UNITED NATIONS: The United Nations will host a new round of peace talks on Syria next week in Vienna, a UN statement said on Wednesday, just days before Russia opens a conference on ending the war.
The Jan. 25-26 talks will be followed by a peace congress in Russia's Black Sea resort of Sochi on Jan. 29 and 30 aimed at finding a settlement to the nearly seven-year war.
The UN said that special envoy Staffan de Mistura "expects that delegations will be coming to Vienna prepared for substantive engagement with him."
It added that "any political initiative by international actors should be assessed by its ability to contribute to and support the United Nations-facilitated Geneva political process and the full implementation of resolution 2254," a roadmap for ending the conflict set out in 2015.
Syria's six-year war has claimed more than 340,000 lives, forced millions to flee their homes and left Syria in ruins.
UN mediator invites Syria, opposition to Vienna peace talks next week
UN mediator invites Syria, opposition to Vienna peace talks next week
Lebanon condemns deadly Israeli strikes on south and east
BEIRUT: Lebanon’s president on Saturday condemned deadly Israeli attacks on his country carried out a day prior, the latest despite a ceasefire with militant group Hezbollah.
In a statement, Joseph Aoun called the attacks “a blatant act of aggression aimed at thwarting diplomatic efforts” by the United States and other nations to establish stability.
A lawmaker from Hezbollah called on Beirut to suspend meetings of a multinational committee tasked with monitoring the truce.
Washington is one of five members on the committee overseeing the ceasefire implemented in November 2024, with the body scheduled to meet again next week.
Israel has repeatedly bombed Lebanon despite the ceasefire, usually saying it is targeting Hezbollah but occasionally also the group’s Palestinian ally Hamas.
The Friday attacks on southern and eastern Lebanon killed 12 people, according to the health ministry, 10 of them in the east of the country.
Israel’s military said it struck “several terrorists of Hezbollah’s missile array in three different command centers in the Baalbek area.”
Hezbollah said a commander was killed in the raids. Its lawmaker Rami Abu Hamdan said on Saturday the group “will not accept the authorities acting as mere political analysts, dismissing these as Israeli strikes we have grown accustomed to before every meeting of the committee.”
He called on Beirut to “suspend the committee’s meetings until the enemy ceases its attacks.”
Hezbollah, while weakened following war with Israel, remains a strong political force in Lebanon represented in parliament.
Lebanon’s government last year committed to disarming the group, with the army saying last month it had completed the first phase of the plan covering the area near the Israeli border.
Israel, which accuses Hezbollah of rearming since the war, has called the Lebanese army’s progress on disarming the militant group insufficient.
