Syrian, Israeli Officials Reportedly Meet at Hmeimim Air Base

A Russian Sukhoi Su-35 fighter jet is prepared for takeoff at the Russian military base of Hmeimim, Syria, on 26 September 2019. (Getty Images)
A Russian Sukhoi Su-35 fighter jet is prepared for takeoff at the Russian military base of Hmeimim, Syria, on 26 September 2019. (Getty Images)
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Syrian, Israeli Officials Reportedly Meet at Hmeimim Air Base

A Russian Sukhoi Su-35 fighter jet is prepared for takeoff at the Russian military base of Hmeimim, Syria, on 26 September 2019. (Getty Images)
A Russian Sukhoi Su-35 fighter jet is prepared for takeoff at the Russian military base of Hmeimim, Syria, on 26 September 2019. (Getty Images)

Syrian and Israeli officials reportedly held a meeting last month at the Russian air base in Hmeimim, Syria.

The Russia-sponsored meeting tackled several issues, including Israel’s demand for Iran to pull out its militias from Syria, said the Jusoor for Studies website.

Damascus and Tel Aviv have not commented on the report.

The website said the meeting included Syrian national security bureau chief Ali Mamlouk, presidential palace security aide Bassam Hassan, Israel’s former Chief of Staff Gadi Eizenkot and commander of Russian forces in Syria, Alexander Chayko.

The Syrian officials demanded that their country’s return to the Arab League be “facilitated” and that it receive financial aid to pay debts to Iran. They also called for lifting western sanctions on Damascus.

Israel demanded that Hezbollah, Iran and Iranian militias be withdrawn completely from Syria, that a Syrian government that includes opposition figures be formed and that the military be restructured.

The website said that “no specific agreements were reached, but it represented the beginning of Russian efforts” towards a certain objective. More meetings are expected in 2021.



France Highlights Its Role in Brokering Lebanon Ceasefire Deal

 Lebanese soldiers ride in a convoy in Mansouri, as they head to southern Lebanon, following a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah that went into effect on Wednesday, Nov. 27, 2024. (AP)
Lebanese soldiers ride in a convoy in Mansouri, as they head to southern Lebanon, following a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah that went into effect on Wednesday, Nov. 27, 2024. (AP)
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France Highlights Its Role in Brokering Lebanon Ceasefire Deal

 Lebanese soldiers ride in a convoy in Mansouri, as they head to southern Lebanon, following a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah that went into effect on Wednesday, Nov. 27, 2024. (AP)
Lebanese soldiers ride in a convoy in Mansouri, as they head to southern Lebanon, following a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah that went into effect on Wednesday, Nov. 27, 2024. (AP)

France’s foreign minister underlined his country’s role in brokering an agreement that ended fighting between Israel and Lebanon’s Hezbollah group alongside the US, saying the deal wouldn’t have been possible without France’s special relationship with its former protectorate.

“It’s a success for French diplomacy and we can be proud,” said the minister, Jean-Noël Barrot, speaking hours after the ceasefire went into effect Wednesday.

“It is true that the United States have a privileged relationship with Israel. But with Lebanon, it’s France that has very old ties, very close ties,” the minister added. “It would not have been possible to envisage a ceasefire in Lebanon without France being involved on the front line.”

France will be involved in monitoring the ceasefire, Barrot noted, with 700 French soldiers deployed as part of the 10,000-strong United Nations peacekeeping force, known as UNIFIL, that has been patrolling the border area between Lebanon and Israel for nearly 50 years.

The minister said France will also work to strengthen Lebanese troops that will deploy in the south of the country as part of the ceasefire, although he didn’t specify what that might include.