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Blinken, Guterres Discuss Expanding Aid to Syria

A camp for earthquake survivors in Jindires, northern Syria (Reuters)
A camp for earthquake survivors in Jindires, northern Syria (Reuters)
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Blinken, Guterres Discuss Expanding Aid to Syria

A camp for earthquake survivors in Jindires, northern Syria (Reuters)
A camp for earthquake survivors in Jindires, northern Syria (Reuters)

Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke Tuesday with United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on the urgent need to facilitate humanitarian access in Syria so the UN and humanitarian actors can deliver life-saving assistance to those affected by the February 6 earthquakes.

Secretary Blinken underscored the need for the Assad regime to meet its commitment to open the Bab Al-Salam and Al-Rai border crossings for humanitarian purposes, including through a Security Council authorization, if necessary, according to US State Department spokesman Ned Price.

The Secretary noted that an expanded resolution would give the UN and humanitarian actors the flexibility they need to more effectively deliver aid to people in need in Syria.

“Important conversation with UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres on expanding UN access to earthquake victims in Türkiye and Syria. In addition to providing aid through USAID and State PRM, we offer our full support to UN-led efforts to surge humanitarian aid,” Blinken tweeted.

For her part, the US Representative to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield welcomed the UN diplomacy, hinting at the arrangement between the UN and Assad to use the Bab Al-Salam and Al-Rai crossings.

She said the UN welcomes the news that some UN aid moved through the Bab Al-Salam and Al-Rai crossings, and that they look forward to receiving more from the UN about how this arrangement is playing out on the ground.

“We have made that call when it comes to the regime. We have made that call when it comes to opponents of the regime. Everyone should put aside their agendas and affiliations in service of one pursuit and one pursuit only, and that’s addressing the humanitarian emergency, the humanitarian nightmare that’s unfolding in parts of northwest Syria,” Price said.

He noted that the US “responded immediately in the aftermath of these earthquakes.”

“We deployed the Disaster Assistance Response Teams within hours. We announced last week that we’re providing an additional $85 million above and beyond our initial response. We deployed the urban search and rescue teams with nearly 200 members, 12 dogs, 170,000 pounds of specialized equipment.”

“The international community also has a collective moral obligation to do all it can,” he stressed.

Blinken further added that it is possible to use the military bases in Syria for aid.

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Türkiye Continues Strikes on PKK in Iraq, Syria Despite Ocalan Call 

Syrian Kurds hold flags as they gather after Türkiye’s jailed militant leader Abdullah Ocalan called on his Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) to lay down its arms, in Hasakah, Syria February 27, 2025. (Reuters)
Syrian Kurds hold flags as they gather after Türkiye’s jailed militant leader Abdullah Ocalan called on his Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) to lay down its arms, in Hasakah, Syria February 27, 2025. (Reuters)
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Türkiye Continues Strikes on PKK in Iraq, Syria Despite Ocalan Call 

Syrian Kurds hold flags as they gather after Türkiye’s jailed militant leader Abdullah Ocalan called on his Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) to lay down its arms, in Hasakah, Syria February 27, 2025. (Reuters)
Syrian Kurds hold flags as they gather after Türkiye’s jailed militant leader Abdullah Ocalan called on his Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) to lay down its arms, in Hasakah, Syria February 27, 2025. (Reuters)

Türkiye’s armed forces have killed 26 Kurdish militants in Iraq and Syria in the week after jailed militant leader Abdullah Ocalan's disarmament call, the defense ministry said on Thursday.

Ocalan last week called on his outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) to lay down its arms and dissolve, and the militant group declared an immediate ceasefire on Saturday.

"The Turkish Armed Forces will continue its operations and search-scanning activities in the region for the survival and security of our country," the defense ministry spokesperson told a weekly press briefing.

"(It) will continue its fight against terrorism with determination and resolve until there is not a single terrorist left," the spokesperson added.

The spokesperson Zeki Akturk said the PKK militants had been "neutralized" in Iraq and Syria, without specifying where the incidents took place. The ministry's use of the term "neutralized" commonly means killed.

The PKK, designated a terrorist group by Türkiye and its Western allies, said it was ready to convene a congress, as Ocalan urged, but the necessary security conditions should be established for him to "personally direct and run" it.

The Syrian Kurdish YPG, the spearhead of the key US ally against ISIS in Syria that Ankara views as an extension of the PKK, has said Ocalan's message did not apply to them.

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Saturday Türkiye would continue operations against the PKK if the group's process of disarmament is stalled or promises are not kept.

Erdogan's ruling AK Party spokesman Omer Celik said all Kurdish militants in Iraq and Syria, including the US-allied Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), must lay down their weapons.