Blinken urges Mideast nations to support a peaceful Syrian political transition
World
Blinken urges Mideast nations to support a peaceful Syrian political transition
NEW YORK (AP) US Secretary of State Antony Blinken is pressing ahead with efforts to unify Middle East nations in support of a peaceful political transition in Syria.
He is meeting on Friday with Turkey’s foreign minister after talks with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to try to bring Turkey into a consensus to prevent Syria from collapsing into wider turmoil. It’s Blinken’s 12th trip to the Mideast since the Israel-Hamas war erupted in Gaza last year but first since the ouster of Syrian President Bashar Assad.
The outgoing Biden administration is particularly concerned that a power vacuum in Syria could exacerbate already heightened tensions in the region and create conditions for the Islamic State group to regain territory and influence.
The fighting between Israel and Hamas has plunged Gaza into a severe humanitarian crisis. Israel’s offensive has killed over 44,800 Palestinians in Gaza, more than half of them women and children, according to the Gaza Health Ministry, which does not say how many were combatants. The Israeli military says it has killed over 17,000 militants, without providing evidence.
The war in Gaza was sparked by an Oct. 7, 2023, attack by Hamas in southern Israel in which some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, were killed and around 250 others were taken hostage. Some 100 hostages are still inside Gaza, at least a third of whom are believed to be dead.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken made an unannounced stop in Iraq on Friday on his latest visit to the Middle East aimed at stabilizing the situation in Syria to prevent further regional turmoil.
Blinken met in Baghdad with Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed al-Sudani as part of the hastily arranged trip, his 12th to the region since the Israel-Hamas war erupted last year but his first since the weekend ouster of Syrian strongman Bashar Assad.
Blinken has already been to Jordan and Turkey on his current tour and will return to Jordan for urgent meetings on Saturday with Arab foreign ministers to try to unify support for an inclusive post-Assad transition that does not allow the Islamic State group to take advantage of the political vacuum in Syria and secures suspected chemical weapons stocks.
In Baghdad, Blinken “will underscore U.S. commitment to the U.S.-Iraq strategic partnership and to Iraq’s security, stability, and sovereignty,” the State Department said.
“He will also discuss regional security opportunities and challenges, as well as enduring U.S. support for engagement with all communities in Syria to establish an inclusive transition,” it said in a statement.
His trip comes as the Biden administration winds down with just over a month left before President-elect Donald Trump takes office. Trump has been highly critical of Biden’s approach to the Middle East and skeptical of the U.S. military presence in both Iraq and Syria.
The U.S. and Iraq agreed in September to wrap up U.S.-led military operations against the Islamic State in Iraq next year, although Assad’s ouster and the potential for the group taking advantage of a political vacuum in Syria could complicate the timing of the withdrawal, according to American officials.
Bahrain says it is willing to provide support for Syria in international organizations
DAMASCUS — The kingdom of Bahrain sent a message Friday to Ahmad al-Sharaa, formerly known as Abu Mohammed al-Golani, the leader of the insurgency that toppled Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
It said Bahrain is “fully prepared to consult with you continuously and to provide support in regional and international organizations to achieve what is in the interest of the brotherly Syrian people.”
It added, “We look forward to Syria regaining its authentic role in the Arab League.” Bahrain is the current head of the Arab summit.
Syria was readmitted to the Arab League last year after 12 years of ostracization. It is still unclear how the international community will deal officially with the new interim government in Syria.
Israel’s defense minister asks troops to prepare to remain through the winter on Syria’s Mount Hermon
Israel’s defense minister told troops to prepare to remain through the winter months on the peak of Mount Hermon, Syria’s highest point, located in a swath of southern Syria that Israeli troops moved into after the fall of Damascus to insurgents.
The comments by Defense Minister Israel Katz signaled that the military will extend its occupation of the zone along the border, which Israel says it seized to create a buffer zone.
In a statement Friday, Katz said that holding the peak was of major importance for Israel’s security and that it would be necessary to build facilities there to sustain troops through the winter.
