عربي English Türkçe اردو فارسى
Logo
Latest News
Arab World

Russia Insists on Holding Sochi Summit in Parallel with Geneva Talks on Syria

Russian President Vladimir Putin attends a meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Hamburg, Germany July 7, 2017 (Sputnik/Mikhail Klimentyev/Kremlin via REUTERS)
Russian President Vladimir Putin attends a meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Hamburg, Germany July 7, 2017 (Sputnik/Mikhail Klimentyev/Kremlin via REUTERS)
TT
20
TT

Russia Insists on Holding Sochi Summit in Parallel with Geneva Talks on Syria

Russian President Vladimir Putin attends a meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Hamburg, Germany July 7, 2017 (Sputnik/Mikhail Klimentyev/Kremlin via REUTERS)
Russian President Vladimir Putin attends a meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Hamburg, Germany July 7, 2017 (Sputnik/Mikhail Klimentyev/Kremlin via REUTERS)

Moscow is insisting on holding the Syrian National Dialogue Conference in Sochi, which is set to kick off on December 2, a few days after the launching of the Geneva meeting on Syria upon the initiative of UN Special Envoy Staffan de Mistura, well-informed sources told Asharq Al-Awsat.
 
Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Gennady Gatilov met with the international envoy in Geneva to discuss the role of the United Nations in the “Sochi Conference”, which Moscow wants to hold with the participation of around 1,300 participants to discuss “political reform” in Syria and the formation of a committee to amend or draft the constitution, paving the way for the elections.
 
According to information available to Asharq Al-Awsat, the Russian Defense Ministry has started contacts with Syria to invite, to Sochi early next month, about 1,000 representatives of the “de-escalation zones” agreements, in addition to political forces and civil society groups, as well as hundreds of participants from other countries.
 
While Tehran, Damascus and Washington have not welcomed the holding of the Russian conference, Ankara has set a condition represented by its rejection to invite the Democratic National Union of Kurdistan to the conference, in order to encourage Ankara’s allies in the Syrian opposition to attend the talks, as reported by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to Russian President Vladimir Putin in Sochi a few days ago.
 
The Sochi conference was present in the meetings of Iranian Assistant Foreign Minister Hassan Ansari in Moscow and his talks in Damascus with the head of the Syrian regime, Bashar al-Assad, and Foreign Minister Walid al-Moualem.
 
It will also be discussed during the upcoming meeting of the foreign ministers of countries sponsoring the Astana talks – Russia, Turkey and Iran – which will be held in the few coming days.

Most Viewed

 
Arab World

Sudan Army-backed Council to Meet on US Truce Proposal

Makeshift shelters erected by displaced Sudanese who fled El-Fasher after the city fell to the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), make up the Um Yanqur camp, located on the southwestern edge of Tawila, in war-torn Sudan's western Darfur region on November 3, 2025. (Photo by AFP)
Makeshift shelters erected by displaced Sudanese who fled El-Fasher after the city fell to the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), make up the Um Yanqur camp, located on the southwestern edge of Tawila, in war-torn Sudan's western Darfur region on November 3, 2025. (Photo by AFP)
TT
20
TT

Sudan Army-backed Council to Meet on US Truce Proposal

Makeshift shelters erected by displaced Sudanese who fled El-Fasher after the city fell to the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), make up the Um Yanqur camp, located on the southwestern edge of Tawila, in war-torn Sudan's western Darfur region on November 3, 2025. (Photo by AFP)
Makeshift shelters erected by displaced Sudanese who fled El-Fasher after the city fell to the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), make up the Um Yanqur camp, located on the southwestern edge of Tawila, in war-torn Sudan's western Darfur region on November 3, 2025. (Photo by AFP)

Sudan's army-backed defense council is set to meet Tuesday to consider a US-backed truce proposal, a government source told AFP, just over a week after paramilitaries overran the key city of El-Fasher.

The Rapid Support Forces, at war with the army since April 2023, appears to be preparing an assault on the central Kordofan region after it captured El-Fasher, the last army stronghold in Darfur, just over a week ago.

"The Security and Defense Council will hold a meeting today to discuss the US truce proposal," the source said on condition of anonymity because they are not authorized to brief the media.

The so-called Quad group -- comprising the United States, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia -- has been engaged in months of diplomacy aimed at securing a truce in the more than 30-month conflict in Sudan.

In September, the four powers proposed a three-month humanitarian truce, followed by a permanent ceasefire and a nine-month transition to civilian rule, hinting at excluding both the army and the RSF from the transitional process.

The Sudanese army-aligned government immediately rejected the plan at the time.

In the aftermath of the RSF's assault on El-Fasher, reports emerged of mass killings, sexual violence, attacks on aid workers, looting and abductions during the offensive.

The International Criminal Court on Monday voiced "profound alarm and deepest concern" over such reports, warning that such acts "may constitute war crimes and crimes against humanity".

Massad Boulos, the US president's senior advisor for Africa, held talks in Cairo on Sunday with Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty.

During the talks, Abdelatty stressed "the importance of concerted efforts to reach a humanitarian truce and a ceasefire throughout Sudan, paving the way for a comprehensive political process in the country", according to a foreign ministry statement.

On Monday, Boulos met Arab League chief Ahmed Aboul-Gheit and briefed him on recent US efforts in Sudan to "halt the war, expedite aid delivery and initiate a political process", according to an Arab League statement.

Despite repeated international appeals, the warring sides -- both of which are accused of committing atrocities -- have so far ignored calls for a ceasefire.

The fall of El-Fasher gave paramilitaries control over all five state capitals in Darfur, raising fears that Sudan would effectively be partitioned along an east-west axis.

The RSF now dominates Darfur and parts of the south while the army holds the north, east and central regions along the Nile and Red Sea.

 

Arab World

UN Secretary-general Decries 'Continued Violations' of Gaza Ceasefire

UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres addresses the audience during a press conference, part of the 16th United Nations Trade and Development (UNCTAD) ministerial conference, in Geneva on October 22, 2025. (AFP)
UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres addresses the audience during a press conference, part of the 16th United Nations Trade and Development (UNCTAD) ministerial conference, in Geneva on October 22, 2025. (AFP)
TT
20
TT

UN Secretary-general Decries 'Continued Violations' of Gaza Ceasefire

UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres addresses the audience during a press conference, part of the 16th United Nations Trade and Development (UNCTAD) ministerial conference, in Geneva on October 22, 2025. (AFP)
UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres addresses the audience during a press conference, part of the 16th United Nations Trade and Development (UNCTAD) ministerial conference, in Geneva on October 22, 2025. (AFP)

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Tuesday warned against violations of the ceasefire in Gaza that halted two years of devastating war in the Palestinian territory, said AFP.

Addressing reporters on the sidelines of the Second World Summit for Social Development in Doha, Guterres said he was "deeply concerned about the continued violations of the ceasefire in Gaza. They must stop and all parties must abide by the decisions of the first phase of the peace agreement."

Arab World

Israel Uses Gas Deal as Leverage to Curb Egyptian Military Presence in Sinai

A view of Egyptian-Israeli border. (Reuters)
A view of Egyptian-Israeli border. (Reuters)
TT
20
TT

Israel Uses Gas Deal as Leverage to Curb Egyptian Military Presence in Sinai

A view of Egyptian-Israeli border. (Reuters)
A view of Egyptian-Israeli border. (Reuters)

Israel is reportedly using its pending natural gas agreement with Egypt as a political pressure card to restrict the Egyptian military’s deployment in the Sinai Peninsula. The move comes amid escalating tensions between the two neighbors following the war in Gaza, which has complicated border security arrangements.

According to the Israeli daily Israel Hayom, Energy Minister Eli Cohen has been withholding final approval of a major gas export deal with Egypt “despite strong pressure from the administration of US President Donald Trump.”

The paper cited what it described as “alleged Egyptian violations of the peace treaty provisions concerning troop deployment in Sinai,” in addition to “concerns over rising gas prices for Israeli consumers.”

Days earlier, citing unnamed officials, Israeli media including Yedioth Ahronoth reported that US Energy Secretary Chris Wright canceled a planned visit to Israel after the Israeli government refused to endorse the large-scale gas export agreement with Cairo.

In a statement coinciding with reports, Cohen’s office said that “outstanding issues related to local pricing and national interests” remained unresolved, stressing that Israel “will not proceed until fair pricing for the domestic market and full energy security are guaranteed.”

Israel Hayom later quoted Cohen as saying: “Israel’s top priority remains protecting its security and economic interests.”

Tel Aviv continues to delay the final approval of gas exports from the Leviathan field to Egypt “until a clear settlement is reached regarding the presence of Egyptian forces in Sinai,” it added.

Egyptian military analyst and professor at the Military Academy for Advanced Studies, Major General Nasr Salem, dismissed Israel’s claims as “baseless,” saying: “Israel benefits far more from the gas agreement, since it lacks liquefaction facilities to export its gas to Europe. Without Egypt, Israel cannot market its production.”

Speaking to Asharq Al-Awsat, Salem emphasized: “Egypt has not violated any terms of the peace treaty, otherwise the Multinational Force and Observers (MFO) would have reported it.”

Military deployments in Sinai are “subject to coordination between Egyptian and Israeli security agencies,” he explained, adding: “Egypt will not be swayed by these false accusations or any Israeli pressure over troop presence or gas arrangements.”

In August, NewMed Energy, a partner in Israel’s Leviathan field, announced an amendment to the gas supply contract with Egypt, extending it to 2040 and raising its total value to $35 billion.

However, by early September, amid the Gaza conflict, Israeli media suggested that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had ordered a review of Egypt’s “full compliance” with the peace treaty before granting final approval.

Egyptian Council for Foreign Affairs member and Israel affairs expert Ahmed Fouad Anwar described Israel’s stance as “a sign of weakness,” noting that the treaty’s security annex has already been amended twice to allow additional Egyptian forces in Sinai.

“Israel itself violates the peace arrangements, particularly in Zone D along the Philadelphi (Salah al-Din) Corridor,” he added.

In that area - designated a demilitarized buffer zone under the 1979 peace treaty - Israeli forces recently re-entered during the Gaza war.

Egyptian MP Mostafa Bakry accused Israel on X of occupying the corridor’s 14-kilometer stretch along Egypt’s border with Gaza “in violation of the 2005 security protocol.”