Sheikh Mohammed welcomes President Sissi to UAE

Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid (R) walks with Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi (WAM)
Updated 26 September 2017
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Sheikh Mohammed welcomes President Sissi to UAE

DUBAI: The Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid met with Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, and his accompanying delegation on Monday.
The Dubai Ruler praised relations between the two countries and its people UAE state news agency WAM reported.
The two spoke on a number of issues regarding their countries and the region generally.
Sheikh Mohammed praised role played by Egypt, particularly surrounding regional security, safeguarding Arab interests, and working to consolidate the foundations of peace and stability within the region.
And he praised the economic growth witnessed by Egypt, and its progressive development in its public services across Egyptian governorates and cities, providing the best possible living standards for its citizens.
During the meeting, Sheikh Mohammed also reiterated the importance of strengthening solidarity between the UAE, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Bahrain to reaffirm the values of peace, tolerance and stability in region, and combating extremism, fanaticism, and terrorism both regionally and globally.


Syrian government, Kurds to extend truce: sources to AFP

Updated 24 January 2026
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Syrian government, Kurds to extend truce: sources to AFP

  • No official announcement has yet come from Damascus or SDF, but two sources said truce is to be extended by one month

DAMASCUS: The Syrian government and Kurdish forces have agreed to extend a ceasefire set to expire Saturday, as part of a broader deal on the future of Kurd-majority areas, several sources told AFP.

No official announcement has yet come from Damascus or the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), but two sources said the truce is to be extended by one month.

On Tuesday, Damascus and the SDF agreed to a four-day ceasefire after Kurdish forces relinquished swathes of territory to government forces, which also sent reinforcements to a Kurdish stronghold in the northeast.

A diplomatic source in Damascus told AFP the ceasefire, due to expire on Saturday evening, will be extended “for a period of up to one month at most.”

A Kurdish source close to the negotiations confirmed “the ceasefire has been extended until a mutually acceptable political solution is reached.”

A Syrian official in Damascus said the “agreement is likely to be extended for one month,” adding that one reason is the need to complete the transfer of Daesh group militant detainees from Syria to Iraq.

All sources requested anonymity because they are not allowed to speak to the media.

After the SDF lost large areas to government forces, Washington said it would transfer 7,000 Daesh detainees to prisons in Iraq.

Europeans were among 150 senior IS detainees who were the first to be transferred on Wednesday, two Iraqi security officials told AFP.

The transfer is expected to last several days.

Daesh swept across Syria and Iraq in 2014, but backed by a US-led coalition, the SDF ultimately defeated the group and went on to jail thousands of suspected militants and detain tens of thousands of their relatives.

The truce between Damascus and the Kurds is part of a new understanding over Kurdish-majority areas in Hasakah province, and of a broader deal to integrate the Kurds’ de facto autonomous administration into the state.

Syrian President Ahmed Al-Sharaa’s Islamist forces toppled longtime ruler Bashar Assad in 2024.

The new authorities are seeking to extend state control across Syria, resetting international ties including with the United States, now a key ally.

The Kurdish source said the SDF submitted a proposal to Damascus through US envoy Tom Barrack that would have the government managing border crossings — a key Damascus demand.

It also proposes that Damascus would “allocate part of the economic resources — particularly revenue from border crossings and oil — to the Kurdish-majority areas,” the source added.

Earlier this month, the Syrian army recaptured oil fields, including the country’s largest, while advancing against Kurdish forces.