Latest news with #Syria-Israel
France 24
5 days ago
- Business
- France 24
In Damascus, US envoy inks $7 billion energy deal, calls for Israel-Syria peace pact
Syria signed a $7 billion energy deal on Thursday with a consortium of Qatari, Turkish and US companies as it seeks to revive the war-torn country's crippled power sector. The agreement was sealed at the presidential palace in Damascus in the presence of interim leader Ahmed al-Sharaa and US ambassador Thomas Barrack. It aims to generate 5,000 megawatts. Syrian Energy Minister Mohammad al-Bashir called it a "historic moment" and a "turning point" for the country's shattered infrastructure. The consortium is led by Qatar 's UCC Concession Investments and includes Turkey 's Kalyon GES Enerji Yatirimlari and Cengiz Enerji, along with Power International USA. Syria's 14-year civil war wrecked its power grid, leaving people with up to 20 hours of daily blackouts. The project includes four gas-powered plants in central and eastern Syria and a 1,000-megawatt solar farm in the south. Bashir said the plants would use US and European technology. Barrack said US President Donald Trump had lifted sanctions on Syria unconditionally and pledged ongoing support. Trump, he said, offered Syria his "unceasing commitment" to turn borders "into a tapestry of commerce and cooperation". UCC chief executive Ramez al-Khayyat said the deal would create more than 50,000 direct and 250,000 indirect jobs. Last week, Turkish Energy Minister Alparslan Bayraktar said his country would begin supplying Syria with two billion cubic metres of gas a year – enough to generate 1,300 megawatts. Syria has ramped up efforts to lure investment after the United States and European Union said they would lift sanctions. In March, Qatar began funding gas supplies to Syria via Jordan to help ease power shortages. US suggests Syria-Israel non-aggression deal While in Damascus, Barrack, called for a non-aggression agreement between Syria and Israel in remarks to Saudi channel Al Arabiya on Thursday. Syria and Israel have technically been at war since 1948, with Israel taking the Golan Heights from Syria in 1967. Since the ouster in December of former president Bashar al-Assad, Israel has carried out hundreds of air strikes and multiple incursions into Syria. Barrack said the conflict between the two countries was a "solvable problem". To him, Syria and Israel could "start with just a non-aggression agreement, talk about boundaries and borders" to build a new relationship with its neighbour. On May 8, Sharaa said in France that Syria was holding "indirect talks through mediators" with Israel to "try to contain the situation so it does not reach the point where it escapes the control of both sides". US ambassador's residence inaugurated Barrack, who is also ambassador to Turkey, inaugurated the US ambassador's residence in the Syrian capital with Syrian Foreign Minister Assaad al-Shaibani, state media outlet SANA reported. AFP photographers saw the US flag raised at the ambassador's residence, just a few hundred metres (yards) from the US embassy in the Abu Rummaneh neighbourhood, under tight security. "Tom understands there is great potential in working with Syria to stop Radicalism, improve Relations, and secure Peace in the Middle East," Trump said, according to a post on the State Department's X. The US embassy in Syria was closed after Assad's repression of a peaceful uprising that began in 2011, which degenerated into civil war. Washington has not formally reopened its embassy in Damascus, but Barrack's visit and the raising of the flag were a significant signal of warming relations between the two countries.
Morocco World
15-05-2025
- Politics
- Morocco World
Trump Pushes for Syria-Israel Normalization During Landmark Meeting with Al-Sharaa
Rabat — US President Donald Trump focused on Syria-Israel normalization as a key point during his meeting with Syria's interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa on Wednesday in Riyadh. The meeting came just one day after Trump's surprise announcement of lifting long-standing sanctions against Damascus. Trump met al-Sharaa in the first face-to-face encounter between American and Syrian presidents, lasting for 30-minutes. Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman attended the meeting in person, while Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan participated virtually. Syria's normalization of ties with Israel faces significant challenges, as al-Sharaa, who came to power in December when his Islamist coalition overthrew Bashar al-Assad, leads a government traditionally unfriendly toward Israel. In their post-meeting statement, Syrian officials noticeably avoided mentioning Israeli relations, instead stressing discussions about sanctions relief and counterterrorism efforts. However, the Jerusalem Post reported senior Syrian official Ali Al-Rifai saying in an interview with KAN News that his country is committed to peace with all its neighbors, in a way that some analysts said hints at a possible normalization of ties with Israel. In the interview, Al-Rifai told KAN, 'Syria strives to establish peace in the region. As a nation, we genuinely want peace. Syria does not want war. We want peace with everyone.' Trump's Israel-focused demands didn't stop at diplomatic recognition. He also urged al-Sharaa to expel Palestinian armed groups from Syrian territory. Critics question whether Damascus will actually pursue normalization with Israel, despite Trump's economic incentives, including a historic rollback of sanctions. Read also: Trump Ends Sanctions on Syria, Urges New Start Amid Shifting Middle East Alliances 'We're giving Syria a chance at greatness,' Trump said when announcing the sanctions shift on Tuesday, a decision strongly supported by Saudi Arabia and Turkiye. The sanctions, in place since 1979 but intensified after Assad's 2011 crackdown on pro-democracy protesters, have devastated Syria's economy. Trump's meeting was just on stop on his larger high-level tour throughout the Middle East, which in addition to Saudi Arabia includes Qatar and the UAE. The US president has already signed bulky of agreements and exchanged friendly talks with Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, including a second-to-none $142 billion in defense sales. Trump says that this is 'the largest defense sales agreement in history,' though economists and critics still assert that there needs to be more details of the numbers to validify this statement. The reported numbers are high in deals with Qatar as well. The Qatari royal family plans to gift Trump a luxury Boeing 747-8 worth around $400 million – which raised eyebrows from critics concerned this is a bribe – as the two countries signed an aviation agreement for 210 jets and $38 billion in future defense investment. Tags: Syria IsraelSyria USTrump al-Sharaa
Rudaw Net
03-04-2025
- Politics
- Rudaw Net
Syria condemns Israeli strikes as ‘blatant violation' of sovereignty
Also in Syria SDF's Abdi announces amnesty in meeting with Raqqa notables Israeli strikes target Damascus, Hama: State media Efforts underway to restore security in Afrin, release prisoners: Syrian official Afrin residents struggle to survive amid Syria's unemployment crisis A+ A- ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Syria's foreign ministry on Thursday condemned as a 'blatant violation' of sovereignty the recent Israeli strikes that struck three provinces, while Israel said it was destroying 'military capabilities' in the areas. 'In a blatant violation of international law and Syrian sovereignty, Israeli forces launched airstrikes on five locations across the country within 30 minutes, resulting in the near-total destruction of Hama Military Airport and injuring dozens of civilians and military personnel,' the ministry said in a statement. A series of Israeli strikes on Wednesday night targeted the vicinity of the scientific research center in northern Damascus, Hama military airport, and the strategic T4 air base in Homs. The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) justified the strikes and said it was responding to 'military capabilities' in the area. 'The IDF struck military capabilities that remained at the Syrian bases of Hama and T4, along with additional remaining military infrastructure sites in the area of Damascus,' it said on X. 'We will continue to operate to remove any threat to Israeli civilians,' Damascus further condemned the strikes as a 'deliberate attempt' to destabilize the country. 'At a time when Syria is striving to rebuild after 14 years of war, these repeated attacks form part of a clear Israeli strategy to normalize violence once again within the country, undermining recovery efforts and entrenching a culture of impunity,' the foreign ministry stressed. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Britain-based war monitor, said that four Syrian defense ministry members were killed and an additional 12 injured in the nearly 25 strikes on Hama military airport. The strikes 'targeted the planes, railways, and towers, and put the airport completely out of service,' the Observatory said on Thursday. Southward in Daraa province, which runs along the Syria-Israel border, the Israeli military said it launched an infiltration operation, 'confiscating weapons and destroying terrorist infrastructure.' 'During the operation, several gunmen fired at our forces in the area. The forces responded with fire and killed several armed terrorists from the ground and air,' it said on X. At least nine civilians were killed in the Israeli raids, according to a statement from Daraa province's Telegram channel. The infiltration operations sparked 'a great mobilization and anger after the massacre, especially in light of the occupation forces' progress for the first time to this depth,' the statement said. Israel has reiterated that it will not allow armed forces to exist in southern Syria along its border. In late March, a deadly Israeli strike on Daraa drew international condemnation from regional and global powers. The IDF justified the strike by saying it was targeting 'several terrorists who opened fire toward them,' while Damascus said six were killed. Since the ousting of Bashar al-Assad in early December, Israel has scrambled to destroy Damascus's military stockpiles. It has also sent troops across the border into a buffer zone east of the annexed Golan Heights, justifying the move as a precaution amid political instability in Syria. Throughout the Syrian civil war, Israel has carried out hundreds of strikes, often under the pretext of targeting pro-Iran groups, such as Lebanon's Hezbollah, which supported Assad at the time.
