In Line with Russian Understanding, Türkiye Withdraws from Checkpoint on Syria’s M4 Highway

Turkish and Russian soldiers in Syria. (Syrian Observatory for Human Rights)
Turkish and Russian soldiers in Syria. (Syrian Observatory for Human Rights)
TT

In Line with Russian Understanding, Türkiye Withdraws from Checkpoint on Syria’s M4 Highway

Turkish and Russian soldiers in Syria. (Syrian Observatory for Human Rights)
Turkish and Russian soldiers in Syria. (Syrian Observatory for Human Rights)

Turkish forces have started withdrawing from a military checkpoint south of the M4 highway connecting Syria’s Aleppo and Latakia governorates in preparation of the implementation of Russian-Turkish agreements.

According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, Turkish forces moved cement blocks from the Turkish checkpoint in Qaston town in the Sahl Al-Ghab area in the northwestern Hama countryside towards the northern checkpoint.

The military Qaston checkpoint is located a few kilometers away from regime checkpoints in Jurin district.

The withdrawal of Turkish forces from the Sahl Al-Ghab area facilitates the access to the M4 highway and control over Jisr Al-Shughor city, noted the Observatory.

Turkish moves in Idlib to open the highway started recently and come as part of the implementation of an MoU signed with Russia in March 2020.

This could signal the first actual step for progress in the path of normalization of ties between Ankara and the Syrian regime under Russian sponsorship.

After a defense ministers’ meeting in Moscow on December 28, Ankara began to focus on reopening the M4 highway.

Reopening the highway was also discussed during normalization talks between Ankara and Damascus.

According to Syrian opposition sources and media reports, Türkiye wants to share supervision of the M4 with Russia and the Syrian regime.

At the present time, Syrian regime forces control most of the M4, but Türkiye and its loyalist factions are still running a small portion of the highway.

In an MoU signed on March 5, 2020, Russia and Türkiye agreed to establish a secure corridor near the highway, which runs east to west through Idlib, and hold joint patrols along the route.

They said the corridor would stretch 6 km to the north and 6 km to the south of the M4.



New Lebanese Govt to Steer Clear of Hezbollah’s ‘Army, People, Resistance’ Equation

A handout picture released by the Lebanese presidency shows President Joseph Aoun (font-C) posing for a family picture of Lebanon's new government at the presidential palace in Baabda, east of Beirut, on February 11, 2025. (Lebanese Presidency / AFP)
A handout picture released by the Lebanese presidency shows President Joseph Aoun (font-C) posing for a family picture of Lebanon's new government at the presidential palace in Baabda, east of Beirut, on February 11, 2025. (Lebanese Presidency / AFP)
TT

New Lebanese Govt to Steer Clear of Hezbollah’s ‘Army, People, Resistance’ Equation

A handout picture released by the Lebanese presidency shows President Joseph Aoun (font-C) posing for a family picture of Lebanon's new government at the presidential palace in Baabda, east of Beirut, on February 11, 2025. (Lebanese Presidency / AFP)
A handout picture released by the Lebanese presidency shows President Joseph Aoun (font-C) posing for a family picture of Lebanon's new government at the presidential palace in Baabda, east of Beirut, on February 11, 2025. (Lebanese Presidency / AFP)

The new Lebanese government held its first meeting on Tuesday, forming a committee tasked with drafting its ministerial statement that is expected to drop the “army, people and resistance” term that justifies Hezbollah’s weapons possession in Lebanon.

Ministerial statements in recent years have all endorsed this equation, but with the Iran-backed party severely weakened after the Israeli war on Lebanon and its grip over political life slipping, the term is expected to be dropped.

There is optimism that the statement could be completed within days and that it would focus on President Joseph Aoun’s inaugural speech and Prime Minister Nawaf Salam’s remarks after he was named to his post.

Aoun had stressed during his speech the need to limit the possession of weapons in Lebanon to the state.

The committee is comprised of Salam, his deputy Tarek Mitri, Finance Minister Yassine Jaber, Culture Minister Ghassan Salameh, Industry Minister Issa al-Khoury and Transportation and Public Works Minister Fayez Rasamny. It held its first meeting on Tuesday.

The statement is expected to be “brief and to the point.”

Chairing the first cabinet meeting at the Baabda presidential palace, Aoun underscored the importance of reforms in Lebanon.

“It is important to restore trust, starting with fighting corruption and carrying out administrative, judicial and security appointments,” he told the ministers.

On Tuesday evening, Salam said during a televised interview, which included Asharq Al-Awsat, that the ministerial statement must address all challenges, starting with the continued Israeli occupation of Lebanese territories, as well as reconstruction of areas devastated by the war.

Responding to a question by Asharq Al-Awsat, he declared that the statement must “emphasize the full implementation of United Nations Security Council resolution 1701 and ceasefire understandings.”

It must also commit to the reconstruction process, he added.

Other challenges include financial, economic and political reforms, he went on to say, stressing that his government will be focused on “reform and salvation”.

Lebanon wants Israel to fully withdraw from Lebanese territories and “we will continue to resort to diplomacy and politics to make sure that happens” before the February 18 deadline for the pullout, Salam stressed.

He underlined the importance of diplomatic pressure on Israel, stressing that Lebanon is “performing its role in full by deploying the army and seriously approaching the implementation of resolution 1701. We have not shirked away from our responsibilities.”