready to do the next steps...If we see that it's not going to the right direction, then we can also move back on this."