Jia Kurd to Asharq Al-Awsat: Moscow Meeting Legalizes Turkish Occupation


The head of Foreign Relations at the Kurdish The Autonomous Administration of North and East Syrian (AANES), Badran Jia Kurd (Asharq Al-Awsat)
The head of Foreign Relations at the Kurdish The Autonomous Administration of North and East Syrian (AANES), Badran Jia Kurd (Asharq Al-Awsat)
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Jia Kurd to Asharq Al-Awsat: Moscow Meeting Legalizes Turkish Occupation


The head of Foreign Relations at the Kurdish The Autonomous Administration of North and East Syrian (AANES), Badran Jia Kurd (Asharq Al-Awsat)
The head of Foreign Relations at the Kurdish The Autonomous Administration of North and East Syrian (AANES), Badran Jia Kurd (Asharq Al-Awsat)

Badran Jia Kurd, a Kurdish official who heads the foreign relations department of The Autonomous Administration of North and East Syrian (AANES), has warned that the new agreements between Damascus and Ankara "will be at the expense of the Syrian people."

On Tuesday, the quartet meeting at the level of deputy foreign ministers of Türkiye, Russia, Iran, and Syria agreed to continue consultations regarding Syria.

Jia Kurd explained to Asharq Al-Awsat that without clear criteria for a comprehensive political solution to the Syrian situation, any consensus would lead to the political legitimization of the Turkish occupation.

He stressed that these meetings target the Kurdish Autonomous Administration project, saying it was a new attempt to push Syria towards civil war.

The official said the recent meeting in Moscow comes in a preliminary context to improve diplomatic relations between Damascus and Ankara and is a continuation of the Astana meetings.

He noted that the Syrian people do not have high hopes for such meetings, noting that the crisis has become "global," and bilateral or tripartite meetings cannot determine the basic features of the final political solution, especially since the Syrian decision has been usurped.

The meetings are "a waste of time" and a "lost bet on time," said Jia Kurd, adding that such "suspicious meetings cannot bring about a political solution that guarantees the rights of all Syrians."

He believes the talks would further complicate matters in light of Türkiye's destructive role in Syria.

The Kurdish official indicated that the authorities agreed with Damascus in demanding the complete and total withdrawal of Turkish forces from the Syrian territories and the need to stop interfering in internal affairs.

He explained that any process of reconciliation and normalization must occur under international law and the standards governing relations between countries, which would otherwise legitimize the occupation.

Jia Kurd called on the Syrian regime to launch a genuine dialogue with all the Syrian factions, urging Syria to be an active country and engage with its regional and global regions.

The Syrian regime needs to overcome the internal crisis and formulate a new policy for the country, setting guarantees and creating conditions for the return of all Syrians to their areas of origin.

However, the official ruled out reaching "new consensuses" under the current circumstances saying the conditions are not appropriate and not ready for such talks amid the ongoing Turkish occupation of the Syrian lands.

Jia Kurd denied that these meetings would turn overnight into a stabilizing factor and offer solutions amid Türkiye's continued occupation and the endless support for terrorist and extremist groups that commit massacres daily against the people.



Lebanon Says Two Killed in Israeli Strike on Palestinian Refugee Camp

22 January 2026, Lebanon, Qnarit: People inspect the damage of a building that was destroyed by an Israeli air raid on the southern Lebanese village of Qnarit. (dpa)
22 January 2026, Lebanon, Qnarit: People inspect the damage of a building that was destroyed by an Israeli air raid on the southern Lebanese village of Qnarit. (dpa)
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Lebanon Says Two Killed in Israeli Strike on Palestinian Refugee Camp

22 January 2026, Lebanon, Qnarit: People inspect the damage of a building that was destroyed by an Israeli air raid on the southern Lebanese village of Qnarit. (dpa)
22 January 2026, Lebanon, Qnarit: People inspect the damage of a building that was destroyed by an Israeli air raid on the southern Lebanese village of Qnarit. (dpa)

Lebanon said an Israeli strike on the country's largest Palestinian refugee camp killed two people on Friday, with Israel's army saying it had targeted the Palestinian group Hamas. 

The official National News Agency said "an Israeli drone" targeted a neighborhood of the Ain al-Hilweh camp, which is located on the outskirts of the southern city of Sidon. 

Lebanon's health ministry said two people were killed in the raid. The NNA had earlier reported one dead and an unspecified number of wounded. 

An AFP correspondent saw smoke rising from a building in the densely populated camp as ambulances headed to the scene. 

The Israeli army said in a statement that its forces "struck a Hamas command center from which terrorists operated", calling activity there "a violation of the ceasefire understandings between Israel and Lebanon" and a threat to Israel. 

The Israeli military "is operating against the entrenchment" of the Palestinian group in Lebanon and will "continue to act decisively against Hamas terrorists wherever they operate", it added. 

Israel has kept up regular strikes on Lebanon despite a November 2024 ceasefire that sought to halt more than a year of hostilities with Hezbollah. 

Israel has also struck targets belonging to Hezbollah's Palestinian ally Hamas, including in a raid on Ain al-Hilweh last November that killed 13 people. 

The UN rights office had said 11 children were killed in that strike, which Israel said targeted a Hamas training compound, though the group denied it had military installations in Palestinian camps in Lebanon. 

In October 2023, Hezbollah began launching rockets at Israel in support of Hamas at the outset of the Gaza war, triggering hostilities that culminated in two months of all-out war between Israel and the Iran-backed Lebanese group. 

On Sunday, Lebanon said an Israeli strike near the Syrian border in the country's east killed four people, as Israel said it targeted operatives from Palestinian group Islamic Jihad. 


UN Says It Risks Halting Somalia Aid Due to Funding Cuts 

A Somali trader marks watermelons for sale at an open-air grocery market as Muslims start the fasting month of Ramadan, the holiest month in the Islamic calendar, within Bakara market in Mogadishu, Somalia, February 18, 2026. (Reuters)
A Somali trader marks watermelons for sale at an open-air grocery market as Muslims start the fasting month of Ramadan, the holiest month in the Islamic calendar, within Bakara market in Mogadishu, Somalia, February 18, 2026. (Reuters)
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UN Says It Risks Halting Somalia Aid Due to Funding Cuts 

A Somali trader marks watermelons for sale at an open-air grocery market as Muslims start the fasting month of Ramadan, the holiest month in the Islamic calendar, within Bakara market in Mogadishu, Somalia, February 18, 2026. (Reuters)
A Somali trader marks watermelons for sale at an open-air grocery market as Muslims start the fasting month of Ramadan, the holiest month in the Islamic calendar, within Bakara market in Mogadishu, Somalia, February 18, 2026. (Reuters)

The UN's World Food Program (WFP) warned Friday it would have to stop humanitarian assistance in Somalia by April if it did not receive new funding.

The Rome-based agency said it had already been forced to reduce the number of people receiving emergency food assistance from 2.2 million in early 2025 to just over 600,000 today.

"Without immediate funding, WFP will be forced to halt humanitarian assistance by April," it said in a statement.

In early January, the United States suspended aid to Somalia over reports of theft and government interference, following the destruction of a US-funded WFP warehouse in the capital Mogadishu's port.

The US announced a resumption of WFP food distribution on January 29.

However, all UN agencies have warned of serious funding shortfalls since Washington began slashing aid across the world following President Donald Trump's return to the White House last year.

"The situation is deteriorating at an alarming rate," said Ross Smith, WFP Director of Emergency Preparedness and Response, in Friday's statement.

"Families have lost everything, and many are already being pushed to the brink. Without immediate emergency food support, conditions will worsen quickly.

"We are at the cusp of a decisive moment; without urgent action, we may be unable to reach the most vulnerable in time, most of them women and children."

Some 4.4 million people in Somalia are facing crisis-levels of food insecurity, according to the WFP, the largest humanitarian agency in the country.

The Horn of Africa country has been plagued by conflict and also suffered two consecutive failed rainy seasons.


Hamas Says Path for Gaza Must Begin with End to ‘Aggression’ 

Makeshift tents of displaced Palestinian families among the ruins of their homes at sunset during the holy month of Ramadan in Jabaliya northern Gaza Strip on, 19 February 2026. (EPA)
Makeshift tents of displaced Palestinian families among the ruins of their homes at sunset during the holy month of Ramadan in Jabaliya northern Gaza Strip on, 19 February 2026. (EPA)
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Hamas Says Path for Gaza Must Begin with End to ‘Aggression’ 

Makeshift tents of displaced Palestinian families among the ruins of their homes at sunset during the holy month of Ramadan in Jabaliya northern Gaza Strip on, 19 February 2026. (EPA)
Makeshift tents of displaced Palestinian families among the ruins of their homes at sunset during the holy month of Ramadan in Jabaliya northern Gaza Strip on, 19 February 2026. (EPA)

Discussions on Gaza's future must begin with a total halt to Israeli "aggression", the Palestinian movement Hamas said after US President Donald Trump's Board of Peace met for the first time.

"Any political process or any arrangement under discussion concerning the Gaza Strip and the future of our Palestinian people must start with the total halt of aggression, the lifting of the blockade, and the guarantee of our people's legitimate national rights, first and foremost their right to freedom and self-determination," Hamas said in a statement Thursday.

Trump's board met for its inaugural session in Washington on Thursday, with a number of countries pledging money and personnel to rebuild the Palestinian territory, more than four months into a fragile ceasefire between Israel and Hamas.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has insisted however that Hamas must disarm before any reconstruction begins.

"We agreed with our ally the US that there will be no reconstruction of Gaza before the demilitarization of Gaza," Netanyahu said.

The Israeli leader did not attend the Washington meeting but was represented by his foreign minister Gideon Saar.

Trump said several countries had pledged more than seven billion dollars to rebuild the territory.

Muslim-majority Indonesia will take a deputy commander role in a nascent International Stabilization Force, the unit's American chief Major General Jasper Jeffers said.

Trump, whose plan for Gaza was endorsed by the UN Security Council in November, also said five countries had committed to providing troops, including Morocco, Kazakhstan, Kosovo and Albania.