Lenderking Intensifies Efforts to Expand Truce in Yemen

The meeting between Saudi Ambassador to Yemen, Mohammad Al Jaber, and US Envoy Tim Lenderking, in Riyadh on Monday (SPA)
The meeting between Saudi Ambassador to Yemen, Mohammad Al Jaber, and US Envoy Tim Lenderking, in Riyadh on Monday (SPA)
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Lenderking Intensifies Efforts to Expand Truce in Yemen

The meeting between Saudi Ambassador to Yemen, Mohammad Al Jaber, and US Envoy Tim Lenderking, in Riyadh on Monday (SPA)
The meeting between Saudi Ambassador to Yemen, Mohammad Al Jaber, and US Envoy Tim Lenderking, in Riyadh on Monday (SPA)

US Envoy to Yemen Tim Lenderking has intensified his meetings with Gulf, Saudi and Yemeni officials, with the aim to support the efforts of UN Envoy Hans Grundberg to consolidate the truce and launch a comprehensive political process.

In this context, the Secretary-General of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), Nayef Al-Hajraf, called on the international community to support the Yemeni Leadership Council and intensify pressure on the Houthis, in order to achieve security and peace in Yemen, and to engage in a political solution to the crisis in accordance with UN references.

His comments came during a meeting with Lenderking on Monday in Riyadh, as part of the US envoy’s tour in the region.

The two sides underlined the need to support all international efforts to enhance the security, stability and peace of Yemen, and to consolidate the truce announced by the UN special envoy.

Also on Monday, the ambassador of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques to Yemen, the supervisor of the Saudi Program for the Development and Reconstruction, Mohammad bin Saeed Al Jaber, met in Riyadh with Lenderking, in the presence of US Ambassador to Yemen Steven Fagin.

The Saudi Press Agency (SPA) reported that the meeting stressed the importance of maintaining the UN-sponsored truce, and the need to reopen the roads leading to Taiz to alleviate human suffering.

They two sides emphasized the need to reach a permanent ceasefire in Yemen in order to launch the political process between the Yemeni government and the Houthis.

The head of the Yemeni Presidential Leadership Council, Rashad Al-Alimi, received at his residence in Riyadh the US envoy and Fagin to discuss the latest developments in the country and the international efforts coordinated with the United Nations to revive the peace track.

Saba news agency quoted Lenderking as praising “the recent exceptional presidential and government decisions that included facilitating the entry of oil derivatives ships to the ports of Hodeidah despite the Houthi militia’s obstacles…”

Lenderking also underlined the United States’ keenness to “support the reforms led by the Presidential Leadership Council and the government,” official Yemeni sources reported.



Reports: US to Withdraw All Troops from Syria

A US Army patrol in the Syrian city of Qamishli (Reuters file photo)
A US Army patrol in the Syrian city of Qamishli (Reuters file photo)
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Reports: US to Withdraw All Troops from Syria

A US Army patrol in the Syrian city of Qamishli (Reuters file photo)
A US Army patrol in the Syrian city of Qamishli (Reuters file photo)

The United States is planning to withdraw all of its 1,000 troops from Syria over the next two months, according to US media reports.

Washington will end its presence in the country after the Syrian government extended its control over the country and the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces once key to fighting ISIS pledged to integrate into the state, the Wall Street Journal reported.

Television network CBS also reported on the plan, citing unnamed US officials.

The decision comes after US forces recently withdrew from some bases
in Syria including Al-Tanf and Al-Shadadi, which were used in the US-led international coalition's fight against ISIS, AFP reported.

The US is building up its military capabilities near Iran, where officials have vowed to respond to any attack by laying siege to American military outposts in the region.

US media reported Wednesday that Washington will be ready to launch strikes against Iran as early as this weekend, though Trump has reportedly not made a final decision yet.

The Pentagon did not immediately respond to a request for comment.


Canada Eases Sanctions on Syria

13 February 2026, Bavaria, Munich: Anita Anand, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Canada, arrives at the Bavarian Hof for the 62nd Munich Security Conference. Photo: Felix Hörhager/dpa
13 February 2026, Bavaria, Munich: Anita Anand, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Canada, arrives at the Bavarian Hof for the 62nd Munich Security Conference. Photo: Felix Hörhager/dpa
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Canada Eases Sanctions on Syria

13 February 2026, Bavaria, Munich: Anita Anand, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Canada, arrives at the Bavarian Hof for the 62nd Munich Security Conference. Photo: Felix Hörhager/dpa
13 February 2026, Bavaria, Munich: Anita Anand, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Canada, arrives at the Bavarian Hof for the 62nd Munich Security Conference. Photo: Felix Hörhager/dpa

Canadian Minister of Foreign Affairs Anita Anand said on Wednesday that Canada had amended its economic sanctions on Syria ‌to ease ‌restrictions related ‌to the ⁠import and export ⁠of goods, investment activities and the provision of financial and other ⁠services, according to Reuters.

"The amendments also ‌remove ‌24 entities and ‌one individual from ‌the Syria Regulations to reduce barriers to economic activity and ‌to enable transactions with state-affiliated entities ⁠in ⁠key sectors critical to Syria’s recovery," Anand said in a statement.


Tetteh: Despite UN Engagement, No Progress in Libya Roadmap

Head of the United Nations Support Mission in Libya Hanna Tetteh Getty)
Head of the United Nations Support Mission in Libya Hanna Tetteh Getty)
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Tetteh: Despite UN Engagement, No Progress in Libya Roadmap

Head of the United Nations Support Mission in Libya Hanna Tetteh Getty)
Head of the United Nations Support Mission in Libya Hanna Tetteh Getty)

The UN’s top envoy for Libya, Hanna Tetteh, has informed the Security Council that despite active United Nations engagement, the Libyan House of Representatives and the High Council of State have failed to make progress on the first steps of the agreed political roadmap, including establishing a mechanism to select the board of the High National Elections Commission (HNEC) and advancing electoral legislation.

Briefing the Council in New York on Wednesday, the Special Representative of the Secretary-General said: “Their inability to use their agreed mechanism and follow-on unilateral actions has further eroded their credibility."

Tetteh added that Libyan public perceptions reflect a growing belief that the bodies are “unable or unwilling” to deliver.

She told Council members that she has begun consultations with key actors on an alternative two-step approach aimed at restoring momentum. Should a smaller group of Libyan representatives fail to agree on the roadmap’s milestones, she warned, a broader convening would be required. “We cannot wait indefinitely,” she emphasized.

The UN envoy also issued a stark warning about escalating tensions within Libya’s judicial system.

She said “contradictory, parallel judicial decisions put into jeopardy the unity of the legal and judicial systems,” cautioning that the situation “is a red line that if crossed can undermine the unity of the state.”

She urged Libyan leaders to refrain from further escalatory steps and called on the Council to hold accountable those taking actions that threaten to fracture the judiciary.

Tetteh also warned that transnational criminal networks continue to expand, turning Libya into a major transit hub for drug trafficking and sustaining illicit economies linked to corruption and armed groups.