Bukhari: Saudi Arabia Stands With the Lebanese

Grand Mufti Sheikh Abdullatif Derian received Saudi Ambassador Walid Bukhari on Tuesday at Dar-al-Fatwa in Beirut | NNA
Grand Mufti Sheikh Abdullatif Derian received Saudi Ambassador Walid Bukhari on Tuesday at Dar-al-Fatwa in Beirut | NNA
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Bukhari: Saudi Arabia Stands With the Lebanese

Grand Mufti Sheikh Abdullatif Derian received Saudi Ambassador Walid Bukhari on Tuesday at Dar-al-Fatwa in Beirut | NNA
Grand Mufti Sheikh Abdullatif Derian received Saudi Ambassador Walid Bukhari on Tuesday at Dar-al-Fatwa in Beirut | NNA

Saudi Ambassador to Lebanon Walid Bukhari said that the Kingdom was keen on Lebanon’s security, safety, and stability.

Grand Mufti Sheikh Abdullatif Derian received Bukhari on Tuesday at Dar-al-Fatwa in Beirut.

An official statement said that during the meeting, Ambassador Bukhari highlighted “keenness on Lebanon’s security, safety, and stability,” and reiterated the Kingdom’s support for all the Lebanese.

He also valued the “unifying role assumed by Dar-al-Fatwa,” hoping that the current crisis would end soon and that prosperity and safety would return to Lebanon.

Commenting on the announcement of the US peace plan, known as the “Deal of the Century”, Bukhari renewed Saudi Arabia’s solidarity with the Palestinian people and their legitimate rights.

“Saudi Arabia is committed to a just solution that ensures the rights of the Palestinian people and the establishment of an independent Palestinian state with east Jerusalem as its capital,” he said.



Germany Joins US, UK in Making Diplomatic Contact with Syria's HTS

A man rides a motorcycle past destroyed buildings in the Shayah district of Homs on December 16, 2024. (Photo by AAREF WATAD / AFP)
A man rides a motorcycle past destroyed buildings in the Shayah district of Homs on December 16, 2024. (Photo by AAREF WATAD / AFP)
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Germany Joins US, UK in Making Diplomatic Contact with Syria's HTS

A man rides a motorcycle past destroyed buildings in the Shayah district of Homs on December 16, 2024. (Photo by AAREF WATAD / AFP)
A man rides a motorcycle past destroyed buildings in the Shayah district of Homs on December 16, 2024. (Photo by AAREF WATAD / AFP)

Germany plans talks with representatives of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) in Damascus on Tuesday, the foreign ministry said, joining the United States and Britain in establishing contact with the group after it led the overthrow of Syria's Bashar al-Assad.
German diplomats' first talks with representatives of the HTS-appointed interim government will focus on a transitional process for Syria and the protection of minorities, a spokesperson for the German foreign ministry said.
"The possibilities of a diplomatic presence in Damascus are also being explored there," the spokesperson added in a statement, reiterating that Berlin was monitoring HTS closely.

"As far as one can tell, they have acted prudently so far," the spokesperson said of the group, whose fighters led the ouster of Assad earlier this month, ending 13 years of war.

The conflict triggered the movement of some one million Syrian refugees to Germany. Its end has stoked debate in the country on asylum procedures, now paused for Syrians pending an assessment of the situation in their home country.

Germany is liaising closely with its partners, including the US, France and Britain, as well as Arab states, on Syria, the German ministry spokesperson said.