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Russian Draft in Sochi: Construction, Lifting Sanctions without Political Conditions

UN envoy Staffan de Mistura and Syrian chief negotiator and Ambassador of the Permanent Representative Mission of Syria to the United Nations Bashar al-Jaafari and delegate members are pictured ahead the start of talks on Syria in Vienna on January 25, 2018. REUTERS/Alex Halada/Pool
UN envoy Staffan de Mistura and Syrian chief negotiator and Ambassador of the Permanent Representative Mission of Syria to the United Nations Bashar al-Jaafari and delegate members are pictured ahead the start of talks on Syria in Vienna on January 25, 2018. REUTERS/Alex Halada/Pool
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Russian Draft in Sochi: Construction, Lifting Sanctions without Political Conditions

UN envoy Staffan de Mistura and Syrian chief negotiator and Ambassador of the Permanent Representative Mission of Syria to the United Nations Bashar al-Jaafari and delegate members are pictured ahead the start of talks on Syria in Vienna on January 25, 2018. REUTERS/Alex Halada/Pool
UN envoy Staffan de Mistura and Syrian chief negotiator and Ambassador of the Permanent Representative Mission of Syria to the United Nations Bashar al-Jaafari and delegate members are pictured ahead the start of talks on Syria in Vienna on January 25, 2018. REUTERS/Alex Halada/Pool

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres will send his Special Envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura to Sochi next week to attend the Congress of the Syrian National Dialogue.

Asharq Al-Awsat received the document prepared by Moscow to be issued in the conclusion of Sochi, including a call by the 1,500 participants to lift unilateral sanctions on Damascus, adopt procedures to start the reconstruction and allow the return of refugees without linking this to any political dimension.

Stephane Dujarric, the UN’s spokesman, said in a statement that “The Secretary-General is confident that the Congress in Sochi will be an important contribution to a revived intra-Syrian talks process under the auspices of the United Nations in Geneva.”

This decision represented a shock to some of the Syrian High Negotiations Committee (HNC) members because it came hours after the HNC announced boycotting the congress.

For his part, Guterres sent to Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov a letter that includes a set of conditions for the UN to attend the Sochi congress.

One of the conditions is for the Syrian government delegation to constructively engage. The Secretary General calls for the formation of a constitutional committee with representatives from the Syrian government and the opposition. The constitutional committee should formulate a new constitution, Guterres says.

The UN chief also demands that the Sochi congress be held once and that it supports the Geneva peace process.

Furthermore, he calls on Assad’s commitment to approve a new constitution for holding parliamentary and presidential elections under UN supervision and in line with Resolution 2254.

Obviously, none of these conditions were achieved, therefore the future approach will focus on enhancing outcomes of Sochi Congress, which include two documents: the concluding statement and the call to the Syrian people.

Sochi Call

This is the brief of the document prepared by Moscow to be approved in the conclusion of the congress:

Participants are convinced that the war in Syria against terrorism will soon end, and they call the UN, world humanitarian institutions and international community to contribute to overcoming the war consequences. Assisting the return of Syria to the peaceful life would reflect positively on the Middle East. There will also be a call to lift the sanctions imposed by one side on Syria, and this would resolve all humanitarian and economic problems.

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Arab World

Türkiye Holds Military Funeral for Libyan Officers Killed in Plane Crash

The Libyan national flag flies at half-mast in Tripoli on December 24, 2025, after the head of Libya's armed forces and his four aides died in a plane crash in Türkiye. (AFP)
The Libyan national flag flies at half-mast in Tripoli on December 24, 2025, after the head of Libya's armed forces and his four aides died in a plane crash in Türkiye. (AFP)
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Türkiye Holds Military Funeral for Libyan Officers Killed in Plane Crash

The Libyan national flag flies at half-mast in Tripoli on December 24, 2025, after the head of Libya's armed forces and his four aides died in a plane crash in Türkiye. (AFP)
The Libyan national flag flies at half-mast in Tripoli on December 24, 2025, after the head of Libya's armed forces and his four aides died in a plane crash in Türkiye. (AFP)

Türkiye held a military funeral ceremony Saturday morning for five Libyan officers, including western Libya’s military chief, who died in a plane crash earlier this week.

The private jet with Gen. Muhammad Ali Ahmad al-Haddad, four other military officers and three crew members crashed on Tuesday after taking off from Ankara, Türkiye’s capital, killing everyone on board. Libyan officials said the cause of the crash was a technical malfunction on the plane.

Al-Hadad was the top military commander in western Libya and played a crucial role in the ongoing, UN-brokered efforts to unify Libya’s military.

The high-level Libyan delegation was on its way back to Tripoli, Libya’s capital, after holding defense talks in Ankara aimed at boosting military cooperation between the two countries.

Saturday's ceremony was held at 8:00 a.m. local time at the Murted Airfield base, near Ankara, and attended by the Turkish military chief and the defense minister. The five caskets, each wrapped in a Libyan national flag, were then loaded onto a plane to be returned to their home country.

Türkiye’s military chief, Selcuk Bayraktaroglu, was also on the plane headed to Libya, state-run news agency TRT reported.

The bodies recovered from the crash site were kept at the Ankara Forensic Medicine Institute for identification. Justice Minister Yilmaz Tunc told reporters their DNA was compared to family members who joined a 22-person delegation that arrived from Libya after the crash.

Tunc also said Germany was asked to help examine the jet's black boxes as an impartial third party.

Arab World

Syrian Foreign Ministry: Talks with SDF Have Not Yielded Tangible Results

SDF fighters are seen at a military parade in Qamishli. (Reuters file)
SDF fighters are seen at a military parade in Qamishli. (Reuters file)
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Syrian Foreign Ministry: Talks with SDF Have Not Yielded Tangible Results

SDF fighters are seen at a military parade in Qamishli. (Reuters file)
SDF fighters are seen at a military parade in Qamishli. (Reuters file)

A source from the Syrian Foreign Ministry said on Friday that the talks with the Kurdish Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) over their integration into state institutions “have not yielded tangible results.”

Discussions about merging the northeastern institutions into the state remain “hypothetical statements without execution,” it told Syria’s state news agency SANA.

Repeated assertions over Syria’s unity are being contradicted by the reality on the ground in the northeast, where the Kurds hold sway and where administrative, security and military institutions continue to be run separately from the state, it added.

The situation “consolidates the division” instead of addressing it, it warned.

It noted that despite the SDF’s continued highlighting of its dialogue with the Syrian state, these discussions have not led to tangible results.

It seems that the SDF is using this approach to absorb the political pressure on it, said the source. The truth is that there is little actual will to move from discussion to application of the March 10 agreement.

This raises doubts over the SDF’s commitment to the deal, it stressed.

Talk about rapprochement between the state and SDF remains meaningless if the agreement is not implemented on the ground within a specific timeframe, the source remarked.

Furthermore, the continued deployment of armed formations on the ground that are not affiliated with the Syrian army are evidence that progress is not being made.

The persistence of the situation undermines Syria’s sovereignty and hampers efforts to restore stability, it warned.

Arab World

Terrorist Attack on Mosque in Syria’s Homs Draws Wide Condemnation

A view shows an interior of a damaged mosque after several people were killed in an explosion in Homs, Syria December 26, 2025. (Reuters)
A view shows an interior of a damaged mosque after several people were killed in an explosion in Homs, Syria December 26, 2025. (Reuters)
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Terrorist Attack on Mosque in Syria’s Homs Draws Wide Condemnation

A view shows an interior of a damaged mosque after several people were killed in an explosion in Homs, Syria December 26, 2025. (Reuters)
A view shows an interior of a damaged mosque after several people were killed in an explosion in Homs, Syria December 26, 2025. (Reuters)

Condemnations poured in across the Arab world and international community of the terrorist attack that targeted a mosque in Syria’s Homs city on Friday.

An explosion killed at least eight worshippers with the extremist group Saraya Ansar al-Sunna claiming responsibility.

In a statement on Telegram, the group said its fighters “detonated a number of explosive devices” in the Imam Ali Bin Abi Talib Mosque in the central Syrian city.

Syria's interior ministry said in a statement that “a terrorist explosion” targeted the mosque and that authorities had “begun investigating and collecting evidence to pursue the perpetrators of this criminal act.”

The Saudi Ministry of Foreign Affairs condemned the attack, stressing the Kingdom’s “categorical rejection of terrorism and extremism in all their forms, including attacks on mosques and places of worship and the targeting of innocent civilians.”

It expressed the Kingdom’s “solidarity with Syria in this tragic incident and its support for the Syrian government’s efforts to uphold security and stability.”

Türkiye slammed the attack, saying it stands by Syria and its efforts to support stability, security and unity “despite all the provocations.”

The Iraqi Foreign Ministry strongly condemned the “heinous terrorist attack,” saying Baghdad rejects all forms of terrorism, violence and extremism regardless of their motives.

It slammed the attack against civilians and places of worship, saying they aim to create instability and sow strife in society.

The ministry underlined Iraq’s support for regional and international efforts aimed at eliminating terrorism and drying up its sources of funding.

The United Arab Emirates condemned the attack, saying it rejects all forms of violence and terrorism that aim to undermine security and stability.

Jordan’s Foreign Ministry slammed the attack, voicing its full support to Syria in its reconstruction process “based on principles that ensure its territorial unity, sovereignty, security and stability.”

In Beirut, President Joseph Aoun slammed the Homs attack, saying Lebanon stands by Syria in its war on terrorism. He offered his condolences to the Syrian people.

Qatar slammed the attack, saying it fully stands by the Syrian government and all the measures it takes to preserve security.

France said the blast was an “act of terrorism” designed to destabilize the country, while United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres condemned the “unacceptable” attack and said the perpetrators should be brought to justice.