Turkey sees Nusra Front as terrorist group, acts accordingly -source

Turkey was not aware of any constitutional draft presented by Russia during the peace talks this week in the Kazakh capital Astana that included autonomy for Syria’s Kurds, a source said. (AFP)
Updated 26 January 2017
Follow

Turkey sees Nusra Front as terrorist group, acts accordingly -source

ANKARA: Turkey designates both Daesh and the Nusra Front, now known as Jabhat Fateh Al-Sham, as terrorist groups and acts in line with that policy, a Turkish foreign ministry source said on Thursday.
Jabhat Fateh Al-Sham launched an attack on a number of Free Syrian Army (FSA) rebel groups in northwestern Syria on Tuesday, threatening to deal a critical blow to the more moderate wing of the Syrian rebellion backed by Turkey and to derail Russian-backed peace talks.
The attacks may have been motivated by Jabhat Fateh Al-Sham’s desire to prevent a political solution to the Syrian conflict, the source said.
The source also said Turkey was not aware of any constitutional draft presented by Russia during the peace talks this week in the Kazakh capital Astana that included autonomy for Syria’s Kurds, the source also said.


Syria participates in coalition meeting against Daesh for first time

Updated 4 sec ago
Follow

Syria participates in coalition meeting against Daesh for first time

  • Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad Hassan Al-Shaibani, intelligence chief Hussein Al-Salama attend gathering in Saudi capital

LONDON: The Syrian Arab Republic has participated in a meeting of the Global Coalition to Defeat Daesh for the first time since the group’s establishment in 2014.

Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad Hassan Al-Shaibani and intelligence chief Hussein Al-Salama attended the meeting of the political directors of the coalition, which was held in the Saudi capital of Riyadh on Monday.

Syria’s participation in the meeting, which aims to combat the cross-border terror group, marks a significant shift in regional and international counterterrorism efforts.

The country became the 90th member of the coalition in November following President Ahmad Al-Sharaa’s visit to Washington and his meeting with US President Donald Trump.

The visit resulted in a declaration of political cooperation, without military commitments, positioning Syria as a partner in efforts to combat Daesh and support regional stability, according to the Syrian Arab News Agency.

Al-Shaibani said: “Our meeting today was constructive and fruitful, and we emphasized that supporting Syria is a shared responsibility to enhance security and stability.

“We thank the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the United States, and all participating countries for their efforts and support for Syria and its people.”