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Egypt’s Ex-President Mubarak Getting Ready for Rare Appearance

Former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak seen at a court in Cairo in December 2018. (Reuters)
Former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak seen at a court in Cairo in December 2018. (Reuters)
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Egypt’s Ex-President Mubarak Getting Ready for Rare Appearance

Former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak seen at a court in Cairo in December 2018. (Reuters)
Former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak seen at a court in Cairo in December 2018. (Reuters)

Preparing the ground for a rare appearance by former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, his eldest son, Alaa, said on Monday that his father “would soon speak about some events that took place in the October 1973 war.”

Since he was toppled during the January 25, 2011 revolution, Mubarak has made very few public appearances and media statements. Among them was an interview with Kuwait’s al-Watan newspaper during which he spoke about his memories of the Gulf war.

In a Twitter post Monday, Alaa said his father, who ruled Egypt for almost 30 years, would speak for the first time since he was ousted from power. On the occasion of the 46th anniversary of the 1973 Arab-Israeli War, he will open up about his memories of the conflict, in which he participated as an Air Force Commander.

Mubarak, 91, and his two sons were sentenced by an Egyptian court for embezzling millions of dollars of state funds over the course of a decade.

The ruling deprives the former president from being decorated with medals or from having a state military funeral.

Alaa said the interview will air on Tuesday at 8:30pm Cairo time, providing a YouTube link where it can be accessed.

The 1973 Arab–Israeli War, also known as the Yom Kippur War, was a conflict fought from October 6 to 25, 1973, by a coalition of Arab states, led by Egypt and Syria, against Israel.

Egyptian television anchor Ahmad Sayyed had announced in March that he would release an interview with Mubarak on the “Masr Hayat” channel. However, he later apologized from broadcasting it, citing “technical conditions beyond his control."

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Baku Seeking to Diffuse Tensions between Israel, Türkiye in Syria

Turkish troops return after a joint US-Türkiye patrol in northern Syria, as it is pictured from near the Turkish town of Akcakale, Türkiye, September 8, 2019. (Reuters)
Turkish troops return after a joint US-Türkiye patrol in northern Syria, as it is pictured from near the Turkish town of Akcakale, Türkiye, September 8, 2019. (Reuters)
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Baku Seeking to Diffuse Tensions between Israel, Türkiye in Syria

Turkish troops return after a joint US-Türkiye patrol in northern Syria, as it is pictured from near the Turkish town of Akcakale, Türkiye, September 8, 2019. (Reuters)
Turkish troops return after a joint US-Türkiye patrol in northern Syria, as it is pictured from near the Turkish town of Akcakale, Türkiye, September 8, 2019. (Reuters)

With growing influence after its recapture of Nagorno-Karabakh from Armenian separatists in 2023, Azerbaijan is using its close ties with Israel and Türkiye to defuse tensions between the regional foes in Syria.

Azerbaijan’s top foreign policy adviser Hikmet Hajiyev told AFP that Baku has hosted more than three rounds of talks between Türkiye and Israel, who are both operating in Syria to reduce what they see as security threats.

“Azerbaijan is making diplomatic efforts for an agreement,” Hajiyev told Turkish journalists in Baku on a visit organized by the Istanbul-based Global Journalism Council. “Both Türkiye and Israel trust us.”

The overthrow of Syrian strongman Bashar al-Assad sparked security concerns in Israel.

It has since staged hundreds of strikes deep inside Syria, the latest on Friday, to allegedly stop advanced weapons falling into the hands of Syria’s extremists and to protect the Druze minority.

Israel has accused Ankara of seeking to turn Syria into a Turkish protectorate, raising fears of a confrontation.

In Azerbaijan, President Ilham Aliyev is considered a close ally of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. He has consistently aligned himself with Ankara’s positions on key international matters, including the Syrian issue.

Azerbaijan also enjoys good relations with Israel, which is very reliant on Azerbaijani oil, and is a major arms supplier to Baku.

And now Baku, which has established contacts with Syria’s new rulers, is pushing quiet diplomacy by facilitating technical talks between Türkiye and Israel.

“We are successful if the two parties agree on a common model that respects each other’s concerns,” Farid Shafiyev, chairman of the Baku-based Center for Analysis of International Relations, told AFP.

“Syria, and especially its northern territories, is the Turkish security concern,” he said.

Türkiye wants to control northern Syria but also to “have a stronger presence” around the Palmyra and T4 airbases to ensure security around Damascus, he added.

In facilitating Türkiye-Israel dialogue on Syria, Azerbaijan is playing a “strategic role,” said Zaur Mammadov, chairman of Baku Political Scientists Club.

“(It) reflects Azerbaijan’s growing influence as a mediator... among regional actors,” he said.

Azerbaijan fought two wars with arch-foe Armenia for control of the disputed Karabakh region -- one in the 1990s and another in 2020 -- before it managed to seize the entire area in a 24-hour offensive in September 2023.