Egypt’s Sisi, Jordan’s King Abdullah Discuss Regional Developments in Cairo

A handout picture released by the Jordanian Royal Palace shows Egyptian President Abdel Fattahael-Sisi (R) meeting with Jordanian King Abdullah II at al-Ittihadiya Presidential Palace in Cairo, on December 3, 2022. (Jordanian Royal Palace / AFP)
A handout picture released by the Jordanian Royal Palace shows Egyptian President Abdel Fattahael-Sisi (R) meeting with Jordanian King Abdullah II at al-Ittihadiya Presidential Palace in Cairo, on December 3, 2022. (Jordanian Royal Palace / AFP)
TT

Egypt’s Sisi, Jordan’s King Abdullah Discuss Regional Developments in Cairo

A handout picture released by the Jordanian Royal Palace shows Egyptian President Abdel Fattahael-Sisi (R) meeting with Jordanian King Abdullah II at al-Ittihadiya Presidential Palace in Cairo, on December 3, 2022. (Jordanian Royal Palace / AFP)
A handout picture released by the Jordanian Royal Palace shows Egyptian President Abdel Fattahael-Sisi (R) meeting with Jordanian King Abdullah II at al-Ittihadiya Presidential Palace in Cairo, on December 3, 2022. (Jordanian Royal Palace / AFP)

Egypt and Jordan agreed on Saturday to boost efforts towards reviving the peace process and reach a just and comprehensive solution to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.   

Following a meeting in Cairo, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and Jordanian King Abdullah II announced their full support to Palestine.   

Their meeting focused on the latest developments in the region, notably in the Palestinian Territories, said Egyptian presidency spokesman Bassam Rady.  

He said the leaders agreed on the need to boost their countries’ efforts to provide full support to the Palestinian people and to revive the peace process to reach a solution to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. 

This solution will ensure the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people in line with international resolutions, stressed Rady.  

Sisi and King Abdullah also discussed several issues of common interest. 

They underscored the importance of consolidated and concerted Arab efforts to confront current crises in some regional countries while respecting their unity and sovereignty and ending the suffering of their people. 

King Abdullah was accorded a formal reception at the Al-Ittihadiya Palace where he met with Sisi. 

Sisi said he was keen on further boosting ties with Jordan to achieve mutual interests.  

For his part, King Abdullah underscored his country’s keenness on benefiting from Egypt’s development efforts in all fields by sharing expertise and through joint investments, Rady said. 

The monarch later traveled to Algeria on a two-day state visit at the invitation of President Abdelmadjid Tebboune.  

Tebboune and King Abdullah had met in the Qatari capital, Doha, on the sidelines of the opening of the 2022 FIFA World Cup last month. 



Italy Plans to Return Ambassador to Syria to Reflect New Diplomatic Developments, Minister Says

Italy's Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani speaks while meeting with members of the G7, on July 11, 2024, during the NATO summit in Washington. (AP)
Italy's Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani speaks while meeting with members of the G7, on July 11, 2024, during the NATO summit in Washington. (AP)
TT

Italy Plans to Return Ambassador to Syria to Reflect New Diplomatic Developments, Minister Says

Italy's Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani speaks while meeting with members of the G7, on July 11, 2024, during the NATO summit in Washington. (AP)
Italy's Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani speaks while meeting with members of the G7, on July 11, 2024, during the NATO summit in Washington. (AP)

Italy plans to send an ambassador back to Syria after a decade-long absence, the country’s foreign minister said, in a diplomatic move that could spark divisions among European Union allies.

Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani, speaking in front of relevant parliamentary committees Thursday, announced Rome’s intention to re-establish diplomatic ties with Syria to prevent Russia from monopolizing diplomatic efforts in the Middle Eastern country.

Moscow is considered a key supporter of Syrian President Bashar Assad, who has remained in power despite widespread Western isolation and civilian casualties since the start of Syria’s civil war in March 2011.

Peaceful protests against the Assad government — part of the so-called “Arab Spring” popular uprisings that spread across some of the Middle East — were met by a brutal crackdown, and the uprising quickly spiraled into a full-blown civil war.

The conflict was further complicated by the intervention of foreign forces on all sides and a rising militancy, first by al-Qaida-linked groups and then the ISIS group until its defeat on the battlefield in 2019.

The war, which has killed nearly half a million people and displaced half the country’s pre-war population of 23 million, is now largely frozen, despite ongoing low-level fighting.

The country is effectively carved up into areas controlled by the Damascus-based government of Assad, various opposition groups and Syrian Kurdish forces.

In the early days of the conflict, many Western and Arab countries cut off relations with Syria, including Italy, which has since managed Syria-related diplomacy through its embassy in Beirut.

However, since Assad has regained control over most of the territory, neighboring Arab countries have gradually restored relations, with the most symbolically significant move coming last year when Syria was re-admitted to the Arab League.

Tajani said Thursday the EU’s policy in Syria should be adapted to the “development of the situation,” adding that Italy has received support from Austria, Croatia, Greece, the Czech Republic, Slovenia, Cyprus and Slovakia.

However, the US and allied countries in Europe have largely continued to hold firm in their stance against Assad’s government, due to concerns over human rights violations.