Kremlin Hopes for ‘Good Talks’ with Erdogan on Wednesday

Russian President Vladimir Putin and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Russian President Vladimir Putin and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (Asharq Al-Awsat)
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Kremlin Hopes for ‘Good Talks’ with Erdogan on Wednesday

Russian President Vladimir Putin and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Russian President Vladimir Putin and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (Asharq Al-Awsat)

Russian President Vladimir Putin will hold a comprehensive round of talks with his Turkish counterpart, Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Wednesday in Sochi. Discussions between the two leaders will likely focus on Syria, especially developments on the ground around the northern Idlib province.

Russian diplomats stressed that the talks would be “decisive” in terms of setting future visions for previous understandings on Idlib. Paving the way for the meeting, the Kremlin said Moscow hopes that the two presidents hold “good talks.”

Kremlin spokesman Dmitriy Peskov confirmed the Putin-Erdogan summit would focus on the situation in Idlib as well as a host of issues in which Moscow and Akara can cooperate.

“Putin and Erdogan have found the potential to negotiate to reach an agreement on Idlib by showing political will,” said Peskov.

“The agreements have been reached. Unfortunately, the activity of terrorists continues in those regions,” he added.

Noting that the situation was unacceptable and dangerous, Peskov said it hinders the solution process in Syria.

“All of this will be on the summit’s agenda,” he noted.

“Despite everything, Turkey is a partner with whom we have very developed relations and with whom we also have differences of opinion,” explained Peskov.

The Kremlin spokesman stressed that there are indeed very trust-based relations between Putin and Erdogan and that these relations lay the groundwork for serious negotiations.

The Turkish president had said earlier that the meeting’s agenda would include developments in the de-escalation zone in the Syrian province of Idlib and the reality of bilateral relations.

Erdogan pointed out the importance of the role that Turkey and Russia play in the region, noting that Ankara “did not see any differences in relations with Moscow.”

Russian and Turkish analysts, officials, and diplomats had suggested that the summit would result in important decisions regarding the arrangements for the situation in Idlib.

Russian diplomats suggested that the two presidents would likely discuss “new understandings” on Idlib against the backdrop of the failure to implement a part of the terms of the previous agreement signed in 2018.



Lebanon’s President Reveals the Country’s Stance on Relations with Israel

 Lebanese President Joseph Aoun looks on during a meeting with Cyprus' President Nikos Christodoulides at the Presidential Palace in the capital Nicosia, Cyprus, Wednesday, July 9, 2025. (AP)
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun looks on during a meeting with Cyprus' President Nikos Christodoulides at the Presidential Palace in the capital Nicosia, Cyprus, Wednesday, July 9, 2025. (AP)
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Lebanon’s President Reveals the Country’s Stance on Relations with Israel

 Lebanese President Joseph Aoun looks on during a meeting with Cyprus' President Nikos Christodoulides at the Presidential Palace in the capital Nicosia, Cyprus, Wednesday, July 9, 2025. (AP)
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun looks on during a meeting with Cyprus' President Nikos Christodoulides at the Presidential Palace in the capital Nicosia, Cyprus, Wednesday, July 9, 2025. (AP)

Lebanon has no plans to have normal relations with Israel at the present time, and Beirut’s main aim is to reach a “state of no war” with its southern neighbor, the country’s president said Friday.

President Joseph Aoun’s comments came as the Trump administration is trying to expand the Abraham Accords signed in 2020 in which Israel signed historic pacts with United Arab Emirates and Bahrain.

In May, Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa said during a visit to France that his country is holding indirect talks with Israel to prevent military activities along their border from going out of control. Talks about peace between Israel and Syria have increased following the ouster of President Bashar al-Assad from power in December.

Aoun added in comments released by his office that only the Lebanese state will have weapons in the future, and the decision on whether Lebanon would go to war or not would be for the Lebanese government.

Aoun’s comments were an apparent reference to the armed Hezbollah group that fought a 14-month war with Israel, during which it suffered major blows including the killing of some of its top political and military commanders.

Hezbollah says it has ended its armed presence near the border with Israel, but is refusing to disarm in the rest of Lebanon before Israel withdraws from five overlooking border points and ends its almost daily airstrikes on Lebanon.

Earlier this week, US envoy Tom Barrack met with Lebanese leaders in Beirut, saying he was satisfied with the Lebanese government’s response to a proposal to disarm Hezbollah.

Hezbollah’s weapons have been one of the principal sticking points since Israel withdrew from southern Lebanon in 2000. Since then, Hezbollah fought two wars with Israel, one in 2006, and the other starting a day after the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, which triggered the war in Gaza.

The Hezbollah-Israel war, which ended with a US-brokered ceasefire in November, left more than 4,000 people dead in Lebanon and caused destruction estimated at $11 billion. In Israel, 127 people, including 80 soldiers, were killed during the war.

“Peace is the state of no war and this is what is important for us in Lebanon at the present time,” Aoun was quoted as telling visitors on Friday. He added that “the matter of normalization (with Israel) is not included in Lebanon’s current foreign policy.”

Lebanon and Israel have been at a state of war since 1948.