عربي English Türkçe اردو فارسى
Logo
Latest News
Arab World

PLO Factions Seek to Postpone National Dialogue

A delegation from the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine arrives at the headquarters of the Palestinian Dialogue in Cairo in January 2021. (AFP)
A delegation from the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine arrives at the headquarters of the Palestinian Dialogue in Cairo in January 2021. (AFP)
TT
20
TT

PLO Factions Seek to Postpone National Dialogue

A delegation from the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine arrives at the headquarters of the Palestinian Dialogue in Cairo in January 2021. (AFP)
A delegation from the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine arrives at the headquarters of the Palestinian Dialogue in Cairo in January 2021. (AFP)

The Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) factions want to postpone the second round of the national dialogue in Cairo, scheduled for March, said member of the PLO’s Executive Committee Ahmed Majdalani.

In comments to the Voice of Palestine radio station, Majdalani said discussions are ongoing with PLO political forces that took part in the latest Cairo talks to postpone the upcoming round until after the legislative elections, scheduled for May 22.

He pointed out that any talks now would be “hypothetical” because there are no fundamental issues to be discussed.

According to the first round’s final communique, factions agreed to head to Cairo in March for another round of talks in a bid to settle thorny issues.

They still need to agree on the principles and mechanisms by which the formation of the new National Council will be completed, and bolster the national program.

Hamas, meanwhile, insists on reaching an understanding about the National Council elections before holding the legislative elections.

It wants to ensure that the elections will proceed as scheduled and without an agreed-upon National Council elections, informed sources told Asharq Al-Awsat.

“Hamas was aiming to hold simultaneous elections,” they added, but due to the intervention by regional countries that provided guarantees, it agreed on the gradual elections, provided that they all be covered in a single decree setting their dates.

Most Viewed

 
Arab World

Türkiye Backing Syria’s Military and Has No Immediate Withdrawal Plans, Defense Minister Says 

Turkish Defense Minister Yasar Guler attends a signing ceremony of a memorandum of understanding on establishing a mine countermeasures naval group in the Black Sea, aimed at clearing mines floating there as a result of the war in Ukraine, in Istanbul, Türkiye, January 11, 2024. (Reuters)
Turkish Defense Minister Yasar Guler attends a signing ceremony of a memorandum of understanding on establishing a mine countermeasures naval group in the Black Sea, aimed at clearing mines floating there as a result of the war in Ukraine, in Istanbul, Türkiye, January 11, 2024. (Reuters)
TT
20
TT

Türkiye Backing Syria’s Military and Has No Immediate Withdrawal Plans, Defense Minister Says 

Turkish Defense Minister Yasar Guler attends a signing ceremony of a memorandum of understanding on establishing a mine countermeasures naval group in the Black Sea, aimed at clearing mines floating there as a result of the war in Ukraine, in Istanbul, Türkiye, January 11, 2024. (Reuters)
Turkish Defense Minister Yasar Guler attends a signing ceremony of a memorandum of understanding on establishing a mine countermeasures naval group in the Black Sea, aimed at clearing mines floating there as a result of the war in Ukraine, in Istanbul, Türkiye, January 11, 2024. (Reuters)

Türkiye is training and advising Syria's armed forces and helping improve its defenses, and has no immediate plans for the withdrawal or relocation of its troops stationed there, Defense Minister Yasar Guler told Reuters.

Türkiye has emerged as a key foreign ally of Syria's new government since opposition groups - some of them backed for years by Ankara - ousted former Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in December to end his family's five-decade rule.

It has promised to help rebuild neighboring Syria and facilitate the return of millions of Syrian civil war refugees, and played a key role last month getting US and European sanctions on Syria lifted.

The newfound Turkish influence in Damascus has raised Israeli concerns and risked a standoff or worse in Syria between the regional powers.

In written answers to questions from Reuters, Guler said Türkiye and Israel, which carried out its latest airstrikes on southern Syria late on Tuesday, are continuing de-confliction talks to avoid military accidents in the country.

Türkiye’s overall priority in Syria is preserving its territorial integrity and unity, and ridding it of terrorism, he said, adding Ankara was supporting Damascus in these efforts.

"We have started providing military training and consultancy services, while taking steps to increase Syria's defense capacity," Guler said, without elaborating on those steps.

Named to the post by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan two years ago, Guler said it was too early to discuss possible withdrawal or relocation of the more than 20,000 Turkish troops in Syria.

Ankara controlled swathes of northern Syria and established dozens of bases there after several cross-border operations in recent years against Kurdish militants it deems terrorists.

This can "only be re-evaluated when Syria achieves peace and stability, when the threat of terrorism in the region is fully removed, when our border security is fully ensured, and when the honorable return of people who had to flee is done," he said.

NATO member Türkiye has accused Israel of undermining Syrian peace and rebuilding with its military operations there in recent months and, since late 2023, has also fiercely criticized Israel's assault on Gaza.

But the two regional powers have been quietly working to establish a de-confliction mechanism in Syria.

Guler described the talks as "technical level meetings to establish a de-confliction mechanism to prevent unwanted events" or direct conflict, as well as "a communication and coordination structure".

"Our efforts to form this line and make it fully operational continue. Yet it should not be forgotten that the de-confliction mechanism is not a normalization," he told Reuters.