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Russia Continues Media Campaign against US in Syria

A Russian armored vehicle on the Aleppo-Lattakia road on May 12, 2020 (AFP)
A Russian armored vehicle on the Aleppo-Lattakia road on May 12, 2020 (AFP)
    Moscow, London - Asharq Al-Awsat
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Russia Continues Media Campaign against US in Syria

A Russian armored vehicle on the Aleppo-Lattakia road on May 12, 2020 (AFP)
A Russian armored vehicle on the Aleppo-Lattakia road on May 12, 2020 (AFP)

Moscow is pushing forward with its political and media campaign against US actions in Syria. This push coincided with escalating tensions between Russia and the West in Ukraine.

Lieutenant-General Stanislav Gadzhimagomedov, Deputy Head of the Operations Directorate of the Russian General Staff, denounced the US unilateral coercive economic measures imposed on Syria, adding that these sanctions deteriorated standards of living in the country.

He told TASS that the US sanctions imposed on Syria through the Caesar Act had intimidated many companies, including Russian companies.

The Russian General indicated that the companies refuse even to enter profitable projects in Syria for fear of US sanctions.

Moreover, Russia revealed information about the intention of US intelligence to exploit sleeper terrorist cells in Syria to carry out attacks against the Syrian Army, Russia, and Iran.

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Oleg Syromolotov said in a statement that the Russian forces in Syria has information about US intelligence plans to mobilize sleeping extremists in Syria to carry out attacks against the Syrian Army and the Russian and Iranian military personnel.

He added that the Russian forces in Syria are taking appropriate measures to deal with any possible incidents of this kind.

The Russian Defense Ministry had warned in a statement that “leaders of armed groups in Syria are planning to launch attacks in four provinces, namely, Homs, Damascus, Daraa and As-Suwayda.”

Oleg Zhuravlev, deputy chief of the Russian Center for Reconciliation of the Opposing Parties in Syria, said that available intelligence shows that leaders of covert gangs are planning vandalism operations against civilian and public institutions in the four provinces.

In a relevant context, Zhuravlev stressed that the activities of the US occupation forces in Syria continue to negatively affect the situation in the country, as security conditions remain critical in areas where armed militias which they support are deployed.

“The last three days have witnessed ten terrorist attacks and subversive operations in those areas, killing 18 people and wounding 25 others,” Zhuravlev said.

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Arab World

Türkiye, Egypt to Hold Naval Drills Amid Eastern Mediterranean Tensions

Egypt and Türkiye resumed the Sea of Friendship naval exercises in September 2025 after a 13-year suspension. (Turkish Defense Ministry)
Egypt and Türkiye resumed the Sea of Friendship naval exercises in September 2025 after a 13-year suspension. (Turkish Defense Ministry)
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Türkiye, Egypt to Hold Naval Drills Amid Eastern Mediterranean Tensions

Egypt and Türkiye resumed the Sea of Friendship naval exercises in September 2025 after a 13-year suspension. (Turkish Defense Ministry)
Egypt and Türkiye resumed the Sea of Friendship naval exercises in September 2025 after a 13-year suspension. (Turkish Defense Ministry)

Türkiye and Egypt will hold joint naval exercises in Alexandria from November 4 to 9, Ankara announced, amid renewed tensions over a disputed maritime boundary agreement between Türkiye and Libya.

The announcement follows the Libyan parliament’s ratification of the 2019 agreement, drawing objections from Egypt, Greece, Cyprus, the European Union and Israel.

The Turkish Defense Ministry said the Sea of Friendship 2026 exercises would involve naval units and personnel from both countries in surface warfare, anti-submarine operations, air defense and underwater assault training involving combat divers.

Defense Ministry spokesman Zeki Akturk said the Turkish warship TCG Burgazada would visit Alexandria from November 1 to 3, following a port call in Souda, Greece, from October 25 to 28.

Growing military cooperation

The exercises reflect expanding military cooperation between Cairo and Ankara, including defense industry agreements, technology transfers, high-level military exchanges and joint training.

Turkish Land Forces Commander Gen. Metin Tokel visited Egypt on October 26 and 27, although the ministry provided no details about his meetings or itinerary.

The two countries resumed the Sea of Friendship exercises in September 2025 at the Aksaz naval base in Mugla, southwestern Türkiye, following a 13-year suspension amid tensions over the ouster of Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood government. Cairo designates the Brotherhood a terrorist organization.

The drills had previously been held annually from 2009 to 2013.

Following the normalization of relations in 2024, Egypt and Türkiye signed a letter of intent on defense cooperation in July 2026 during Egyptian Defense Minister Ashraf Salem Zaher’s visit to Ankara.

Zaher held talks with his Turkish counterpart, Yasar Guler, on expanding military cooperation, particularly in joint training, defense manufacturing, technology transfer and exchanges of expertise.

The two countries have since conducted several joint exercises, including Golden Eagle, involving Egyptian paratroopers and commandos alongside Turkish special forces, as well as air force training.

Egyptian aircraft also participated in the annual Anatolian Eagle 2026 exercise in Konya, central Türkiye, in June, alongside Azerbaijan and a NATO airborne early warning aircraft.

Regional tensions

The exercises come against a backdrop of renewed tensions following the Libyan House of Representatives’ October 20 ratification of a maritime boundary memorandum signed on November 27, 2019, between Türkiye and Libya’s former Government of National Accord, led by Fayez al-Sarraj.

The agreement remains contested by neighboring countries and the European Union.

Ankara has renewed its offer to negotiate maritime boundaries with Egypt, saying that an agreement with Türkiye would give Cairo more than 15,000 additional square kilometers of maritime jurisdiction compared with a potential deal with Greece.

Greek Foreign Minister Giorgos Gerapetritis rejected the proposal’s underlying approach, telling the newspaper Kathimerini that maritime zones were “not up for auction.”

He reaffirmed Greece’s strategic ties with Egypt and their shared commitment to international law, warning that disregarding maritime rules could have repercussions for global trade, food and energy security, and ocean protection.

Gerapetritis also pointed to a joint statement issued Monday by the UN representatives of Egypt, Greece, Cyprus, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates and the European Union opposing the Türkiye-Libya agreement.

He noted that Egypt’s permanent representative to the United Nations stood alongside him in New York as he delivered the statement.

Despite the maritime dispute, Türkiye and Greece are continuing military confidence-building efforts.

Akturk said the commander of Greece’s Tactical Air Force and an accompanying delegation would visit Türkiye’s Combat Air Force Command from November 3 to 5 under the two countries’ confidence-building plan.

Arab World

Lebanese Forces Boycott Cabinet Meeting Over Hezbollah Explosives Case

Prime Minister Nawaf Salam chairs a cabinet meeting in the absence of Lebanese Forces ministers. (Prime Minister’s Office)
Prime Minister Nawaf Salam chairs a cabinet meeting in the absence of Lebanese Forces ministers. (Prime Minister’s Office)
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Lebanese Forces Boycott Cabinet Meeting Over Hezbollah Explosives Case

Prime Minister Nawaf Salam chairs a cabinet meeting in the absence of Lebanese Forces ministers. (Prime Minister’s Office)
Prime Minister Nawaf Salam chairs a cabinet meeting in the absence of Lebanese Forces ministers. (Prime Minister’s Office)

Ministers from the Lebanese Forces party boycotted a cabinet meeting on Thursday over the government’s failure to refer a case involving Hezbollah explosives seized in Dahr al-Baidar to Lebanon’s Judicial Council.

The boycott marked an escalation in the dispute after the case was left off the agenda of a meeting chaired by Prime Minister Nawaf Salam at the Grand Serail and devoted to waste management.

Lebanese Forces sources told Asharq Al-Awsat that the party could continue boycotting cabinet sessions as long as its demands remained unmet, although it might participate in meetings addressing matters of major strategic importance.

The standoff follows the cabinet’s decision at its previous meeting to postpone a ruling on whether to refer the case to the Judicial Council, pending further progress in the investigation.

Hezbollah has acknowledged responsibility for the explosives shipment, but the Lebanese Forces argue that the seriousness of the case warrants an immediate referral.

Ahead of Thursday’s meeting, Justice Minister Adel Nassar, who is affiliated with the Lebanese Forces, vowed to press the issue.

“I will raise the question of referring the Dahr al-Baidar explosives case to the Judicial Council. There will be no concessions or compromise,” he declared.

Nassar added that he would demand a date for discussing the referral if Salam refused to address it during the session.

Lebanese Forces sources accused the government of repeatedly avoiding a decision on the explosives case.

“The waste management issue is certainly important, but there are more pressing priorities today, foremost among them a case of the magnitude of the Dahr al-Baidar explosives,” they told Asharq Al-Awsat.

They criticized the repeated postponements, arguing that successive Cabinet meetings had failed to produce a decision on referring the case to the Judicial Council.

The party had taken a clear position against attending Cabinet sessions until the matter was resolved, the sources explained.

“A case of this magnitude cannot continue to be handled through repeated delays while meetings are held to discuss other issues, however important they may be,” they added.

The Lebanese Forces stepped up criticism of the judicial investigation, accusing authorities of overlooking public admissions by senior Hezbollah officials while pursuing lower-ranking operatives who lacked the authority to order the explosives shipment.

In a statement, the party’s media office noted that senior Hezbollah officials, including lawmakers and party leaders, had publicly acknowledged that the group was transporting the explosives and that they belonged to it.

The Lebanese Forces described the Dahr al-Baidar case as a matter of national security affecting all Lebanese citizens.

Whatever justification was offered for transporting the explosives, the shipment posed a serious danger even if Hezbollah’s claim that the materials were intended for use against Israel proved true, it added.

The explosives represented a grave threat to residents of South Lebanon in particular and to the Lebanese population as a whole, the statement warned.

Arab World

Flash Floods Kill Five in Syria

A displaced Syrian girl sweeps rainwater from the floor of her family's tent following a rainstorm at the al-Talae displacement camp in Hasakah, northeastern Syria, on October 29, 2026 [Baderkhan Ahmad/AP Photo]
A displaced Syrian girl sweeps rainwater from the floor of her family's tent following a rainstorm at the al-Talae displacement camp in Hasakah, northeastern Syria, on October 29, 2026 [Baderkhan Ahmad/AP Photo]
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Flash Floods Kill Five in Syria

A displaced Syrian girl sweeps rainwater from the floor of her family's tent following a rainstorm at the al-Talae displacement camp in Hasakah, northeastern Syria, on October 29, 2026 [Baderkhan Ahmad/AP Photo]
A displaced Syrian girl sweeps rainwater from the floor of her family's tent following a rainstorm at the al-Talae displacement camp in Hasakah, northeastern Syria, on October 29, 2026 [Baderkhan Ahmad/AP Photo]

Flash flooding and heavy rains in northern and eastern Syria killed five people, including four children, authorities said Thursday.

Four children died by drowning in the governorates of Raqqa and Deir ez-Zor, the ministry of emergency and disaster management said in a statement.

Another man died in an accident at a bridge in Raqqa.

State news agency SANA said the heavy downpours and subsequent flooding caused a bridge to collapse in Raqqa, closing a road linking the region to neighboring Aleppo.

Five more people are missing in the storms that have been drenching the country since Wednesday, according to the ministry.

Areas across northern and eastern Syria have seen heavy rainfall and strong winds, inundating homes, displacing residents and closing roads, according to local authorities and official media.

Climate change has led to a drop in rainfall in Syria, while remaining downpours are intense, sporadic and less predictable, according to experts.