Latest news with #AhmedAlSharaa
Al Arabiya
6 days ago
- Business
- Al Arabiya
Iraq reopens Syria crossing for trade and passenger traffic
Iraq has officially reopened the Qaim border crossing with Syria for trade and passenger traffic, a spokesman for the Iraqi border authority said on Saturday, marking a key step in efforts to normalize relations and revive economic ties between the two countries. 'The Qaim crossing is now fully operational for both cargo trucks and civilian movement,' the spokesman told Reuters, adding that the reopening followed joint security assessments by Iraqi and Syrian officials. The move comes three months after Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani visited Baghdad and urged Iraq to resume cross-border trade. The crossing had been shut in the wake of the revolt that toppled President Bashar al-Assad. A statement from the Iraqi border crossings authority said the first Syrian truck entered the crossing on Saturday after inspection, marking a significant step in strengthening economic cooperation between Iraq and Syria. "Passenger movement has also resumed in order to ease the burden on Iraqi citizens when traveling in and out of the country", the statement said. The reopening is also seen as a sign of warming ties between Baghdad and Syria's new leadership under President Ahmed al-Sharaa, who has sought to re-establish diplomatic and economic relations with regional neighbors. Iraqi officials say the two governments have intensified coordination on border security and trade facilitation since al-Sharaa took office last year. 'This crossing will serve as a strategic corridor for commodity trade between Iraq and Syria,' said Turki al-Mahallawi, mayor of the town of al-Qaim, where the border post is located.
Asharq Al-Awsat
7 days ago
- Business
- Asharq Al-Awsat
Iraq Reopens Syria Crossing for Trade, Passenger Traffic
Iraq has officially reopened the Qaim border crossing with Syria for trade and passenger traffic, a spokesman for the Iraqi border authority said on Saturday, marking a key step in efforts to normalize relations and revive economic ties between the two countries. 'The Qaim crossing is now fully operational for both cargo trucks and civilian movement,' the spokesman told Reuters, adding that the reopening followed joint security assessments by Iraqi and Syrian officials. The move comes three months after Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani visited Baghdad and urged Iraq to resume cross-border trade. The crossing had been shut in the wake of the revolt that toppled President Bashar al-Assad and the ensuing years of conflict that destabilized the region. The reopening is also seen as a sign of warming ties between Baghdad and Syria's new leadership under President Ahmed al-Sharaa, who has sought to re-establish diplomatic and economic relations with regional neighbors. Iraqi officials say the two governments have intensified coordination on border security and trade facilitation since al-Sharaa took office last year. 'This crossing will serve as a strategic corridor for commodity trade between Iraq and Syria,' said Turki al-Mahallawi, mayor of the town of al-Qaim, where the border post is located.
Reuters
7 days ago
- Business
- Reuters
Iraq reopens Syria crossing for trade and passenger traffic
ANBAR, June 14 (Reuters) - Iraq has officially reopened the Qaim border crossing with Syria for trade and passenger traffic, a spokesman for the Iraqi border authority said on Saturday, marking a key step in efforts to normalise relations and revive economic ties between the two countries. 'The Qaim crossing is now fully operational for both cargo trucks and civilian movement,' the spokesman told Reuters, adding that the reopening followed joint security assessments by Iraqi and Syrian officials. The move comes three months after Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shibani visited Baghdad and urged Iraq to resume cross-border trade. The crossing had been shut in the wake of the revolt that toppled President Bashar al-Assad and the ensuing years of conflict that destabilised the region. The reopening is also seen as a sign of warming ties between Baghdad and Syria's new leadership under President Ahmed al-Sharaa, who has sought to re-establish diplomatic and economic relations with regional neighbours. Iraqi officials say the two governments have intensified coordination on border security and trade facilitation since al-Sharaa took office last year. 'This crossing will serve as a strategic corridor for commodity trade between Iraq and Syria,' said Turki al-Mahallawi, mayor of the town of al-Qaim, where the border post is located.
Asharq Al-Awsat
13-06-2025
- Politics
- Asharq Al-Awsat
Angry at Sharaa!
Syria's President Ahmed al-Sharaa has a knack for politics. He owes his political instincts to his layered character, his remarkable personal journey that took him from the leader of the al-Nusra Front to President of Syria in a few years, and a keen reader of the lessons of history. Sharaa has not succumbed to popular pressure as previous leaders had, most notably President Gamal Abdel Nasser. The latter paid a heavy price for going along with the masses. Sharaa understands popular sentiment can sweep you and turn you into a hostage, limiting your options at every pivotal juncture. Sharaa has clearly learned from the experiences of President Anwar Sadat, who went against the popular mood and even key figures in his regime but retrieved the Sinai and averted new wars that would have destroyed Egypt. What also distinguishes Sharaa is that he does not exploit obsolete cliches. We are tired of this rigid ideological jargon. He speaks simply and frankly - no equivocation or prevarication. Devastated and divided, Syria does not need an orator seeking glory, but rather a realistic, rational leader who can responsibly address its complex crises. The extremists who celebrated his arrival in Damascus believed that he would resume the Brotherhood's moment in the "Arab Spring," turning Syria into a hub for jihadists. When their hopes were dashed, they began attacking Sharaa instead of praising him. But the question is: Would they have cursed him today if he had declared jihad? Or waged a futile war with Israel? Or clashed with his Arab neighbors? Or made inflammatory insults against the "Great Satan" and "colonial" powers? Certainly not. They would have glorified him as the "jihadist leader." Meanwhile, the Syrian people alone would have paid the price: another 50 years of poverty and displacement. Fortunately, Sharaa chose another path: rationality, state-building, and restoring the Syrian economy. He avoids empty slogans and boisterous rhetoric, preferring dry but effective technocratic discourse that furthers the national interest and rejects blackmail. "Syria First" is the slogan, and it is the gateway to rebuilding trust between Syria and the international community. That's why Saudi Arabia threw its political and economic weight behind Syria and contributed to the effort to ensure sanctions relief, removing one of the most significant obstacles to Syria's recovery. Syria needs patience and time, but the path has become clear. Indeed, we would have reason to worry if the extremists and mendacious orators had praised him.
Free Malaysia Today
13-06-2025
- Politics
- Free Malaysia Today
Israel's army says it seized Hamas members in Syria
Since taking over, interim president Ahmed al-Sharaa has said repeatedly that Syria does not want conflict with its neighbours. (EPA Images pic) JERUSALEM : The Israeli army said today that its soldiers seized several suspected members of Palestinian rebel group Hamas in a 'targeted' operation in southern Syria. Syrian authorities did not immediately comment on the raid, but Britain-based war monitor the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said one man was killed and seven seized during the raid on Beit Jinn, 12km from the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights. Since the overthrow of longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad in December, Israel has carried out hundreds of strikes in Syria aimed at denying military assets to the Islamist-led interim administration, which it regards as jihadist. It has also deployed troops across the demilitarised zone on the Syrian side of the armistice line that used to separate the opposing forces on the Golan. The Israeli military said troops carried out a 'targeted, intelligence-based nighttime operation in Syria and apprehended several Hamas terrorists'. It alleged that those seized were plotting attacks on Israeli troops. The Observatory said a 'major Israeli force' raided Beit Jinn overnight, calling out the names of several young men and arresting seven of them before taking them to 'an unknown location'. 'During the operation, Israeli forces opened fire on a young man near his home, instantly killing him,' the monitor added. It said the dead man and all of those detained were Syrian 'civilians'. The raid comes days after the Israeli army said it 'struck a Hamas terrorist in the area of Mazraat Beit Jinn', which neighbours Beit Jinn. In early June, Israel reported rocket fire from Syrian-held territory towards the Israeli-occupied Golan, the first since Assad's overthrow, and retaliated with a series of strikes on the country. Since taking over in December, interim president Ahmed al-Sharaa has said repeatedly that Syria does not want conflict with its neighbours, urging international pressure on Israel to halt its attacks.
