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Türkiye Says ‘Final Step’ Required before Proposed Erdogan, Assad Meeting

Demonstrators raise Syrian opposition flags and placards as they rally against a potential rapprochement between Ankara and the Syrian regime, on December 30, 2022, in the opposition-held city of al-Bab, on the border with Türkiye, in Syria's northern Aleppo province. (AFP)
Demonstrators raise Syrian opposition flags and placards as they rally against a potential rapprochement between Ankara and the Syrian regime, on December 30, 2022, in the opposition-held city of al-Bab, on the border with Türkiye, in Syria's northern Aleppo province. (AFP)
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Türkiye Says ‘Final Step’ Required before Proposed Erdogan, Assad Meeting

Demonstrators raise Syrian opposition flags and placards as they rally against a potential rapprochement between Ankara and the Syrian regime, on December 30, 2022, in the opposition-held city of al-Bab, on the border with Türkiye, in Syria's northern Aleppo province. (AFP)
Demonstrators raise Syrian opposition flags and placards as they rally against a potential rapprochement between Ankara and the Syrian regime, on December 30, 2022, in the opposition-held city of al-Bab, on the border with Türkiye, in Syria's northern Aleppo province. (AFP)

Syrian regime media reported that Türkiye has agreed to fully withdraw its military from northern Syria following tripartite talks it held with Damascus and Moscow. Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said such a move requires progress in the political process there. 

“Our defense minister and intelligence chief presented our position and the necessary explanation during the meeting in Moscow,” Cavusoglu told reporters on Saturday.  

“We always say that if there is a vacuum, terrorist organizations should not fill this void,” he added, explaining that his country is aware of Syrian sovereignty over the territories where Turkish forces are stationed.  

The top diplomat moved on to affirm that Türkiye has no “ambitions” of taking over Syrian lands. 

“We support the territorial integrity of Syria, but there must be stability in northern Syria, and some steps must be taken in the political process,” he remarked.  

“We have been saying this for a long time,” he stressed.  

Last Wednesday, defense ministers of Russia, Türkiye and Syria held talks in Moscow.  

Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar met Syrian Defense Minister Ali Mahmoud Abbas in Moscow along with Russia’s Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu.  

The three countries’ heads of intelligence were also present at the meeting.  

The meeting dealt, according to the Turkish Ministry of Defense, with the issue of “the safe return of Syrian refugees, cooperation in combating terrorist organizations and the political process in Syria.” 

Discussions between Turkish and Syrian intelligence services had paved the way for the high-level meeting.  

Moreover, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said, in previous statements, that he offered Russian President Vladimir Putin a summit meeting, preceded by a meeting of the heads of the intelligence services and the ministers of defense and foreign affairs.  

Cavusoglu said that the next step after the defense ministers' meeting “will be to hold a meeting of foreign ministers, and that he will meet with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov to discuss the matter.” 

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Arab World

Rescue Teams Search for Survivors in Building Collapse that Killed at Least 2 in Northern Lebanon

A Lebanese flag is pictured, in the aftermath of a massive explosion, in Beirut's damaged port area, Lebanon August 17, 2020. REUTERS/Hannah McKay
A Lebanese flag is pictured, in the aftermath of a massive explosion, in Beirut's damaged port area, Lebanon August 17, 2020. REUTERS/Hannah McKay
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Rescue Teams Search for Survivors in Building Collapse that Killed at Least 2 in Northern Lebanon

A Lebanese flag is pictured, in the aftermath of a massive explosion, in Beirut's damaged port area, Lebanon August 17, 2020. REUTERS/Hannah McKay
A Lebanese flag is pictured, in the aftermath of a massive explosion, in Beirut's damaged port area, Lebanon August 17, 2020. REUTERS/Hannah McKay

At least two people were killed and four rescued from the rubble of a multistory apartment building that collapsed Sunday in the city of Tripoli in northern Lebanon, state media reported.

Rescue teams were continuing to dig through the rubble. It was not immediately clear how many people were in the building when it fell.

The bodies pulled out were of a child and a woman, the state-run National News Agency reported.

Dozens of people crowded around the site of the crater left by the collapsed building, with some shooting in the air.

The building was in the neighborhood of Bab Tabbaneh, one of the poorest areas in Lebanon’s second largest city, where residents have long complained of government neglect and shoddy infrastructure. Building collapses are not uncommon in Tripoli due to poor building standards, according to The AP news.

Lebanon’s Health Ministry announced that those injured in the collapse would receive treatment at the state’s expense.

The national syndicate for property owners in a statement called the collapse the result of “blatant negligence and shortcomings of the Lebanese state toward the safety of citizens and their housing security,” and said it is “not an isolated incident.”

The syndicate called for the government to launch a comprehensive national survey of buildings at risk of collapse.

Arab World

Israel to Take More West Bank Powers and Relax Settler Land Buys

A view of Israeli settlement of Maale Adumim, in the West Bank, Sunday, June 18, 2023. (AP)
A view of Israeli settlement of Maale Adumim, in the West Bank, Sunday, June 18, 2023. (AP)
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Israel to Take More West Bank Powers and Relax Settler Land Buys

A view of Israeli settlement of Maale Adumim, in the West Bank, Sunday, June 18, 2023. (AP)
A view of Israeli settlement of Maale Adumim, in the West Bank, Sunday, June 18, 2023. (AP)

Israel's security cabinet approved a series of steps on Sunday that would make it easier for settlers in the occupied West Bank to buy land while granting Israeli authorities more enforcement powers over Palestinians, Israeli media reported.

The West Bank is among the territories that the Palestinians seek for a future independent state. Much of it is under Israeli military control, with limited Palestinian self-rule in some areas run by the Western-backed Palestinian Authority (PA).

Citing statements by Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and Defense Minister Israel Katz, Israeli news sites Ynet and Haaretz said the measures included scrapping decades-old regulations that prevent Jewish private citizens buying land in the West Bank, The AP news reported.

They were also reported to include allowing Israeli authorities to administer some religious sites, and expand supervision and enforcement in areas under PA administration in matters of environmental hazards, water offences and damage to archaeological sites.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said the new measures were dangerous, illegal and tantamount to de-facto annexation.

The Israeli ministers did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

The new measures come three days before Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is scheduled to meet in Washington with US President Donald Trump.

Trump has ruled out Israeli annexation of the West Bank but his administration has not sought to curb Israel's accelerated settlement building, which the Palestinians say denies them a potential state by eating away at its territory.

Netanyahu, who is facing an election later this year, deems the establishment of any Palestinian state a security threat.

His ruling coalition includes many pro-settler members who want Israel to annex the West Bank, land captured in the 1967 Middle East war to which Israel cites biblical and historical ties.

The United Nations' highest court said in a non-binding advisory opinion in 2024 that Israel's occupation of Palestinian territories and settlements there is illegal and should be ended as soon as possible. Israel disputes this view.

Arab World

Arab League Condemns Attack on Aid Convoys in Sudan

A general view shows the opening session of the meeting of Arab foreign ministers at the Arab League Headquarters (Reuters)
A general view shows the opening session of the meeting of Arab foreign ministers at the Arab League Headquarters (Reuters)
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Arab League Condemns Attack on Aid Convoys in Sudan

A general view shows the opening session of the meeting of Arab foreign ministers at the Arab League Headquarters (Reuters)
A general view shows the opening session of the meeting of Arab foreign ministers at the Arab League Headquarters (Reuters)

Arab League Secretary-General Ahmed Aboul Gheit strongly condemned the attack by the Rapid Support Forces on humanitarian aid convoys and relief workers in North Kordofan State, Sudan.

In a statement reported by SPA, secretary-general's spokesperson Jamal Rushdi quoted Aboul Gheit as saying the attack constitutes a war crime under international humanitarian law, which prohibits the deliberate targeting of civilians and depriving them of their means of survival.

Aboul Gheit stressed the need to hold those responsible accountable, end impunity, and ensure the full protection of civilians, humanitarian workers, and relief facilities in Sudan.