European Diplomat to Asharq Al-Awsat: No Current Intention to Open Our Embassies in Aden

A view of the downtown of the port city of Aden, Yemen October 31, 2019.
A view of the downtown of the port city of Aden, Yemen October 31, 2019.
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European Diplomat to Asharq Al-Awsat: No Current Intention to Open Our Embassies in Aden

A view of the downtown of the port city of Aden, Yemen October 31, 2019.
A view of the downtown of the port city of Aden, Yemen October 31, 2019.

At the present time, none of the European countries intends to open their embassies in the interim Yemeni capital, Aden, a European diplomat told Asharq Al-Awsat.

The diplomat, who spoke on condition of anonymity, affirmed that visits to Aden will continue in the coming period.

Two days ago, Yemeni Foreign Minister Ahmed Awad bin Mubarak urged the ambassadors of the European Union to resume the work of their embassies from Aden, pledging to facilitate their tasks and overcome any difficulties they face.

“There is currently no intention for any European country to open its embassy in Aden,” said the European diplomat.

Several European ambassadors had visited Aden as part of a delegation led by the head of the EU mission in Yemen.

During the visit, the ambassadors met with Yemeni officials, representatives of civil society and human rights organizations. They were also briefed on development projects implemented by the EU in Aden.

Foreign diplomatic missions were forced to close their embassies and evacuate their staff from the Yemeni capital, Sanaa, after the terrorist Iran-backed Houthi militias overran it in September 2014.

The Yemeni Presidential Leadership Council (PLC) is seeking to normalize conditions in liberated regions despite the difficult economic and living conditions the country is going through.

Since its establishment last year, the PLC has been trying to manage the country politically and economically, alleviate the suffering of citizens, and fight the terrorist Houthi militias on various fronts.

The Yemeni government recently opened the new headquarters for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Aden as part of its efforts to encourage foreign diplomatic missions to resume their work and provide services to Yemenis from within freed areas.

Although many international organizations have opened representative offices in the interim capital, diplomatic missions are still reluctant to take a similar step.



Syria’s Al-Sharaa Says No to Arms Outside State Control

Syria's new leader Ahmed al-Sharaa (C) arrives for a meeing with visiting Druze officials from Lebanon's Progressive Socialist Party (PSP) in Damascus on December 22, 2024. (Photo by AFP)
Syria's new leader Ahmed al-Sharaa (C) arrives for a meeing with visiting Druze officials from Lebanon's Progressive Socialist Party (PSP) in Damascus on December 22, 2024. (Photo by AFP)
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Syria’s Al-Sharaa Says No to Arms Outside State Control

Syria's new leader Ahmed al-Sharaa (C) arrives for a meeing with visiting Druze officials from Lebanon's Progressive Socialist Party (PSP) in Damascus on December 22, 2024. (Photo by AFP)
Syria's new leader Ahmed al-Sharaa (C) arrives for a meeing with visiting Druze officials from Lebanon's Progressive Socialist Party (PSP) in Damascus on December 22, 2024. (Photo by AFP)

Syria's de facto leader Ahmed al-Sharaa said his administration would announce the new structure of the defense ministry and military within days.

In a joint press conference with Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan on Sunday, al-Sharaa said that his administration would not allow for arms outside the control of the state.

An official source told Reuters on Saturday that Murhaf Abu Qasra, a leading figure in the insurgency that toppled Bashar al-Assad two weeks ago, had been named as defense minister in the interim government.
Sharaa did not mention the appointment of a new defense minister on Sunday.
Sharaa discussed the form military institutions would take during a meeting with armed factions on Saturday, state news agency SANA said.
Prime Minister Mohammed al-Bashir said last week that the defense ministry would be restructured using former opposition factions and officers who defected from Assad's army.

Earlier Sunday, Lebanon’s Druze leader Walid Jumblatt held talks with al-Sharaa in Damascus.

Jumblatt expressed hope that Lebanese-Syrian relations “will return to normal.”

“Syria was a source of concern and disturbance, and its interference in Lebanese affairs was negative,” al-Sharaa said, referring to the Assad government. “Syria will no longer be a case of negative interference in Lebanon," he added.