عربي English Türkçe اردو فارسى
Logo
Latest News
Arab World

Blinken Arrives in Cairo for Start of Mideast Visit

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken (AP)
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken (AP)
TT
TT

Blinken Arrives in Cairo for Start of Mideast Visit

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken (AP)
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken (AP)

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrived Sunday in Egypt at the start of a Middle East trip on which he will look to notch down Israeli-Palestinian tensions after an eruption of violence.

Blinken will hold discuss the Israeli-Palestinian situation with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry, especially that Egypt plays a traditional role as a Middle East mediator for the Palestinians.

Blinken will travel Monday and Tuesday to Jerusalem and Ramallah after his stop in Cairo.

Blinken is set to meet Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas and call "broadly for steps to be taken to de-escalate tensions," State Department spokesman Vedant Patel told reporters.

In Egypt, Blinken is also expected to discuss regional issues such as Libya and Sudan, the State Department said.

Most Viewed

 
 
Arab World

Syria's al-Sharaa Says Holding Elections Can Take Up to 4 Years

Syria's de facto leader Ahmed al-Sharaa walks in the presidential palace in Damascus, Saturday, Dec. 28, 2024. (AP Photo/Mosa'ab Elshamy)
Syria's de facto leader Ahmed al-Sharaa walks in the presidential palace in Damascus, Saturday, Dec. 28, 2024. (AP Photo/Mosa'ab Elshamy)
TT
TT

Syria's al-Sharaa Says Holding Elections Can Take Up to 4 Years

Syria's de facto leader Ahmed al-Sharaa walks in the presidential palace in Damascus, Saturday, Dec. 28, 2024. (AP Photo/Mosa'ab Elshamy)
Syria's de facto leader Ahmed al-Sharaa walks in the presidential palace in Damascus, Saturday, Dec. 28, 2024. (AP Photo/Mosa'ab Elshamy)

Holding elections in Syria can take up to four years, Syria's de facto leader Ahmed al-Sharaa told Al Arabiya in an interview on Sunday.

Drafting a new constitution could take up to three years, al-Sharaa said in excerpts from the interview with the broadcaster. He also said it would take about a year for Syrians to see drastic changes.

Al-Sharaa also hoped the Trump administration will lift the sanctions on Syria.

The Biden administration said earlier this month that it has decided not to pursue a $10 million reward it had offered for al-Sharaa, whose group, the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), led fighters that ousted Syrian President Bashar Assad.

The announcement followed a meeting in Damascus between al-Sharaa and the top US diplomat for the Middle East, Barbara Leaf, who led the first US diplomatic delegation into Syria since Assad’s ouster on Dec. 8.

HTS remains designated a foreign terrorist organization, and Leaf would not say if sanctions stemming from that designation would be eased.

Al- Sharaa also told Al Arabiya that Syria has strategic interests with Russia. Russia has military bases in Syria, was a close Assad ally during the long civil war and has granted Assad asylum.
Al-Sharaa said earlier this month that Syria's relations with Russia should serve common interests.