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Britain's Lammy Holds Emergency Meeting over Lebanon

Britain's Foreign Secretary David Lammy gestures while speaking about climate and environment policy at Kew Gardens in London, Britain September 17, 2024. Frank Augstein/Pool via REUTERS/File Photo
Britain's Foreign Secretary David Lammy gestures while speaking about climate and environment policy at Kew Gardens in London, Britain September 17, 2024. Frank Augstein/Pool via REUTERS/File Photo
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Britain's Lammy Holds Emergency Meeting over Lebanon

Britain's Foreign Secretary David Lammy gestures while speaking about climate and environment policy at Kew Gardens in London, Britain September 17, 2024. Frank Augstein/Pool via REUTERS/File Photo
Britain's Foreign Secretary David Lammy gestures while speaking about climate and environment policy at Kew Gardens in London, Britain September 17, 2024. Frank Augstein/Pool via REUTERS/File Photo

Britain's foreign minister David Lammy chaired a meeting of the government's emergency committee, known as COBR, on Friday to discuss the latest situation in Lebanon, Reuters reported.

"The Foreign Secretary has chaired a meeting of COBR this morning on the latest situation in Lebanon and to discuss ongoing preparedness work, with the risk of escalation remaining high," the Foreign Office said in a statement.

This came as Israel hit a Beirut suburb with an airstrike Friday, not long after Hezbollah pounded northern Israel with 140 rockets following a vow by the militant group’s leader Hassan Nasrallah to retaliate against Israel for a mass bombing attack, the Israeli military and the militant group said.
The Israeli military said it had carried out a “targeted strike” in Beirut. It offered no further immediate details, but explosions could be heard coming from the city’s southern suburbs.
Beirut-based Al-Mayadeen TV reported that a drone fired several missiles on the heavily-populated area known as Dahiyeh.
A Hezbollah official, speaking on condition of anonymity because he wasn’t authorized to speak to the media, confirmed to The Associated Press that an airstrike struck the area, without giving further details.

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US Links Ankara-Damascus Normalization to Political Solution in Syria

Meeting between Erdogan and Assad in 2010 (Archive)
Meeting between Erdogan and Assad in 2010 (Archive)
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US Links Ankara-Damascus Normalization to Political Solution in Syria

Meeting between Erdogan and Assad in 2010 (Archive)
Meeting between Erdogan and Assad in 2010 (Archive)

Recent statements by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on his willingness to meet Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to normalize relations between the two countries have sparked mixed reactions.
While the Syrian opposition sees the possibility of such a meeting despite the challenges, Damascus views the statements as a political maneuver by the Turks. Meanwhile, the United States has tied the normalization process to achieving a political solution in Syria based on UN Security Council Resolution 2254, issued in 2015.
Turkish media reported on Thursday that a US administration official, who was not named, confirmed that Washington is against normalizing relations with the Syrian regime under Assad. He emphasized that Washington cannot accept normalizing ties with Damascus without progress toward a political solution that ends the conflicts in Syria.
Meanwhile, the head of the National Coalition of Syrian Revolution and Opposition Forces, Hadi al-Bahra, stated that a meeting between Assad and Erdogan is possible despite the obstacles. In a statement to Reuters on Thursday, Bahra said the meeting is feasible, even though Ankara is fully aware that the Assad regime cannot currently meet its demands and understands the regime’s limitations.
Bahra pointed out that the UN-led political process remains frozen and that he had briefed US and Western officials on the latest developments in the Syrian file. On Saturday, Bahra participated in a consultative meeting in Ankara with the Syrian Negotiation Commission, along with a high-level delegation from the US State Department, during which they exchanged views on the political solution and the need to establish binding mechanisms for implementing international resolutions related to the Syrian issue.
On the other side, Assad’s special advisor, Bouthaina Shaaban, dismissed Erdogan’s announcement that Ankara is awaiting a response from Damascus regarding his meeting with Assad for normalization as another political maneuver with ulterior motives.
Shaaban, speaking during a lecture at the Omani Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which was reported by Turkish media on Thursday, stated that any rapprochement between the two countries is contingent on its withdrawal of forces from Syrian territory.