Russia, Iran Seek to Advance Türkiye-Syria Normalization Negotiations

Turkis-backed fighters are positioned on the Mahsali and Arab Hasan frontline on the outskirts of Manbij in northeastern Syria as they fight with the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), on September 4, 2023. (Photo by Rami al SAYED / AFP)
Turkis-backed fighters are positioned on the Mahsali and Arab Hasan frontline on the outskirts of Manbij in northeastern Syria as they fight with the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), on September 4, 2023. (Photo by Rami al SAYED / AFP)
TT

Russia, Iran Seek to Advance Türkiye-Syria Normalization Negotiations

Turkis-backed fighters are positioned on the Mahsali and Arab Hasan frontline on the outskirts of Manbij in northeastern Syria as they fight with the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), on September 4, 2023. (Photo by Rami al SAYED / AFP)
Turkis-backed fighters are positioned on the Mahsali and Arab Hasan frontline on the outskirts of Manbij in northeastern Syria as they fight with the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), on September 4, 2023. (Photo by Rami al SAYED / AFP)

Syrian Foreign Minister Faisal al-Mikdad reaffirmed that the Turkish occupation in northeastern Syria will end, and the Turkish withdrawal is the only way to restore relations between the two countries.

Mikdad discussed during a symposium at the al-Assad National Library in Damascus about cooperation between the Syrian and Russian delegations to the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW).

He stressed that the US occupation of northeastern Syria, its looting of wealth, and its support for separatist terrorist groups will end thanks to the struggle of the people of Deir Ezzor and Hasaka, side by side with the Syrian Arab Army.

Meanwhile, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kanaani said that Tehran is trying to create good conditions to resolve the problems between Türkiye and Syria, stressing that the territorial integrity of Syria is a fundamental issue.

Regarding the disagreements between Syria and Türkiye and the process of normalizing their relations, Kanaani mentioned that Iran is actively working to facilitate improved relations between the two nations.

In a joint press conference in Tehran with his Turkish counterpart Hakan Fidan, the Iranian Foreign Minister stressed the necessity of resolving the problems between Ankara and Damascus through dialogue and respecting borders.

Furthermore, Manbij witnessed renewed escalation after five members of the Turkish-backed National Army were killed and about 15 others injured when the Manbij Military Council, affiliated with Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), targeted a Turkish military vehicle.

The vehicle was seized, and members of the National Army withdrew from the battlefields.

The incident coincided with the bombing of a car belonging to the deputy commander of the military council of Manbij due to an IED planted inside the car by unknown persons, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

Contact lines between "Euphrates Shield" areas, controlled by the Turkish forces and their proxies, and areas of the military council of Manbij witnessed infiltration operations on several frontlines.

Clashes erupted between the factions and the military council of Manbij, accompanied by artillery shelling by regime forces within Euphrates Shield areas on the opposite side of the al-Sajour line.

A National Army member was killed, and others were injured, in violent clashes between groups of the military council of al-Bab and National Army factions in al-Bohij village in Manbij countryside following an infiltration operation.

Syrian regime forces stationed in al-Farat and Jabal al-Sayadah villages in the countryside of Manbij fired heavy artillery shells on areas within the Euphrates Shield areas.

The Syrian forces repelled a new infiltration of the National Army into Um Jeloud village, forcing them to retreat.

Furthermore, the Turkish Ministry of Defense announced that at least six Syrian Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) members were killed in northern Syria.

It said they were preparing to launch an attack in the Peace Spring area in northeastern Syria, which has been witnessing an escalation for days.

The clashes extended to Afrin, northwest of Aleppo, where Turkish forces and factions loyal to them bombed the Olive Branch area.

In Idlib, Russian warplanes carried out four raids in Jabal al-Zawiya within the de-escalation zone called the "Putin-Erdogan" zone.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin discussed in Sochi recent developments in Syria and pushed the path of normalization between Ankara and Damascus.



Mother of Missing Journalist Austin Tice Says Trump Team Offered Help in Search 

Debra Tice, mother of journalist Austin Tice who disappeared while reporting in Syria in 2012, meets with Syria's de facto leader Ahmed al-Sharaa, in Damascus, Syria, January 19, 2025. (Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham/Handout via Reuters)
Debra Tice, mother of journalist Austin Tice who disappeared while reporting in Syria in 2012, meets with Syria's de facto leader Ahmed al-Sharaa, in Damascus, Syria, January 19, 2025. (Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham/Handout via Reuters)
TT

Mother of Missing Journalist Austin Tice Says Trump Team Offered Help in Search 

Debra Tice, mother of journalist Austin Tice who disappeared while reporting in Syria in 2012, meets with Syria's de facto leader Ahmed al-Sharaa, in Damascus, Syria, January 19, 2025. (Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham/Handout via Reuters)
Debra Tice, mother of journalist Austin Tice who disappeared while reporting in Syria in 2012, meets with Syria's de facto leader Ahmed al-Sharaa, in Damascus, Syria, January 19, 2025. (Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham/Handout via Reuters)

The mother of American journalist Austin Tice made her first visit to Syria in almost a decade Monday and said that the administration of President-elect Donald Trump had offered support to help find her son, who disappeared in 2012.

Debra Tice made the remarks at a news conference in Damascus in her first visit to the country since insurgents toppled President Bashar al-Assad last month. She did not present any new findings in the ongoing search.

Austin Tice disappeared near the Syrian capital in 2012, and has not been heard from since other than a video released weeks later that showed him blindfolded and held by armed men. Tens of thousands are believed to have gone missing in Syria since 2011, when countrywide protests against Assad spiraled into a devastating civil war.

Outgoing US President Joe Biden told reporters at the White House in December that he believes Washington can bring Tice back, while admitting that “we have no direct evidence” of his well-being.

“I have great hope that the Trump administration will sincerely engage in diligent work to bring Austin home.” Tice said. “His people have already reached out to me. I haven’t experienced that for the last four years.”

Syria's former government had publicly denied that it was holding him, but Tice hopes she will find him with the help of the new leadership. In December, she said the family had information from an unidentified source that her son was alive and well. She said Monday she still believes he is alive and in good health.

“Austin, if you can somehow hear this, I love you. I know you’re not giving up, and neither am I,” she said.

Tice said she had a productive meeting with Ahmad al-Sharaa, the leader of Syria’s new administration, who she said was “dedicated and determined” to bring back Austin and the others missing in the country.

She also visited two military intelligence prisons in Syria, known for their mass incarceration and systematic use of torture, which she described as an “unbelievably, horrible nightmare.”

Tice, who is from Houston, has had his work published by The Washington Post, McClatchy newspapers and other outlets.