Russia Says It’s in Touch with New Authorities in Syria

A street vendor poses next to Syrian opposition flags for sale in Syria's northern city of Aleppo on December 11, 2024. (AFP)
A street vendor poses next to Syrian opposition flags for sale in Syria's northern city of Aleppo on December 11, 2024. (AFP)
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Russia Says It’s in Touch with New Authorities in Syria

A street vendor poses next to Syrian opposition flags for sale in Syria's northern city of Aleppo on December 11, 2024. (AFP)
A street vendor poses next to Syrian opposition flags for sale in Syria's northern city of Aleppo on December 11, 2024. (AFP)

Russia said Wednesday it has maintained contacts with the new authorities in Syria.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that “we are monitoring most closely what is happening in Syria.”

“We, of course, maintain contacts with those who are currently controlling the situation in Syria,” Peskov said in a conference call with reporters.

“This is necessary because our bases are located there, our diplomatic mission is located there and, of course, the issue related to ensuring the security of these facilities is extremely important and of primary significance.”

Peskov wouldn’t give details of those contacts, saying only that Russia has contacted “those who are controlling the situation on the ground.”

He wouldn’t give the number of Russian troops in Syria.

Asked to comment about Israel’s seizure of a buffer zone on the border with Syria, Peskov called them destabilizing.

“The strikes and actions in the Golan Heights area, in the buffer zone area, are unlikely to help stabilize the situation in an already destabilized Syria,” he said.

Russia has granted political asylum to ousted Syrian President Bashar Assad and his family after they fled opposition fighters who seized Damascus over the weekend.



Egypt Plans to Offer ‘Comprehensive Proposal’ to Rebuild Gaza While Palestinians Remain in Strip 

Palestinians walk in the destruction caused by the Israeli air and ground offensive in Jabaliya, Gaza Strip, Tuesday, Feb. 11, 2025. (AP)
Palestinians walk in the destruction caused by the Israeli air and ground offensive in Jabaliya, Gaza Strip, Tuesday, Feb. 11, 2025. (AP)
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Egypt Plans to Offer ‘Comprehensive Proposal’ to Rebuild Gaza While Palestinians Remain in Strip 

Palestinians walk in the destruction caused by the Israeli air and ground offensive in Jabaliya, Gaza Strip, Tuesday, Feb. 11, 2025. (AP)
Palestinians walk in the destruction caused by the Israeli air and ground offensive in Jabaliya, Gaza Strip, Tuesday, Feb. 11, 2025. (AP)

Egypt said on Tuesday it plans to offer a "comprehensive proposal" to rebuild Gaza while ensuring Palestinians remain on their land, according to a foreign ministry statement.

It said it is looking forward to cooperating with US President Donald Trump to reach comprehensive and just peace in the region.

The statement comes as Trump continues to press for his plan to take over the Gaza Strip and resettle its population to neighboring Egypt and Jordan despite vehement rejection from Arab states.

Egypt rejected any proposal to allocate land to Gaza residents, the state-affiliated Al Qahera News TV reported on Tuesday, citing Egyptian sources.

Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi told state-owned al-Mamlaka TV on Tuesday that there is an Egyptian-led Arab plan to rebuild Gaza without displacing its people.

Trump said earlier on the same day that he believed there would be a parcel of land in Jordan, Egypt and someplace else where Palestinians can be resettled.

Trump has infuriated the Arab world by saying that Palestinians would not be able to return to their homes under his proposal to redevelop the enclave, which has been devastated by an Israeli offensive.

"We're going to take it. We're going to hold it, we're going to cherish it. We're going to get it going eventually, where a lot of jobs are going to be created for the people in the Middle East," Trump said in the Oval Office during a meeting with Jordan’s King Abdullah II, saying his plan would "bring peace" to the region.

King Abdullah said later that he reiterated to Trump Jordan’s "steadfast position" against the displacement of Palestinians in Gaza, as well as in the occupied West Bank that borders his country.