WASHINGTON: US Secretary of State Antony Blinken heads Wednesday on an emergency tour after the overthrow of Syria’s dictatorship, in a new, last-minute attempt to shape a Middle East legacy after a turbulent year.
The top US diplomat of President Joe Biden, who has little more than one month in office, is set to press principles he has outlined for a new government including that it be inclusive of Syria’s diverse populations.
Blinken will head first to the Red Sea port of Aqaba in Jordan, Syria’s often uneasy neighbor and a key US partner in the region, before going to Turkiye, the main supporter of the Islamist movement that toppled strongman Bashar Assad over the weekend.
Blinken will stress “the United States’ support for an inclusive, Syrian-led transition to an accountable and representative government,” State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said.
He will call for a Syria that is not “a base of terrorism or posing a threat to its neighbors” — a nod to concerns of both Turkiye and Israel, which has ramped up strikes on its historic adversary since Assad’s fall.
Turkiye, despite being a NATO ally, has long butted heads with the United States over Syria but is now seen as the key foreign power after its partner Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham (HTS), a former Al-Qaeda-linked group, launched a surprise lightning offensive that ended half-a-century of iron-fisted rule by the Assad family.
In a statement on Tuesday, Blinken called for a “credible, inclusive and non-sectarian” government to replace Assad, a secular-minded member of the minority Alawite sect.
“All nations should pledge to support an inclusive and transparent process and refrain from external interference,” Blinken said.
“The United States will recognize and fully support a future Syria government that results from this process,” he said.
It will be the 12th visit to the Middle East by Blinken since October 7, 2023, when Hamas militants carried out the deadliest-ever attack on Israel, which responded with a relentless assault on the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip.
Despite repeatedly smelling success, Blinken has been met with frustration as he failed to secure a deal in which Israel would end the war in return for the release of hostages.
Blinken on his trip will also stress “the urgent need to conclude a ceasefire agreement,” Miller said.
Defying appeals by the Biden administration, Israel expanded its war to Lebanon and hit hard the Shiite militant group Hezbollah as well as Iran, which counted on Assad as its main Arab ally.
Assad also relied on air support from Russia, which relied on Assad to maintain a Mediterranean naval base and has been distracted by its invasion of Ukraine.
Biden, under fire for his Middle East policy and failure to secure an Israel-Hamas deal, has sought credit after the fall of Assad.
“Our approach has shifted the balance of power in the Middle East,” Biden said, pointing to a combination of support for partners, diplomacy, sanctions and periodic US strikes in Syria separately targeting Iranian-linked groups and remnants of the Daesh group, which is an adversary of Shiite Iran.
President-elect Donald Trump similarly cast Syria in political terms, pointing out that Russia made inroads under former president Barack Obama.
In contrast to Biden and Blinken, Trump has scoffed at US interests in Syria, where some 900 US troops remain on a mission against the Islamic State, calling the country “a mess” to be avoided.
It will be up to Trump, who has a close relationship with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, to determine how to deal with HTS, which is designated as a terrorist group by the United States.
Blinken on Syria crisis tour with eye on Biden legacy
https://arab.news/nsy2k
Blinken on Syria crisis tour with eye on Biden legacy
- Blinken will head first to the Red Sea port of Aqaba in Jordan, before going to Turkiye, the main supporter of the Islamist movement that toppled strongman Bashar Assad
- He will call for a Syria that is not “a base of terrorism or posing a threat to its neighbors“
Syrian army pushes into Aleppo district after Kurdish groups reject withdrawal
- Two Syrian security officials told Reuters the ceasefire efforts had failed and that the army would seize the neighborhood by force
ALEPPO, Syria: The Syrian army said it would push into the last Kurdish-held district of Aleppo city on Friday after Kurdish groups there rejected a government demand for their fighters to withdraw under a ceasefire deal.
The violence in Aleppo has brought into focus one of the main faultlines in Syria as the country tries to rebuild after a devastating war, with Kurdish forces resisting efforts by President Ahmed Al-Sharaa’s Islamist-led government to bring their fighters under centralized authority.
At least nine civilians have been killed and more than 140,000 have fled their homes in Aleppo, where Kurdish forces are trying to cling on to several neighborhoods they have run since the early days of the war, which began in 2011.
HIGHLIGHTS
• Standoff pits government against Kurdish forces
• Sharaa says Kurds are ‘fundamental’ part of Syria
• More than 140,000 have fled homes due to unrest
• Turkish, Syrian foreign ministers discuss Aleppo by phone
ِA ceasefire was announced by the defense ministry overnight, demanding the withdrawal of Kurdish forces to the Kurdish-held northeast. That would effectively end Kurdish control over the pockets of Aleppo that Kurdish forces have held.
CEASEFIRE ‘FAILED,’ SECURITY OFFICIALS SAY
But in a statement, Kurdish councils that run Aleppo’s Sheikh Maksoud and Ashrafiyah districts said calls to leave were “a call to surrender” and that Kurdish forces would instead “defend their neighborhoods,” accusing government forces of intensive shelling.
Hours later, the Syrian army said that the deadline for Kurdish fighters to withdraw had expired, and that it would begin a military operation to clear the last Kurdish-held neighborhood of Sheikh Maksoud.
Two Syrian security officials told Reuters the ceasefire efforts had failed and that the army would seize the neighborhood by force.
The Syrian defense ministry had earlier carried out strikes on parts of Sheikh Maksoud that it said were being used by the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) to launch attacks on the “people of Aleppo.” It said on Friday that SDF strikes had killed three army soldiers.
Kurdish security forces in Aleppo said some of the strikes hit a hospital, calling it a war crime. The defense ministry disputed that, saying the structure was a large arms depot and that it had been destroyed in the resumption of strikes on Friday.
It posted an aerial video that it said showed the location after the strikes, and said secondary explosions were visible, proving it was a weapons cache.
Reuters could not immediately verify the claim.
The SDF is a powerful Kurdish-led security force that controls northeastern Syria. It says it withdrew its fighters from Aleppo last year, leaving Kurdish neighborhoods in the hands of the Kurdish Asayish police.
Under an agreement with Damascus last March the SDF was due to integrate with the defense ministry by the end of 2025, but there has been little progress.
FRANCE, US SEEK DE-ESCALATION
France’s foreign ministry said it was working with the United States to de-escalate.
A ministry statement said President Emmanuel Macron had urged Sharaa on Thursday “to exercise restraint and reiterated France’s commitment to a united Syria where all segments of Syrian society are represented and protected.”
A Western diplomat told Reuters that mediation efforts were focused on calming the situation and producing a deal that would see Kurdish forces leave Aleppo and provide security guarantees for Kurds who remained.
The diplomat said US envoy Tom Barrack was en route to Damascus. A spokesperson for Barrack declined to comment. Washington has been closely involved in efforts to promote integration between the SDF — which has long enjoyed US military support — and Damascus, with which the United States has developed close ties under President Donald Trump.
The ceasefire declared by the government overnight said Kurdish forces should withdraw by 9 a.m. (0600 GMT) on Friday, but no one withdrew overnight, Syrian security sources said.
Barrack had welcomed what he called a “temporary ceasefire” and said Washington was working intensively to extend it beyond the 9 a.m. deadline. “We are hopeful this weekend will bring a more enduring calm and deeper dialogue,” he wrote on X.
TURKISH WARNING
Turkiye views the SDF as a terrorist organization linked to the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party and has warned of military action if it does not honor the integration agreement.
Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, speaking on Thursday, expressed hope that the situation in Aleppo would be normalized “through the withdrawal of SDF elements.”
Though Sharaa, a former Al-Qaeda commander who belongs to the Sunni Muslim majority, has repeatedly vowed to protect minorities, bouts of violence in which government-aligned fighters have killed hundreds of Alawites and Druze have spread alarm in minority communities over the last year.
The Kurdish councils in Aleppo said Damascus could not be trusted “with our security and our neighborhoods,” and that attacks on the areas aimed to bring about displacement.
Sharaa, in a phone call with Iraqi Kurdish leader Masoud Barzani on Friday, affirmed that the Kurds were “a fundamental part of the Syrian national fabric,” the Syrian presidency said.
Neither the government nor the Kurdish forces have announced a toll of casualties among their fighters from the recent clashes.
