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Türkiye’s Erdogan Says Discusses Syria, Gaza with Trump in 'Very Good' Call

US President Donald Trump, left, greets Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan during a summit on Gaza in Sharm el-Sheikh on October 13, 2025. (AFP)
US President Donald Trump, left, greets Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan during a summit on Gaza in Sharm el-Sheikh on October 13, 2025. (AFP)
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Türkiye’s Erdogan Says Discusses Syria, Gaza with Trump in 'Very Good' Call

US President Donald Trump, left, greets Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan during a summit on Gaza in Sharm el-Sheikh on October 13, 2025. (AFP)
US President Donald Trump, left, greets Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan during a summit on Gaza in Sharm el-Sheikh on October 13, 2025. (AFP)

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan discussed developments in Syria and Gaza in a call with US President Donald Trump, his office said on Wednesday, as Syria's ​Türkiye-backed government announced a ceasefire with US-allied Kurdish forces after days of clashes.

Syria's government this week seized swathes of territory in the northeast and gave the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces four days to agree on integrating into the central state.

The SDF's main ally, the United States, said in a statement that the partnership with the group had changed nature after Syria's ‌new government ‌emerged and urged the group to ‌accept.

"During ⁠the ​call, President ‌Erdogan stated that Türkiye was closely following developments in Syria, that Syria's unity, harmony and territorial integrity were important for Türkiye," the Turkish presidency said in a statement.

It added that Erdogan and Trump also discussed the battle with ISIS and "the situation of the ISIS prisoners in the Syrian prisons".

Türkiye deems the SDF a ⁠terrorist organization linked with the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), which has carried out a ‌four-decade insurgency against the Turkish state.

Ankara ‍has been engaged in a ‍peace process with the PKK, under which it says the ‍militant group - and its extensions - must disband and disarm.

Ankara, the main foreign backer of Syria's new government, has praised Damascus' advances against the SDF and repeatedly demanded that the group disband, disarm, and integrate into ​the Syrian state apparatus.

"Our President said that a Syria that is developing with all of its elements, is ⁠rid of terror and in peace will contribute to the region's stability," Erdogan's office said.

The two presidents also discussed developments in Gaza, it said, adding Erdogan told Trump that Türkiye would continue to work in coordination with its NATO ally the United States to achieve peace there.

Erdogan thanked Trump for inviting him to join the Board of Peace, it added.

Trump said earlier on Tuesday that he had a "very good call" with Erdogan, without elaborating, after having told reporters during a briefing prior to the meeting that the ‌discussions were going to be "very important".

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Arab World

Israel’s Netanyahu Agrees to Join Trump’s Board of Peace

12 July 2025, Jerusalem: Benjamin Netanyahu, Prime Minister of Israel, speaks at the press conference after talks at the seat of government. (dpa)
12 July 2025, Jerusalem: Benjamin Netanyahu, Prime Minister of Israel, speaks at the press conference after talks at the seat of government. (dpa)
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Israel’s Netanyahu Agrees to Join Trump’s Board of Peace

12 July 2025, Jerusalem: Benjamin Netanyahu, Prime Minister of Israel, speaks at the press conference after talks at the seat of government. (dpa)
12 July 2025, Jerusalem: Benjamin Netanyahu, Prime Minister of Israel, speaks at the press conference after talks at the seat of government. (dpa)

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel said Wednesday he had agreed to join US President Donald Trump’s Board of Peace, after his office earlier criticized makeup of the board’s executive committee.

The board, chaired by Trump, was originally envisioned as a small group of world leaders overseeing the Gaza ceasefire plan. The Trump administration’s ambitions have appeared to balloon into a more sprawling concept, with Trump extending invitations to dozens of nations and hinting it will soon broker global conflicts.

Netanyahu’s office had previously said the executive committee, which includes Türkiye, a key regional rival, wasn’t coordinated with the Israeli government and “is contrary to its policy,” without clarifying its objections.

Israel’s far-right finance minister, Bezalel Smotrich, has criticized the board and called for Israel to take unilateral responsibility for Gaza’s future.

Others who have joined the board are the UAE, Morocco, Vietnam, Belarus, Hungary, Kazakhstan and Argentina. Others, including the UK, Russia and the executive arm of the European Union, say they have received invitations but have not yet responded.

It came as Trump traveled to the World Economic Forum meeting in Davos, Switzerland, where he is expected to provide more details about the board. There are many unanswered questions. It was not immediately clear how many or which other leaders would receive invitations.

When asked by a reporter Tuesday if the board should replace the UN, Trump said, “It might.”

He asserted that the world body “hasn’t been very helpful” and “has never lived up to its potential” but also said the UN should continue ”because the potential is so great.”

That has created controversy, with some saying Trump is trying to replace the UN. French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said Tuesday, “Yes to implementing the peace plan presented by the president of the United States, which we wholeheartedly support, but no to creating an organization as it has been presented, which would replace the United Nations.”

Told late Monday that French President Emmanuel Macron was unlikely to join, Trump said, “Well, nobody wants him because he’s going to be out of office very soon.” A day later, Trump called Macron “a friend of mine”, but reiterated that the French leader is “not going to be there very much longer.”

The executive board’s members include US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Trump envoy Steve Witkoff, Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, Apollo Global Management CEO Marc Rowan, World Bank President Ajay Banga, and Trump’s deputy national security adviser Robert Gabriel.

The White House also announced the members of another board, the Gaza Executive Board, which, according to the ceasefire, will be in charge of implementing the tough second phase of the agreement. That includes deploying an international security force, disarming Hamas and rebuilding the war-devastated territory.

Nickolay Mladenov, a former Bulgarian politician and UN Mideast envoy, is to serve as the Gaza executive board’s representative overseeing day-to-day matters. Additional members include: Witkoff, Kushner, Blair, Rowan, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan; Qatari diplomat Ali Al-Thawadi; Hassan Rashad, director of Egypt’s General Intelligence Agency; Emirati minister Reem Al-Hashimy; Israeli businessman Yakir Gabay; and Sigrid Kaag, the Netherlands’ former deputy prime minister and a Mideast expert.

The board also will supervise a newly appointed committee of Palestinian technocrats who will be running Gaza’s day-to-day affairs.

Arab World

UAE Forces Accused of Committing Violations against Detainees Held in Secret Prisons in Yemen

A view from inside the Dabba facility. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
A view from inside the Dabba facility. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
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UAE Forces Accused of Committing Violations against Detainees Held in Secret Prisons in Yemen

A view from inside the Dabba facility. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
A view from inside the Dabba facility. (Asharq Al-Awsat)

United Arab Emirates forces are accused of running a secret prison in Yemen's Dabba area in the eastern city of Mukalla.

Asharq Al-Awsat toured the facility, bearing witness to the dire conditions in which the detainees were held as they waited in despair for their fate.

The walls themselves tell a story of despair with prisoners having etched pleas for mercy and prayers to God, with one prisoner writing a single word - "mother" - summing up his suffering.

Asharq Al-Awsat entered the facility as part of a tour for the media and rights groups. The UAE is accused of running several illegal prisons in Yemen, setting them up without coordination with the legitimate authorities.

Etchings on the wall by some of the detainees in the Dabba facility. (Asharq Al-Awsat)

Minister of Media, Tourism and Culture Moammar Al-Eryani said these detention centers are not affiliated with the state.

Dabba, he added, embodies the illegal practices that used to happen outside the state's control.

The state did not task any local or foreign party to set up the detention centers where prisoners have been tortured, he said.

These practices are a flagrant violation of the Yemeni constitution, international law and humanitarian law, he stressed.

Minister of Media, Tourism and Culture Moammar Al-Eryani at the Dabba center. (Asharq Al-Awsat

"Cells" at Dabba were nothing more than steel containers of varying sizes, some as small as 1 mete by 50 centimeters.

Along with the writings on the wall, Asharq Al-Awsat noted the blood stains in the cells, reflecting the horrors the detainees had to endure.

Al-Eryani said the state was restoring the rule of law, not seeking to settle scores. "Opening these facilities to the media is a message that the state was not afraid of the truth. Rather it wants to document it and tackle the issue through legal means," he added.

"We are not asking for political cover, but support for the state of law," he urged.

A Yemeni military source told Asharq Al-Awsat that the Dabba facility used to be a military air defense base.

Speaking on condition of anonymity, he revealed that people were held in the prison without charge, while those freed usually ended up suffering from severe trauma.

Arab World

Aoun Stresses Keenness on Keeping Lebanon out of 'Suicidal Adventures'

17 January 2025, Lebanon, Baabda: Lebanese President Joseph Aoun speaks during a press conference at Baabda Palace. (dpa)
17 January 2025, Lebanon, Baabda: Lebanese President Joseph Aoun speaks during a press conference at Baabda Palace. (dpa)
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Aoun Stresses Keenness on Keeping Lebanon out of 'Suicidal Adventures'

17 January 2025, Lebanon, Baabda: Lebanese President Joseph Aoun speaks during a press conference at Baabda Palace. (dpa)
17 January 2025, Lebanon, Baabda: Lebanese President Joseph Aoun speaks during a press conference at Baabda Palace. (dpa)

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun stressed on Tuesday that his country has "cleaned vast areas south of the Litani River of illegal weapons".

Speaking to the diplomatic corps, he added that the plan to impose to state monopoly over arms and control over all of Lebanese territories "has been unprecedented in 40 years".

Lebanon is keen on preventing itself from being dragged into "suicidal adventures, whose price we paid dearly for in the past," he declared.

Without referring to Hezbollah, Aoun described as an "adventure" the Iran-backed party's decision to launch the "support war" against Israel in October 2023 in solidarity with Hamas in Gaza.

Aoun did not touch on Hezbollah's refusal to lay down its weapons in areas north of the Litani, which is the second phase of the state's plan to impose state monopoly over arms.

Aoun made his remarks days after Hezbollah Secretary-General Sheikh Naim Qassem declared that the party would not lay down its weapons, deepening the rift between the president and the party.

Informed sources had previously told Asharq Al-Awsat that relations between the two sides had cooled in recent weeks with contacts between them at the "bare minimum".

Continuing his address to the diplomatic corps, Aoun said that since he was elected to office a year ago, Lebanon has not made a single violation of the ceasefire with Israel, save for two "individual incidents".

The authorities have since arrested the perpetrators, he added. In the meantime, the army is the sole party in control of the South.

He stressed that the army succeeded in imposing its control over the South "despite all provocations, ongoing Israeli attacks, criticism and accusations of treason."

The ceasefire, he noted, was agreed in November 2024, before he assumed office. "It is an international agreement that we respect" and that will prevent Lebanon from being dragged into "suicidal adventures," he went on to say.

Aoun hoped that during his second year in office, all Lebanese territories would come under the authority of the state alone and that all Lebanese prisoners held by Israel would be released. He hoped that reconstruction of areas destroyed by Israel in the war would kick off.

He also hoped that the entire country would come under the control of the armed forces alone, "so that Lebanon would not be dragged into the conflicts of others."