Makhlouf Says ‘Miracle Solution’ Underway for Syria Crisis

Rami Makhlouf, Asharq Al-Awsat
Rami Makhlouf, Asharq Al-Awsat
TT

Makhlouf Says ‘Miracle Solution’ Underway for Syria Crisis

Rami Makhlouf, Asharq Al-Awsat
Rami Makhlouf, Asharq Al-Awsat

Rami Makhlouf, Syrian business tycoon and maternal cousin of President Bashar al-Assad, predicted on Thursday that a “miracle” settlement will soon lift Syria out of the chaos and devastation brought about by over a decade of civil war.

“The important thing today is to inform the Syrians of this message. The solution would be a miracle. How? What is the method? This is something I will keep to myself,” said Makhlouf in a video he posted on Facebook.

Branding his statements as “good news for Syrians,” Makhlouf said the solution will be “comprehensive, reached in the next few months and miraculous in the sense that all Syrians will support it.”

He voiced hope that the solution he is heralding is “real and would spell the end of suffering for Syrians.”

Makhlouf, in this video, avoided mentioning Assad and war profiteers, both of whom were at the center of the businessman’s more critical videos and posts on social media.

Makhlouf pled for the regime, namely his cousin, intervening to stop war-exploiting racketeers who raided one of his offices, stole important documents and used fraud and forgery to seize some of his assets.

Moreover, Makhlouf’s mobile network carrier, Syriatel, was placed under judicial custody in 2020.

The decision regarding Syriatel, one of only two carriers in the country, was taken to "guarantee the rights of the public treasury and the rights of the shareholders in the company", Syria’s administrative court wrote on Facebook.

Makhlouf called the asset seizure illegal and an attempt by the government to take the company away from him.

A court then placed a travel ban on Makhlouf, pending settlement of the dispute.



Lebanese PM to Visit Damascus ‘Soon’

25 June 2024, Lebanon, Beirut: Lebanon's caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati attends a meeting in Beirut. (dpa)
25 June 2024, Lebanon, Beirut: Lebanon's caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati attends a meeting in Beirut. (dpa)
TT

Lebanese PM to Visit Damascus ‘Soon’

25 June 2024, Lebanon, Beirut: Lebanon's caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati attends a meeting in Beirut. (dpa)
25 June 2024, Lebanon, Beirut: Lebanon's caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati attends a meeting in Beirut. (dpa)

Lebanon's caretaker prime minister is to visit Damascus "soon", the information minister said on Tuesday -- the first such visit since opposition factions seized power in Syria last month.

"There will be a visit to Syria soon, headed by Prime Minister (Najib) Mikati," Ziad Makary told reporters after a cabinet meeting.

Last week, Mikati's office said he had a phone call with Syria's de facto leader Ahmed al-Sharaa, who invited him to Damascus.