عربي English Türkçe اردو فارسى
Logo
Latest News
Arab World

Egypt's Sisi Meets Syria's Sharaa in Cairo for First Time

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, greets Syria's interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa as Egypt hosts emergency Arab summit to discuss Palestinian developments, at Egypt's New Administrative Capital in Cairo, March 4, 2025. Egyptian Presidency/Handout via REUTERS
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, greets Syria's interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa as Egypt hosts emergency Arab summit to discuss Palestinian developments, at Egypt's New Administrative Capital in Cairo, March 4, 2025. Egyptian Presidency/Handout via REUTERS
TT
20
TT

Egypt's Sisi Meets Syria's Sharaa in Cairo for First Time

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, greets Syria's interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa as Egypt hosts emergency Arab summit to discuss Palestinian developments, at Egypt's New Administrative Capital in Cairo, March 4, 2025. Egyptian Presidency/Handout via REUTERS
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, greets Syria's interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa as Egypt hosts emergency Arab summit to discuss Palestinian developments, at Egypt's New Administrative Capital in Cairo, March 4, 2025. Egyptian Presidency/Handout via REUTERS

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi met Syria's new president, Ahmed al-Sharaa, for the first time on the sidelines of the summit held to discuss Gaza's reconstruction in Cairo on Tuesday.

Sharaa has been trying to gain support from Arab and Western leaders since he led an opposition offensive that toppled former Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in December 2024.

The Syrian state news agency said Foreign Minister Asaad Hassan al-Shibani also attended the meeting, but did not give further details on the agenda.

The Egyptian presidency said in a later statement that Sisi urged launching a comprehensive political process that includes all Syrians without excluding any parties during the meeting with Sharaa.

Sisi also expressed Egypt's keenness on the unity and safety of Syrian lands, reiterating its rejection to any "assault" on Syrian territory.

Most Viewed

 
Arab World

Lebanese President Says Hezbollah Disarmament Will Come through Dialogue Not ‘Force’ 

President Joseph Aoun in Baabda on Feb. 11, 2025. (AFP)
President Joseph Aoun in Baabda on Feb. 11, 2025. (AFP)
TT
20
TT

Lebanese President Says Hezbollah Disarmament Will Come through Dialogue Not ‘Force’ 

President Joseph Aoun in Baabda on Feb. 11, 2025. (AFP)
President Joseph Aoun in Baabda on Feb. 11, 2025. (AFP)

Lebanon's president said Monday that the disarmament of the Hezbollah group will come through negotiations as part of a national defense strategy and not through “force.”

The Lebanese government has made a decision that “weapons will only be in the hands of the state,” but there are “discussions around how to implement this decision,” President Joseph Aoun said in an interview with Qatari broadcaster Al Jazeera.

Those discussions are in the form of a “bilateral dialogue” between the presidency and Hezbollah, he said.

Lebanon has been under pressure by the United States to speed up the disarmament of Hezbollah but there are fears within Lebanon that forcing the issue could lead to civil conflict.

“Civil peace is a red line for me,” Aoun said.

Aoun said the Lebanese army — of which he was formerly commander — is “doing its duty” in confiscating weapons and dismantling unauthorized military facilities in southern Lebanon, as outlined in the ceasefire agreement that ended the latest Israel-Hezbollah war in late November, and sometimes in areas farther north.