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Technical Consultations Precede Astana 6, Washington Participates as Observer

Participants of Syria peace talks attend the meeting in Astana, Kazakhstan, on January 23 [Reuters/Mukhtar Kholdorbekov]
Participants of Syria peace talks attend the meeting in Astana, Kazakhstan, on January 23 [Reuters/Mukhtar Kholdorbekov]
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Technical Consultations Precede Astana 6, Washington Participates as Observer

Participants of Syria peace talks attend the meeting in Astana, Kazakhstan, on January 23 [Reuters/Mukhtar Kholdorbekov]
Participants of Syria peace talks attend the meeting in Astana, Kazakhstan, on January 23 [Reuters/Mukhtar Kholdorbekov]

Experts from the guarantor states held a round of consultations on Wednesday in the Kazakh capital to prepare for the 6th round of talks on Syria, which will be officially launched on Thursday and is expected to witness the signing of an agreement on the establishment of a de-escalation zone in Idlib governorate.

The United States confirmed its participation as an observer in this meeting, but expressed concern over Iran’s presence in Astana as a guarantor state.

Meanwhile, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammed Javad Zarif arrived in Moscow on Wednesday, on an unannounced visit, to discuss the Syrian file with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and President Vladimir Putin.

Delegates from countries and parties involved in the Astana negotiations will take part in the talks, including the Guarantor States (Russia, Turkey and Iran), representatives of the Syrian regime and the Syrian opposition factions, the United Nations represented by International Envoy Staffan de Mistura, as well as Jordan and the United States as observers.

David Satterfield, the US acting assistant secretary of state for Near Eastern affairs, will head the US delegation.

In a statement, the US State Department said Satterfield would “reinforce US support for all efforts to achieve a sustainable de-escalation of violence and provision of unhindered humanitarian aid.”

But it said Washington “remains concerned with Iran’s involvement as a so-called 'guarantor' of the Astana process.”

The State Department went on to say that Iran’s “activities in Syria and unquestioning support” for President Bashar al-Assad’s government “have perpetuated the conflict and increased the suffering of ordinary Syrians.”

The Kazakh foreign ministry said that Thursday’s talks were expected to focus on the establishment of a de-escalation zone in Idlib and the strengthening of the cease-fire in other areas.

The Kremlin said in a statement that talks between Putin and Zarif have touched on the situation in the Middle East, particularly in Syria, Iraq and the Gulf region, and the fight against terrorism.

For his part, the Russian foreign minister said following his meeting with Zarif that discussions have focused on the situation in Syria and Iraq, expressing hope that the current round of Astana negotiations would be successful.

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Lebanon Military Says One Soldier Killed, 18 Hurt in Israeli Strike on Army Center

Lebanese army soldiers and people stand at the site of an Israeli strike in the town of Baaloul, in the western Bekaa Valley, Lebanon October 19, 2024. REUTERS/Maher Abou Taleb
Lebanese army soldiers and people stand at the site of an Israeli strike in the town of Baaloul, in the western Bekaa Valley, Lebanon October 19, 2024. REUTERS/Maher Abou Taleb
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Lebanon Military Says One Soldier Killed, 18 Hurt in Israeli Strike on Army Center

Lebanese army soldiers and people stand at the site of an Israeli strike in the town of Baaloul, in the western Bekaa Valley, Lebanon October 19, 2024. REUTERS/Maher Abou Taleb
Lebanese army soldiers and people stand at the site of an Israeli strike in the town of Baaloul, in the western Bekaa Valley, Lebanon October 19, 2024. REUTERS/Maher Abou Taleb

An Israeli strike on a Lebanese army center on Sunday killed one soldier and wounded 18 others, the Lebanese military said.

It was the latest in a series of Israeli strikes that have killed over 40 Lebanese troops, even as the military has largely kept to the sidelines in the war between Israel and Hezbollah.

There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military, which has said previous strikes on Lebanese troops were accidental and that they are not a target of its campaign against Hezbollah.

Lebanon's caretaker prime minister, Najib Mikati, condemned it as an assault on US-led ceasefire efforts, calling it a “direct, bloody message rejecting all efforts and ongoing contacts” to end the war.

“(Israel is) again writing in Lebanese blood a brazen rejection of the solution that is being discussed,” a statement from his office read.

The strike occurred in southwestern Lebanon on the coastal road between Tyre and Naqoura, where there has been heavy fighting between Israel and Hezbollah.

Hezbollah began firing rockets, missiles and drones into Israel after Hamas' Oct. 7, 2023, attack out of the Gaza Strip ignited the war there. Hezbollah has portrayed the attacks as an act of solidarity with the Palestinians and Hamas. Iran supports both armed groups.

Israel has launched retaliatory airstrikes since the rocket fire began, and in September the low-level conflict erupted into all-out war, as Israel launched waves of airstrikes across large parts of Lebanon and killed Hezbollah's top leader, Hassan Nasrallah, and several of his top commanders.

Israeli airstrikes early Saturday pounded central Beirut, killing at least 20 people and wounding 66, according to Lebanon's Health Ministry. Hezbollah has continued to fire regular barrages into Israel, forcing people to race for shelters and occasionally killing or wounding them.

Israeli attacks have killed more than 3,500 people in Lebanon, according to Lebanon’s Health Ministry. The fighting has displaced about 1.2 million people, or a quarter of Lebanon’s population.

On the Israeli side, about 90 soldiers and nearly 50 civilians have been killed by bombardments in northern Israel and in battle following Israel's ground invasion in early October. Around 60,000 Israelis have been displaced from the country's north.

Hezbollah fired barrages of rockets into northern and central Israel on Sunday, some of which were intercepted.

Israel's Magen David Adom rescue service said it was treating two people in the central city of Petah Tikva, a 23-year-old man who was lightly wounded by a blast and a 70-year-old woman suffering from smoke inhalation from a car that caught fire. The first responders said they also treated two women in their 50s who were wounded in northern Israel.

It was unclear whether the injuries and damage were caused by the rockets or interceptors.

The Biden administration has spent months trying to broker a ceasefire, and US envoy Amos Hochstein was back in the region last week.

The emerging agreement would pave the way for the withdrawal of Hezbollah fighters and Israeli troops from southern Lebanon below the Litani River in accordance with the UN Security Council resolution that ended the 2006 war. Lebanese troops would patrol the area, with the presence of UN peacekeepers.