Kurdish Media Report Deal on Integrated Project for Northern, Eastern Syria

Members of the Syrian National Army during training in the countryside of Aleppo (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Members of the Syrian National Army during training in the countryside of Aleppo (Asharq Al-Awsat)
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Kurdish Media Report Deal on Integrated Project for Northern, Eastern Syria

Members of the Syrian National Army during training in the countryside of Aleppo (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Members of the Syrian National Army during training in the countryside of Aleppo (Asharq Al-Awsat)

The US aims to present an "integrated plan" on northern and eastern Syria after it agreed with Türkiye on a specific formula.

The deal was discussed during the meetings of US envoy to eastern Syria Nicholas Granger with various parties in the region, according to Kurdish media.

Over the past two weeks, Granger has held talks with Kurdish, Arab, Syriac, and Assyrian officials in northeastern Syria ahead of an integrated regional project and a conference for those parties.

According to reports, the US envoy has not proposed anything concrete but is discussing general ideas, such as maintaining stability, including everyone in managing the region, and keeping a non-hostile relationship with Türkiye.

Diplomats concerned with the Syrian file continue to meet, especially after the visit of Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu to Washington.

Observers believe Ankara slowed its attempts towards normalization with the Assad regime after Cavusoglu visited the US, which explicitly rejected the move.

However, Türkiye aspired to press its demands in northern Syria on the US and Russia's pledge to keep the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) away from its borders for a distance of 30 kilometers to establish a safe zone and complete the secured areas to accommodate the Syrian refugees.

Meanwhile, Türkiye announced it would continue to support the efforts of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) to ensure accountability for using these weapons in Syria.

On Friday, OPCW issued the third report of its Investigation and Identification Team (IIT), addressing the chlorine gas attack in Douma, Syria, in 2018, which killed 48 persons.

Commenting on the report, the Turkish Foreign Ministry stated that OPCW established a mandate to identify the parties responsible for the chemical weapons in Syria and concluded in its third report that the regime is the perpetrator of the chlorine gas attack.

The regime's responsibility for another chemical weapons attack has been confirmed, said the ministry.

"Türkiye will continue to support the efforts, first and foremost by the UN and OPCW, aiming at ensuring accountability in Syria," it added.

The OPCW said in its report that its team concluded that there were reasonable grounds to believe that the Syrian Arab Air Forces were the perpetrators of the chemical weapons attack on April 7, 2018 in Douma.

The report stated that based on the assessment of the large volume and wide range of evidence gathered and analyzed, the IIT concluded that in 2018, at least one helicopter of the Syrian "Tiger Forces" Elite Unit dropped two yellow cylinders containing toxic chlorine gas on two apartment buildings in a civilian-inhabited area in Douma.



Sisi, Putin Stress Importance of Restoring Stability in Gaza

In this pool photograph distributed by the Russian state agency Sputnik, Russia's President Vladimir Putin greets Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi prior to the Victory Day military parade in Moscow on May 9, 2025. (Mikhail Metzel / Pool / AFP)
In this pool photograph distributed by the Russian state agency Sputnik, Russia's President Vladimir Putin greets Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi prior to the Victory Day military parade in Moscow on May 9, 2025. (Mikhail Metzel / Pool / AFP)
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Sisi, Putin Stress Importance of Restoring Stability in Gaza

In this pool photograph distributed by the Russian state agency Sputnik, Russia's President Vladimir Putin greets Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi prior to the Victory Day military parade in Moscow on May 9, 2025. (Mikhail Metzel / Pool / AFP)
In this pool photograph distributed by the Russian state agency Sputnik, Russia's President Vladimir Putin greets Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi prior to the Victory Day military parade in Moscow on May 9, 2025. (Mikhail Metzel / Pool / AFP)

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin stressed on Friday the importance of restoring calm in the Middle East, especially Gaza.

The officials met in Moscow on the sidelines of Russia’s commemoration of the 80th anniversary of the Soviet Union's victory over Nazi Germany in World War Two.

Sisi underlined the importance of reaching a final solution to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict through the establishment of an independent Palestinian state according to the 1967 borders, said an Egyptian presidency statement.

Putin, for his part, expressed Russia’s support for Egypt’s efforts to restore calm in the region and rebuild Gaza.

Discussions between the leaders also covered the situations in Syria, Libya and Sudan, as well as the Russian-Ukrainian crisis.

Sisi reiterated Egypt’s position in support of diplomacy to resolve international crises, said the presidency.

Moreover, Sisi and Putin underlined their determination to bolster cooperation in the fields of energy, food security, mining, agriculture and industry. They also agreed on the importance of raising the number of Russian tourists heading to Egypt.