Security, Troops Withdrawal Top Syria-Türkiye 'Normalization' Talks

 Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu (Russian Defense Ministry/AFP)
Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu (Russian Defense Ministry/AFP)
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Security, Troops Withdrawal Top Syria-Türkiye 'Normalization' Talks

 Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu (Russian Defense Ministry/AFP)
Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu (Russian Defense Ministry/AFP)

The Defense Ministers of Russia, Syria, Türkiye and Iran held a new round of consultations in Moscow on Tuesday, which focused on security and military presence near the border areas in northern Syria.

The results of the closed-door meeting constituted preparations for holding upcoming talks at the level of foreign ministers, which is expected to take place on May 2, a Russian diplomatic source told Asharq Al-Awsat.

The Turkish Ministry of Defense announced that the meeting discussed ways to intensify efforts to return the Syrian refugees to their homeland.

Syrian Al-Watan newspaper quoted an unnamed source as saying that the statement published by the Turkish Ministry of Defense, which highlighted concrete steps related to normalization of ties between Türkiye and Syria, was false, stressing that the meeting discussed the mechanism for the withdrawal of Turkish forces from Syrian territory, and did not address any normalization steps.

Moscow deliberately kept secret the details of the “military and security” meeting, abstaining from announcing details in advance. The Russian Ministry of Defense issued a brief press statement, stressing “the positive spirit that prevailed during the discussions.”

“Practical steps were discussed in the field of strengthening security in the Syrian Arab Republic and normalizing Syrian-Turkish relations,” the statement read.

This is the second meeting at the same level after the defense ministers and heads of the security services in Syria, Türkiye and Russia held previous talks at the end of 2022, which laid the basis for moving towards the normalization of Syrian-Turkish relations under Russian auspices. Iran, which reportedly objected to its absence from the first round of consultations, joined the talks later.

In remarks to Asharq Al-Awsat, a well-informed Russian diplomat described the meeting as “very serious and positive”. He noted that the talks “are focusing on issues that require more coordination, especially in areas related to security and anti-terrorism, which have been given priority because they are linked to the protection of national security of both Syria and Türkiye.”

In Ankara, the Turkish Ministry of Defense said in a statement that the meeting discussed “concrete steps” that could be taken to normalize relations between Ankara and Damascus, and means to intensify efforts to return Syrian refugees to their lands.

The statement added that the meeting also touched on ways to combat terrorist organizations and extremist groups on Syrian soil, and to preserve Syria’s territorial integrity.

Ankara preempted the meeting by affirming that it would not withdraw its forces from northern Syria, without ruling out, at the same time, a meeting between Presidents Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Bashar al-Assad, “according to a special road map, and without preconditions.”

However, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu reiterated, in a televised interview on Monday night, that his country’s forces would not withdraw from northern Syria and northern Iraq at the present time, saying: “Our withdrawal from northern Syria and northern Iraq means ending our military operations against terrorism…This poses a threat to our national security.”



Lebanon Security Source Says Hezbollah Official Targeted in Beirut Strike

Civil defense members work as Lebanese army soldiers stand guard at the site of an Israeli strike in Beirut's Basta neighbourhood, amid the ongoing hostilities between Hezbollah and Israeli forces, Lebanon November 23, 2024. REUTERS/Adnan Abidi
Civil defense members work as Lebanese army soldiers stand guard at the site of an Israeli strike in Beirut's Basta neighbourhood, amid the ongoing hostilities between Hezbollah and Israeli forces, Lebanon November 23, 2024. REUTERS/Adnan Abidi
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Lebanon Security Source Says Hezbollah Official Targeted in Beirut Strike

Civil defense members work as Lebanese army soldiers stand guard at the site of an Israeli strike in Beirut's Basta neighbourhood, amid the ongoing hostilities between Hezbollah and Israeli forces, Lebanon November 23, 2024. REUTERS/Adnan Abidi
Civil defense members work as Lebanese army soldiers stand guard at the site of an Israeli strike in Beirut's Basta neighbourhood, amid the ongoing hostilities between Hezbollah and Israeli forces, Lebanon November 23, 2024. REUTERS/Adnan Abidi

A Lebanese security source said the target of a deadly Israeli airstrike on central Beirut early Saturday was a senior Hezbollah official, adding it was unclear whether he was killed.

"The Israeli strike on Basta targeted a leading Hezbollah figure," the security official told AFP without naming the figure, requesting anonymity to discuss sensitive matters.

The early morning airstrike has killed at least 15 people and injured 63, according to authorities, and had brought down an eight-storey building nearby, in the second such attack on the working-class neighbourhood of Basta in as many months.

"The strike was so strong it felt like the building was about to fall on our heads," said Samir, 60, who lives with his family in a building facing the one that was hit.

"It felt like they had targeted my house," he said, asking to be identified by only his first name because of security concerns.

There had been no evacuation warning issued by the Israeli military for the Basta area.

After the strike, Samir fled his home in the middle of the night with his wife and two children, aged 14 and just three.

On Saturday morning, dumbstruck residents watched as an excavator cleared the wreckage of the razed building and rescue efforts continued, with nearby buildings also damaged in the attack, AFP journalists reported.

The densely packed district has welcomed people displaced from traditional Hezbollah bastions in Lebanon's east, south and southern Beirut, after Israel intensified its air campaign on September 23, later sending in ground troops.

"We saw two dead people on the ground... The children started crying and their mother cried even more," Samir told AFP, reporting minor damage to his home.

Since last Sunday, four deadly Israeli strikes have hit central Beirut, including one that killed Hezbollah spokesman Mohammed Afif.

Residents across the city and its outskirts awoke at 0400 (0200 GMT) on Saturday to loud explosions and the smell of gunpowder in the air.

"It was the first time I've woken up screaming in terror," said Salah, a 35-year-old father of two who lives in the same street as the building that was targeted.

"Words can't express the fear that gripped me," he said.

Saturday's strikes were the second time the Basta district had been targeted since war broke out, after deadly twin strikes early in October hit the area and the Nweiri neighbourhood.

Last month's attacks killed 22 people and had targeted Hezbollah security chief Wafiq Safa, who made it out alive, a source close to the group told AFP.

Salah said his wife and children had been in the northern city of Tripoli, about 70 kilometres away (45 miles), but that he had to stay in the capital because of work.

His family had been due to return this weekend because their school reopens on Monday, but now he has decided against it following the attack.

"I miss them. Every day they ask me: 'Dad, when are we coming home?'" he said.

Lebanon's health ministry says that more than 3,650 people have been killed since October 2023, after Hezbollah initiated exchanges of fire with Israel in solidarity with its Iran-backed ally Hamas over the Gaza war.

However, most of the deaths in Lebanon have been since September this year.

Despite the trauma caused by Saturday's strike, Samir said he and his family had no choice but to return home.

"Where else would I go?" he asked.

"All my relatives and siblings have been displaced from Beirut's southern suburbs and from the south."