UN special envoy for Syria Geir Pedersen speaks to reporters after his meeting with Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Moallem in Damascus, Syria, on Oct. 25, 2020. (Xinhua/Ammar Safarjalani)
Pedersen made the remarks on Sunday after meeting Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Moallem in the capital Damascus, saying he had an “expansive and comprehensive” discussion…reports Asian Lite News
UN special envoy for Syria Geir Pedersen said he hopes that a common ground could be reached to help push forward the political process in the war-torn country.
Pedersen made the remarks on Sunday after meeting Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Moallem in the capital Damascus, saying he had an “expansive and comprehensive” discussion, reports Xinhua news agency.
The envoy said the talks with al-Moallem touched upon issues related to UN Security Council Resolution 2254, which was endorsed in 2015 and laid forward a roadmap to resolve the Syrian war politically.
It called for a ceasefire and political settlement in Syria.
“The Syrian people have been living through an extremely difficult period… And of course there is only one way out of this and that is to start to implement the Security Council resolution and to start focusing on the political process,” he told reporters.
Pedersen, meanwhile, hoped that the meetings he is having during his visit and the meetings he will have with the opposition could be the “beginning of something new”.
“Hopefully we can see if it’s possible to find more common ground on how to move this (political) process forward,” he said.
During their meeting, al-Moallem and Pedersen also discussed the economic situation in Syria and the Western sanctions that increase the hardships in the country particularly during the Covid-19 pandemic, according to state news agency SANA.
Regarding the Syrian Constitutional Committee, which comprises delegations from the government and opposition to discuss the Syrian constitution, both sides stressed the need for the committee to carry out its work without foreign intervention.
Photo taken on Sept. 29, 2020 shows a man walking by a house damaged during clashes in the Tartar district bordering the Nagorno-Karabakh region. (Photo by Tofik Babayev/Xinhua)
The development comes after Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov and Armenian Foreign Minister Zohrab Mnatsakanyan separately met US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo ….reports Asian Lite News
The US State Department has announced that a humanitarian ceasefire will come into effect in the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region on Monday after Armenia and Azerbaijan agreed to the new Washington-brokered truce.
In a statement on Sunday, the Department said the ceasefire will take effect at 8 a.m. (local time) on Monday.
“The US facilitated intensive negotiations among the Foreign Ministers and the Minsk Group Co-Chairs to move Armenia and Azerbaijan closer to a peaceful resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict,” it added.
The development comes after Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov and Armenian Foreign Minister Zohrab Mnatsakanyan separately met US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in Washington on October 23.
(160405) — NAGORNO-KARABAKH, April 5, 2016 (Xinhua) — Houses damaged in recent conflicts are seen in Azerbaijan’s Gapanli village bordering Nagorno-Karabakh region, on April 5, 2016.
The Armenian and Azerbaijani Defense Ministries both confirmed Tuesday that a ceasefire agreement in the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region is currently being prepared. (Xinhua/Tofik Babayev)(dh)
During the meetings, Pompeo urged to “end the violence and protect civilians” since the renewed clashes between the two nations erupted on September 27, with intense battles raging in the Nagorno-Karabakh region.
He added that the two warring countries must “implement a ceasefire and return to substantive negotiations”.
In the statement on Sunday, the State Department said that a day after the October 23 meeting, Mnatsakanyan and Bayramov met Deputy Secretary of State Stephen E. Biegun, during which they “reaffirmed their countries’ commitment to implement and abide by the humanitarian ceasefire agreed in Moscow on October 10”.
Reacting to the development, US President Donald Trump said in a tweet on Sunday night: “Congratulations to Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, who just agreed to adhere to a cease fire effective at midnight.
“Many lives will be saved. Proud of my team @SecPompeo & Steve Biegun & @WHNSC for getting the deal done.”
Mediators from the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) are also due to meet on Thursday to discuss the conflict.
Today, the U.S. facilitated an intensive negotiation with the FMs of Armenia, Azerbaijan, & @OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs to move closer to a peaceful resolution of the N-K conflict. @ZMnatsakanyan & @bayramov_jeyhun have committed to implement & abide by the ceasefire at midnight.
The new ceasefire comes in the wake of two failed ones that were imposed on October 10 and 18 and both brokered by Russia.
Nagorno-Karabakh is a disputed territory which is internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan but mostly governed by the Republic of Artsakh, a de facto independent state with an Armenian ethnic majority.
The area experienced flare-ups of violence in the summer of 2014, April 2016 and in July tjis year.
Armenia and Azerbaijan went to war over the region in 1988-94, eventually declaring a ceasefire.
Turkey announced late Saturday that it is extending by one week a gas exploration mission in the eastern Mediterranean that has caused tensions with Greece, reports Arab News.
In a fresh notice to shipping in the area, Turkey said the Oruc Reis seismic survey vessel, accompanied by two support ships, will operate in the area south of the Greek island of Rhodes until Nov. 4. An earlier notice had said the ships would be operating in the area until Tuesday, Oct. 27.
Turkish seismic vessel Oruc Reis.
Ankara had dispatched the Oruc Reis along with several warships in August to waters also claimed by Greece and Cyprus, sparking a dispute that threatened a military confrontation between the NATO allies. The mission drew condemnation from the European Union.
On Friday, Sudan became the third Arab nation after the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Bahrain to normalise relations with Israel in the past three months under the auspices of the US….reports Asian Lite News
Palestinian authorities have slammed Sudan’s decision to normalise ties with Israel in exchange for the US to remove Khartoum from the list of state sponsors of terrorism.
On Friday, Sudan became the third Arab nation after the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Bahrain to normalise relations with Israel in the past three months under the auspices of the US.
US President Donald Trump made the announcement at the White House with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Sudan’s Sovereignty Council chairman Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok on the phone with him.
Sudan, which is recovering from civil unrest and the civil war before that which led to South Sudan seceding from it, will be the fifth Arab country to have normal relations with Israel.
The normalising of Israeli ties by the three countries this year ends 26 years of stalemate since Jordan reconnected with it in 1994.
Egypt normalised ties with Israel in 1979.
But condemning and rejecting Sudan’s decision, the Palestinian Presidency said: “No one has the right to speak on behalf of the Palestinian people and the Palestinian cause.”
It also said that the path to a comprehensive and just peace must be based on international law, resolutions of international legitimacy, and specific references, in a way that leads to ending the Israeli occupation of the land of Palestine, Xinhua news agency.
“The Palestinian leadership will take the necessary decisions to protect the legitimate interests and rights of our Palestinian people.”
Wasel Abu Youssef, the member of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO)’s Executive Committee, told reporters that the development was a “new stab in the back of the Palestinian people”.
He added that Sudan’s move represents a “betrayal of the just Palestinian cause and a departure from the Arab peace initiative”.
Hazem Qassem, the Hamas spokesman in Gaza, said in a press statement that “normalization of relations between Sudan and the occupation state is a political sin, harms our Palestinian people and their just cause”.
The Islamic Jihad movement said that Sudan runs toward Israel and pays huge sums of money to obtain America’s satisfaction at the expense of the poor and displaced Sudanese.
Jerusalem, Sept. 13, 2020 (Xinhua) -- Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu gives a briefing on COVID-19 pandemic in Israel at his office in Jerusalem, on Sept. 13, 2020. Israel will reimpose a nationwide lockdown for three weeks, beginning on Friday, to slow a rapid resurgence of coronavirus infections, the government decided on Sunday. (Yoav Dudkevitch/JINI via Xinhua/IANS)
“This is a major change. Israel was completely isolated and is now connecting to the entire world,” said Netanyahu…reports Asian Lite News
Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu hailed the recent normalisation deal between his country and Sudan under the auspices of the US, saying the move was a “result of a clear policy”.
Addressing the media on Saturday evening, Netanyahu said an Israeli delegation will visit Sudan later this week to finalize the agreement, reports Xinhua news agency.
“This is a major change. Israel was completely isolated and is now connecting to the entire world,” the Prime Minister said.
“This is a result of a clear policy, not luck or coincidence,” he added.
Netanyahu further said that “we are changing the map of the Middle East”, adding that more countries are expected to sign similar agreements with Israel in the near future.
On Friday, Sudan became the third Arab nation after the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Bahrain to normalise relations with Israel in the past three months.
US President Donald Trump made the announcement at the White House with Netanyahu and Sudan’s Sovereignty Council chairman Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok on the phone with him.
Sudan, which is recovering from civil unrest and the civil war before that which led to South Sudan seceding from it, will be the fifth Arab country to have normal relations with Israel.
The normalising of Israeli ties by the three countries this year ends 26 years of stalemate since Jordan reconnected with it in 1994.
Egypt normalised ties with Israel in 1979.
But Palestine has slammed these peace deals, saying they were a “new stab in the back of the Palestinian people”.
The shipment, delivered to the country on Saturday through the Damascus International Airport, included personal protection gear for health workers…reports Asian Lite News
The World Health Organization (WHO) has donated 8.8 tonnes of medical supplies to Syria to aid the country’s fight against the Covid-19 pandemic, state media reported.
The shipment, delivered to the country on Saturday through the Damascus International Airport, included personal protection gear for health workers as well as medications and other medical equipment, Xinhua news agency reported citing the state media as saying.
After signing a receipt note, Ahmed al-Mandhari, the WHO regional director for the Eastern Mediterranean, said the global health body was able to supply the Eastern Mediterranean countries with various necessary needs.
He said the WHO provided laboratory aids for disease diagnosis and training courses for health workers in addition to working on providing them with personal protection needs and drawing plans to implement what the science has reached to deal with the pandemic.
Syrian Health Minister Assistant Ahmad Khleifawi stressed the importance of the visit of the WHO delegation as it is the first for the organization’s regional director to Syria after the outbreak of the pandemic.
The overall official number of Covid-19 cases in Syria is 5,319, with 1,692 recoveries and 264 deaths.
The decision seeks to “strike a balance” between bringing home stranded Jordanians and controlling the rate of imported Covid-19 cases, said Al-Ayed…reports Asian Lite News
Jordanian authorities have announced that the country will open three land border crossings for passenger movement starting from October 29.
In a statement on Saturday, Minister of State for Media Affairs Ali Al-Ayed said the government had endorsed the necessary health protocol prepared by the committee of organizing border crossings, reports Xinhua news agency.
The decision seeks to “strike a balance” between bringing home stranded Jordanians and controlling the rate of imported Covid-19 cases, said Al-Ayed, who is also the government spokesperson.
The border crossings to receive passengers during this phase will be limited to the al-Mudawara crossing, the King Hussein Bridge, and the Sheikh Hussein Bridge, he said.
The government will further issue information on procedures at each border crossing, the Minister added.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres (Front) attends the screening of the United Nations Day Concert 2020 in the General Assembly Hall at the UN headquarters in New York, on Oct. 22, 2020. (Mark Garten/UN Photo/Handout via Xinhua)
The United Nations remains fully committed to supporting Sudan’s efforts to achieve socio-economic recovery .said spokesman…reports Asian Lite News
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Saturday expressed hope that the agreement between Israel and Sudan to normalise relations will create opportunities for peace and prosperity in the wider regions, said his spokesman.
Guterres took note of the announcement of the agreement by the governments of the United States, Israel and Sudan, Xinhua news agency reported.
He hoped the agreement will further cooperation, enhance economic and trade relations, and bring about new opportunities to advance peace and economic prosperity in the wider Horn of Africa and Middle East regions, said Stephane Dujarric, the spokesman, in a statement.
The United Nations remains fully committed to supporting Sudan’s efforts to achieve socio-economic recovery, stability and prosperity for all people in Sudan and the wider region, the statement added.
In a major setback for Pakistan, the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) has retained Pakistan on the “grey list” till February next year, after Islamabad failed to comply with the 27-point action plan set by the global terror financing watchdog.
According to reports, Turkey has backed Pakistan and proposed that members should consider Pakistan’s good work till date.
Pakistan, already facing severe economic and financial crisis, has been in the grey list since 2018.
Being in the grey list makes it difficult for the already debt-ridden Islamic Republic to get financial aid from international agencies.
India has been persistently protesting against Pakistan’s continued cross-border terrorism in Kashmir and its inaction against the mastermind and planners of the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks.
The banned terror outfits, Lashkar-e-Taiba, Jaish-e-Mohammad and Hizbul Mujahideen, and their chiefs Hafiz Saeed, Masood Azhar and Syed Salahuddin, continue to get state patronage and protection in Pakistan.
Financial Action Task Force (FATF) Plenary meeting (Photo: Twitter/@FATFNews)
A report of the United Nations Security Council released earlier this year said the three terror groups are collaborating with Al Qaeda and Taliban in Afghanistan.
India on Thursday had strongly recommended that Pakistan, which continues to provide safe havens to the banned terror groups, should continue on the grey list.
On Friday, after concluding its three-day virtual plenary session, the FATF decided to keep Pakistan in its grey list. Sources said Pakistan had failed to comply with at least six of the 27 points in the FATF’s action plan.
A brief synopsis of Erdogan’s criminal domestic practices and his foreign misadventures tell the whole story…writes Dr. Alon Ben-Meir
Turkey’s President Erdogan is becoming ever more dangerous as he continues to ravage his own country and destabilize scores of states in the Middle East, the Balkans, and North Africa, while cozying up to the West’s foremost advisories. Sadly, there seems to be no appetite for most EU member states to challenge Erdogan and put him on notice that he can no longer pursue his authoritarianism at home and his adventurous meddling abroad with impunity.
To understand the severity of Erdogan’s actions and ambitions and their dire implications, it suffices to quote Ahmet Davutoglu, formerly one of Erdogan’s closest associates who served as Minister of Foreign Affairs and subsequently Prime Minister. Following his forced resignation in May 2016 he stated “I will sustain my faithful relationship with our president until my last breath. No one has ever heard — and will ever hear — a single word against our president come from my mouth.”
Yet on October 12, Davutoglu declared “Erdogan left his friends who struggled and fought with him in exchange for the symbols of ancient Turkey, and he is trying to hold us back now…. You yourself [Erdogan] are the calamity. The biggest calamity that befell this people is the regime that turned the country into a disastrous family business.”
The stunning departure of Davutoglu from his earlier statement shows how desperate conditions have become, and echoed how far and how dangerously Erdogan has gone. Erdogan has inflicted a great calamity on his own people, and his blind ambition outside Turkey is destabilizing many countries while dangerously undermining Turkey’s and its Western allies’ national security and strategic interests.
A brief synopsis of Erdogan’s criminal domestic practices and his foreign misadventures tell the whole story.
Domestically, he incarcerated tens of thousands of innocent citizens on bogus charges, including hundreds of journalists. Meanwhile he is pressuring the courts to send people to prison for insulting him, as no one can even express their thoughts about this ruthlessness. Internationally, Erdogan ordered Turkish intelligence operatives to kill or smuggle back to the country Turkish citizens affiliated with the Gülen movement.
He regularly cracks down on Turkey’s Kurdish minority, preventing them from living a normal life in accordance with their culture, language, and traditions, even though they have been and continue to be loyal Turkish citizens. There is no solution to the conflict except political, as former Foreign Minister Ali Babacan adamantly stated on October 20: “… a solution [to the Kurdish issue] will be political and we will defend democracy persistently.”
Erdogan refuses to accept the law of the sea convention that gives countries, including Cyprus, the right to an Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) for energy exploration, while threatening the use of force against Greece, another NATO member no less. He openly sent a research ship to the region for oil and gas deposits, which EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell called “extremely worrying.”
He invaded Syria with Trump’s blessing to prevent the Syrian Kurds from establishing autonomous rule, under the pretext of fighting the PKK and the YPG (the Syrian Kurdish militia that fought side-by-side the US, and whom Erdogan falsely accuses of being a terrorist group).
He is sending weapons to the Sunni in northern Lebanon while setting up a branch of the Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency (TIKA) in the country—a practice Erdogan has used often to gain a broader foothold in countries where it has an interest.
While the Turkish economy is in tatters, he is investing hundreds of millions of dollars in the Balkans, flooding countries with Turkish imams to spread his Islamic gospel and to ensure their place in his neo-Ottoman orbit. Criticizing Erdogan’s economic leadership, Babacan put it succinctly when he said this month that “It is not possible in Turkey for the economic or financial system to continue, or political legitimacy hold up.”
Erdogan is corrupt to the bone. He conveniently appointed his son-in-law as Finance Minister, which allows him to hoard tens of millions of dollars, as Davutoglu slyly pointed out: “The only accusation against me…is the transfer of land to an educational institution over which I have no personal rights and which I cannot leave to my daughter, my son, my son-in-law or my daughter-in-law.”
Erdogan is backing Azerbaijan in its dispute with Armenia (backed by Iran) over the breakaway territory of Nagorno-Karabakh, which is inhabited by ethnic Armenians and has been the subject of dispute for over 30 years.
He is exploiting Libya’s civil strife by providing the Government of National Accord (GNA) with drones and military equipment to help Tripoli gain the upper hand in its battle against Khalifa Haftar’s forces. Former Foreign Minister Yasar Yakis said in February 2020 that “The unclear Turkish foreign policy by Erdogan may put Turkey in grave danger due to this expansion towards Libya.”
He is meddling in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in an effort to prevent them from settling their dispute unless Israel meets Palestinian demands. He granted several Hamas officials Turkish citizenship to spite Israel, even though Hamas openly calls for Israel’s destruction.
He betrayed NATO by buying the Russian-made S-400 air defense system, which seriously compromises the alliance’s technology and intelligence.
He is destabilizing many countries, including Somalia, Qatar, Libya, and Syria, by dispatching military forces and hardware while violating the air space of other countries like Iraq, Cyprus, and Greece. Yakis said Turkey is engaging in a “highly daring bet where the risks of failure are enormous.”
Erdogan supports extremist Islamist groups such as the Muslim Brotherhood and Hamas, and an assortment of jihadists, including ISIS, knowing full well that these groups are sworn enemies of the West—yet he uses them as a tool to promote his wicked Islamic agenda.
He regularly blackmails EU members, threatening to flood Europe with Syria refugees unless they support his foreign escapades such as his invasion of Syria, and provide him with billions in financial aid to cope with the Syrian refugees.
The question is how much more evidence does the EU need to act? A close look at Erdogan’s conduct clearly illuminates his ultimate ambition to restore much of the Ottoman Empire’s influence over the countries that were once under its control.
Erdogan is dangerous. He has cited Hitler as an example of an effective executive presidential system, and may seek to acquire nuclear weapons. It’s time for the EU to wake up and take Erdogan’s long-term agenda seriously, and take severe punitive measures to arrest his potentially calamitous behavior. Sadly, the EU has convinced itself that from a geostrategic perspective Turkey is critically important, which Erdogan is masterfully exploiting.
The EU must be prepared take a stand against Erdogan, with or without the US. Let’s hope, though, that Joe Biden will be the next president and together with the EU warn Erdogan that his days of authoritarianism and foreign adventurism are over.
