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Algerian President’s Visit to Paris Postponed

The sculpture of Emir Abdelkader located in Amboise, France [Guillaume Souvant/AFP]
The sculpture of Emir Abdelkader located in Amboise, France [Guillaume Souvant/AFP]
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Algerian President’s Visit to Paris Postponed

The sculpture of Emir Abdelkader located in Amboise, France [Guillaume Souvant/AFP]
The sculpture of Emir Abdelkader located in Amboise, France [Guillaume Souvant/AFP]

A visit by Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune to Paris was postponed, French newspaper Le Figaro cited sources as saying.

According to information reported by the newspaper, the symbolic trip of the Algerian president, which was to take place on May 2- 3, has been postponed by mutual agreement without new dates being set.

Le Figaro added that the postponement was confirmed by French and Algerian sources who did not specify the reasons, but pointed to a “lack of preparation of files”.

Anne Marie Descôtes, Secretary General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, traveled to Algiers on Sunday, where she met with her Algerian counterpart, Ammar Ballani, to put the final touches on the preparations for the visit.

However, many observers had expected the trip to be adjourned due to the protests taking place in France over the government’s pension reforms.

French newspaper L’Opinion reported on Saturday that the visit was expected to take place between May 2 and 5, adding that the most important items on its agenda would include a speech that Tebboune would deliver before the National Assembly, over bilateral economic ties.

The speech was also expected to deal with the human dimension of the relations between the two countries, which is represented by the millions of Algerians residing in France, the French of Algerian origin, and generations of immigrants’ children.

Algeria is calling for greater flexibility in the French visa system, and for activating the agreement on the movement of persons between the two countries that dates back to 1968, which gives preference to Algerians wishing to pursue studies in French universities.

The agenda, which was agreed upon by senior officials in the two countries, includes a visit by Tebboune and French President Emmanuel Macron to the Amboise Palace in the heart of France, the location of a steel structure representing Emir Abdelkader, who was imprisoned in the same place in the 19th century, after popular revolutions he waged against the French invasion of Algeria.

Prince Abdelkader is considered the founder of the modern Algerian state and a symbol of tolerance between religions. He was known for defending the Christians of Syria in 1860 against persecution.

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Syria Authorities Say Armed Groups Have Agreed to Disband

Syria's de facto leader Ahmed al-Sharaa speaks to the media in Damascus, Syria, December 23, 2024. REUTERS/Ammar Awad
Syria's de facto leader Ahmed al-Sharaa speaks to the media in Damascus, Syria, December 23, 2024. REUTERS/Ammar Awad
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Syria Authorities Say Armed Groups Have Agreed to Disband

Syria's de facto leader Ahmed al-Sharaa speaks to the media in Damascus, Syria, December 23, 2024. REUTERS/Ammar Awad
Syria's de facto leader Ahmed al-Sharaa speaks to the media in Damascus, Syria, December 23, 2024. REUTERS/Ammar Awad

Syria's new leaders announced Tuesday that they had reached an agreement with the country's opposition groups on their dissolution and integration under the defense ministry.  

Absent from the meeting were representatives of the US-backed, Kurdish-led forces that control swathes of Syria's northeast.  

The meeting between the opposition groups and Syria's new leader Ahmed al-Sharaa "ended in an agreement on the dissolution of all the groups and their integration under the supervision of the ministry of defense", said a statement carried by the SANA news agency and the authorities' Telegram account.

The announcement comes just over two weeks after President Bashar al-Assad fled Syria, following a lightning offensive spearheaded by Sharaa's Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) group.

On Sunday Sharaa, long known by his nom de guerre Abu Mohammed al-Golani, had said the new authorities would "absolutely not allow there to be weapons in the country outside state control".  

That also applied to the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), he said.  

Last week, the military chief of HTS told AFP that Kurdish-held areas would be integrated under the new leadership, and that "Syria will not be divided".  

Thirteen years of civil war in Syria has left more than half a million people dead and fragmented the country into zones of influence controlled by different armed groups backed by regional and international powers.

SDF spokesman Farhad Shami told AFP the question of his group's integration into the national armed forces "should be discussed directly".  

He did not dismiss the possibility, saying that doing so would strengthen "the whole of Syria".  

Shami added that his forces prefer "dialogue with Damascus to resolve all questions".  

- 'Economic leverage' -  

Türkiye has long held ties with HTS, and analysts say that since the opposition took over Syria, both sides have sought to profit from the relationship.  

Ankara accuses the People's Protection Units (YPG) -- the main component of the SDF -- of being affiliated with the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), which has waged a decades-long insurgency on Turkish soil.  

Earlier this month, a Syria specialist who advises Western diplomats in Türkiye said: "The Turks would like to push HTS into striking at the Kurds but HTS doesn't want to get involved."

Although Ankara's role in Assad's overthrow had been "overstated", Türkiye now has "real economic leverage" thanks to the 900-kilometer (560-mile) border it shares with Syria, the source told AFP on condition of anonymity.  

How the situation develops will also depend on US President-elect Donald Trump, who takes office on January 20 but has already proclaimed that "Türkiye is going to hold the key to Syria".  

Since late November, the SDF has been battling Türkiye-backed fighters who launched an offensive on Kurdish-held areas at the same time as HTS's anti-Assad campaign.  

On Tuesday, the SDF said in a statement its fighters were waging deadly combat to the east of the key city of Manbij, with 16 deaths in its ranks.  

Syria's Kurds, long oppressed under Assad's rule, saw an opportunity during the war to carve out a semi-autonomous territory in the northeast.  

They proved an indispensable ally to the US-led coalition battling the ISIS group.  

Since Assad's ouster on December 8, they have issued numerous statements welcoming his downfall, and also put out calls for dialogue with the new leadership in Damascus and with Türkiye.  

In Syria's northeast, both the Kurdish flag and the three-star independence-era flag used by the new authorities can be seen.