عربي English Türkçe اردو فارسى
Logo
Latest News
Arab World

UN Syria Envoy Holds Talks with Political, Military Officials in Moscow ahead of Damascus Visit

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and UN Special Envoy for Syria Geir Pedersen meet in Moscow. (AP)
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and UN Special Envoy for Syria Geir Pedersen meet in Moscow. (AP)
TT
TT

UN Syria Envoy Holds Talks with Political, Military Officials in Moscow ahead of Damascus Visit

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and UN Special Envoy for Syria Geir Pedersen meet in Moscow. (AP)
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and UN Special Envoy for Syria Geir Pedersen meet in Moscow. (AP)

After concluding the 15th round of the Astana talks on Syria in Sochi, UN Special Envoy Geir Pedersen is holding military and political talks in Moscow ahead of making a much-anticipated visit to Damascus.

Russian President Vladimir Putin, meanwhile, discussed regional issues including Nagorno-Karabakh, Syria and Libya in a phone call with his Turkish counterpart, Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Also, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov discussed the outcomes of the two-day meetings in Sochi with his Syrian counterpart, Faisal Miqdad.

A statement by the Russian foreign ministry stated that the two ministers exchanged views on developments in the situation in and around Syria, focusing on the results of the Astana meetings and the tasks of promoting a political settlement based on UN Security Council resolution 2254, including the work of the Constitutional Committee.

The ministry indicated that Lavrov affirmed Moscow’s unconditional respect for “the sovereignty, unity and territorial integrity of the Syrian Arab Republic and the legitimate right of Syrians to independently determine the future of their country.”

According to the statement, the two ministers condemned the use of unlawful unilateral sanctions and politicized methods in providing humanitarian aid to Syria, in addition to the continuing “illegal foreign military presence” on its territory.

Moscow and Damascus also expressed their commitment to strengthening bilateral relations, including Russian aid in eliminating terrorism in Syria, restoring the social and economic infrastructure, combating the coronavirus pandemic, and ensuring the return of Syrian refugees to their homeland and displaced persons to their permanent places of residence.

More so, Russian Deputy Defense Minister Alexander Fomin discussed the latest developments in Syria with Pedersen.

“The two sides exchanged points of view on the situation in Syria within the framework of political settlement process and activities of the Constitutional Committee,” said the Russian defense ministry in a statement posted on its website.

The statement added that talks pointed out to the importance of the active participation of the relevant UN bodies to help in the reconstruction process in Syria and create normal living conditions in areas liberated from terrorism.

Most Viewed

 
 
Arab World

Sudan Army Says Recaptures Key State Capital

Sudanese civilians displaced by offensive south of Khartoum earlier this year dream of returning to their homes after the regular army retakes territory - AFP
Sudanese civilians displaced by offensive south of Khartoum earlier this year dream of returning to their homes after the regular army retakes territory - AFP
TT
TT

Sudan Army Says Recaptures Key State Capital

Sudanese civilians displaced by offensive south of Khartoum earlier this year dream of returning to their homes after the regular army retakes territory - AFP
Sudanese civilians displaced by offensive south of Khartoum earlier this year dream of returning to their homes after the regular army retakes territory - AFP

The Sudanese army said Saturday it had retaken a key state capital south of Khartoum from rival Rapid Support Forces who had held it for the past five months.

The Sennar state capital of Sinja is a strategic prize in the 19-month-old war between the regular army and the RSF as it lies on a key road linking army-controlled areas of eastern and central Sudan.

It posted footage on social media that it said had been filmed inside the main base in the city.

"Sinja has returned to the embrace of the nation," the information minister of the army-backed government, Khaled al-Aiser, said in a statement.

Aiser's office said armed forces chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan had travelled to the city of Sennar, 60 kilometres (40 miles) to the north, on Saturday to "inspect the operation and celebrate the liberation of Sinja", AFP reported.

The RSF had taken the two cities in a lightning offensive in June that saw nearly 726,000 civilians flee, according to UN figures.

Human rights groups have said that those who were unwilling or unable to leave have faced months of arbitrary violence by RSF fighters.

Sinja teacher Abdullah al-Hassan spoke of his "indescribable joy" at seeing the army enter the city after "months of terror".

"At any moment, you were waiting for militia fighters to barge in and beat you or loot you," the 53-year-old told AFP by telephone.

Both sides in the Sudanese conflict have been accused of war crimes, including indiscriminately shelling homes, markets and hospitals.

The RSF has also been accused of summary executions, systematic sexual violence and rampant looting.

The RSF control nearly all of the vast western region of Darfur as well as large swathes of Kordofan in the south. They also hold much of the capital Khartoum and the key farming state of Al-Jazira to its south.

Since April 2023, the war has killed tens of thousands of people and uprooted more than 11 million -- creating what the UN says is the world's largest displacement crisis.

From the eastern state of Gedaref -- where more than 1.1 million displaced people have sought refuge -- Asia Khedr, 46, said she hoped her family's ordeal might soon be at an end.

"We'll finally go home and say goodbye to this life of displacement and suffering," she told AFP.