Syrian FM: No Normal Ties with Türkiye without End to Occupation

Syrian Foreign Minister Faisal Mikdad speaks during a joint news conference with Iranian foreign minister Hossein Amirabdollahian in Damascus, Syria January 14, 2023. (Reuters)

Asharq Al Awsat

17:45-14 January 2023 AD ـ 22 Jumada Al-Alkhirah 1444 AH

Asharq Al Awsat

17:45-14 January 2023 AD ـ 22 Jumada Al-Alkhirah 1444 AH

Syrian FM: No Normal Ties with Türkiye without End to Occupation

Syrian Foreign Minister Faisal Mikdad speaks during a joint news conference with Iranian foreign minister Hossein Amirabdollahian in Damascus, Syria January 14, 2023. (Reuters)

Syrian Foreign Minister Faisal Mikdad said on Saturday that Türkiye would have to end its military presence in his country to achieve a full rapprochement.

"We cannot talk about resuming normal ties with Türkiye without removing the occupation," he said after meeting his Iranian counterpart in Damascus.

Türkiye has been a major backer of the political and armed opposition to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad during the 12-year conflict in Syria, and has sent its own troops into swathes of the country's north.

Russia, a key ally of Assad, is supporting a rapprochement between Damascus and Ankara, hosting talks between their defense ministers last month and aiming for meetings between the foreign ministers and eventually presidents.

Mikdad said on Saturday "a meeting between Assad and the Turkish leadership depends on removing the reasons for the dispute," without providing more details or mentioning Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan by name.

Mekdad was speaking after meeting in Damascus with Hossein Amirabdollahian, the foreign minister of Assad’s other main ally, Iran.

Amirabdollahian, who also met Assad on Saturday, said on Friday that Iran was "happy with the dialogue taking place between Syria and Türkiye".

Assad said on Friday the results should be based on the principle of ending the occupation and support for terrorism, a term that Syrian authorities use to refer to all opposition armed groups.

A source with close knowledge of the negotiations said Syria wanted Türkiye to pull its troops from swathes of the north and to halt support to three main opposition factions.

The source said Syria was keen to see progress on those demands through follow-up committees before agreeing to a foreign ministers' meeting.

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said on Thursday he could meet Mikdad early in February, rejecting reports the two could meet next week.

Syria has made no official comment on the timing of any such meeting, which would mark the highest-level talks between Ankara and Damascus since the Syrian war began in 2011.

Algeria Severs Diplomatic Ties with the UAE

Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune (Photo: The Presidency)

Asharq Al Awsat

15:21-10 September 2026 AD ـ 28 Rabi’ Al-Awwal 1448 AH

Asharq Al Awsat

15:21-10 September 2026 AD ـ 28 Rabi’ Al-Awwal 1448 AH

Algeria Severs Diplomatic Ties with the UAE

Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune (Photo: The Presidency)

Algeria announced Thursday that it's severing diplomatic ties with the United Arab Emirates, in a Foreign Ministry statement reported by state media.

“Having exhausted all the ways for preserving the bilateral relations, the Algerian government has decided, today, to sever diplomatic relations with the United Arab Emirates,” the statement said, according to the official APS news agency.

The ministry statement was also read out on public television.

Arab World

Yemeni Army Makes Battlefield Gains in Al-Jawf, Marib

Yemeni army forces advance in Al-Jawf governorate (government media)

Aden: Asharq Al Awsat

09:12-10 September 2026 AD ـ 28 Rabi’ Al-Awwal 1448 AH

Aden: Asharq Al Awsat

09:12-10 September 2026 AD ـ 28 Rabi’ Al-Awwal 1448 AH

Yemeni Army Makes Battlefield Gains in Al-Jawf, Marib

Yemeni army forces advance in Al-Jawf governorate (government media)

Yemeni government forces expanded military operations against the Houthis on several fronts Wednesday, making battlefield gains east of Al-Hazm in Al-Jawf province and cutting Houthi supply lines toward the eastern fronts.

The advances coincided with the launch of a major operation south of Marib, intensified fighting in southern Taiz and along the western coast, and the thwarting of a Houthi boat attack in the Red Sea.

A military source told the Yemeni Armed Forces Media Center that government forces continued advancing east of Al-Hazm to the outskirts of Bir al-Maraziq and cut Houthi supply lines on the city’s eastern fronts.

Operations were continuing amid what the source described as heavy Houthi personnel and material losses. Several Houthi fighters were detained or neutralized and others wounded in the clashes, the source added.

The advance followed several days of government military moves in Al-Jawf, as forces sought to consolidate gains and pressure Houthi supply lines rather than merely retake frontline positions.

Marib and Taiz Developments

In Marib, the Yemeni army’s Third Military Region launched a major operation on the province’s southern fronts targeting Houthi positions and concentrations. Government forces said the operation aimed to secure Marib’s southern belt and push the group away from its defensive lines.

According to a statement from the Third Military Region, the operation, which began early Wednesday and was still underway, killed, wounded and captured a number of Houthis and destroyed vehicles and combat equipment. Army and Popular Resistance forces also seized several positions and brought Houthi supply lines under fire.

The operation coincided with military activity in Marib in recent days and fighting across the province’s northern, western and southern axes, as government forces sought to capitalize on battlefield pressure to prevent the Houthis from regrouping or sending reinforcements to other fronts.

In Taiz, clashes continued on southeastern fronts, alongside artillery fire and airstrikes targeting Houthi positions and concentrations in Al-Mamshat, Al-Ahkum, Ayrim, Al-Qubaytah, Al-Rahidah and Karsh.

A military source said the Houthis had sent reinforcements to several positions, including Al-Akboush School, Al-Zubayrah market, the Al-Ahkum junction, Hawd Hill, Al-Khazjah, Al-Aabous and Al-Manzarah Hill.

On the western coast, the National Resistance’s military media said its forces shot down a Houthi suicide drone over Al-Barh and reported the killing and capture of several commanders linked to a Houthi plan to attack toward Bab al-Mandab.

Among those reportedly captured by the Giants Brigades was Murtada al-Nuami, known as “Abdul Samad,” identified as head of the medical division of the Houthi reserve and rapid intervention forces.

Naval forces separately said they thwarted a Houthi boat attack in the Red Sea after detecting the vessels and engaging them, forcing them to retreat north toward Hodeidah port.

In Al-Dhale, Yemeni Defense Minister Lt. Gen. Taher al-Aqili inspected front lines to assess operations, readiness and deployments, urging troops to remain vigilant and prepared to counter any Houthi attempt to target government positions.

Arab World

Israeli Strike in Gaza Kills Family of Four

Smoke and flames rise from a house during an Israeli strike, carried out after the Israeli military warned residents to evacuate the area, in Khan Younis, in the southern Gaza Strip, September 9, 2026. REUTERS/Ramadan Abed

Asharq Al Awsat

07:53-10 September 2026 AD ـ 28 Rabi’ Al-Awwal 1448 AH

Asharq Al Awsat

07:53-10 September 2026 AD ـ 28 Rabi’ Al-Awwal 1448 AH

Israeli Strike in Gaza Kills Family of Four

An Israeli strike in Gaza on Thursday killed a family of four including two children, Palestinian hospital and security sources said.

"The bodies of four members of the Ahmad family were recovered in pieces after an Israeli strike hit a house in the Beit Lahia Project area in the northern Gaza Strip," an official at Al-Shifa hospital in Gaza City said, identifying the children as aged 12 and eight.

The Israeli military, contacted by AFP, said it was checking.

A Palestinian security source in Gaza, which is under the control of Hamas, said that Israeli warplanes struck after midnight in Beit Lahia and separately in the heart of the Jabalia refugee camp, with Israeli forces also firing on tents of displaced people and ambulances.

"Israel continues its violations in the Gaza Strip," the security source said.

Israel in October last year agreed to a ceasefire brokered by the United States but since then has advanced further into Gaza.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed no let-up in strikes targeting Hamas, which led the unprecedented October 7, 2023 attack against Israel, and no pullout from Gaza until Hamas gives up all of its weapons.

Israel often identifies its targets afterwards. The Israeli military said that on Sunday it killed Sabhi Hadr Al-Atham al-Batrihi, claiming he was planting explosive devices against Israeli troops in the Gaza Strip.

Israeli strikes have killed more than 1,300 people since the ceasefire was announced, according to the Gaza health ministry, which operates under Hamas and whose figures are considered generally reliable by the United Nations.

The Israeli army has identified five deaths in its ranks over the same period, as well as the death of one civilian contractor.

Syrian FM: No Normal Ties with Türkiye without End to Occupation

Most Viewed

Algeria Severs Diplomatic Ties with the UAE

Yemeni Army Makes Battlefield Gains in Al-Jawf, Marib

Israeli Strike in Gaza Kills Family of Four

لم تشترك بعد