Syria

The Syrian presidency announced on Monday that the Kurdish-led, U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces, which control much of Syria's oil rich northeast, had signed an agreement agreeing to be integrated into Syria's newly created state institutions. The agreement, which included an end to all hostilities, has been signed by the interim Syrian president Ahmed al-Sharaa, and Mazloum Abdi, commander of the SDF. According to the agreement, the text of which was published online by the president, all civil and military institutions located in the northeastern part of Syria will be integrated into the state. The latter will then take control over...

The British government unfroze assets belonging to the central bank of Syria and 23 other entities, including banks and oil firms. This is a reversal of sanctions that were imposed under Bashar al Assad's presidency. After more than 13 years in civil war, insurgents led by Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham ousted Assad from his position as president last December, the West has rethought its approach towards Syria. The British Government website posted a notice stating that entities such as the Central Bank, the Commercial Bank of Syria, and the Agricultural Cooperative Bank were delisted and no longer subject to a asset...

The commander of Kurdish-led force that controls northeastern Syria has said that the call for dissolution of the PKK by the leader in Turkey of the militant Kurdistan Workers Party, (PKK), does not apply to his group. Mazloum Abdi, commander of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), welcomed Abdullah Ocalan's historic call for the PKK not to continue its decades-long struggle against the Turkish State. He said that this would have positive effects in the region. Abdi, however, said that the announcement made by Ocalan on Thursday by the PKK was only applicable to them and "had nothing to do with...

The European Union has suspended sanctions against Syria, including those relating to energy, banking and transport, with immediate effect. The EU has implemented a number of sanctions against individuals and sectors in Syria. After the insurgents led by Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham (HTS), an islamist group, ousted Bashar al Assad from his position as president in December, European leaders began to rethink their approach. On Monday, the EU Foreign Ministers met in Brussels and agreed to suspend sanctions against the oil, gas, and electricity sectors, as well as the transport sector. The Syrian Central Bank has also been exempted from restrictions...

Several trade sources said that Syria wants to import oil through local intermediaries because its first post-Assad import bids did not attract much interest from oil traders, due to the ongoing sanctions and financial risk. According to tender documents, the caretaker government of Syria issued tenders for the import of 4.2 million barrels crude oil as well as 100,000 tons of each fuel oil and diesel. Sources said that the tenders which closed on the Monday have not been awarded, and the government has now begun negotiating with local firms to meet the requirements. After Iran seems to have stopped...

Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad Hassan alShibani stated on Wednesday that the country will open its economy to foreign financial investment and that Damascus is also dealing with energy and electrical power collaborations with Gulf states. Syria's economic resources are diverse and we have a great deal of sectors - industry, tourist ... of course the economy in the future will be open and will open the road for foreign investment, he said at the World Economic Online forum meeting in Davos, Switzerland. Shibani paid different check outs to Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar in early January, during...

Saudi Arabia's. foreign minister stated on Tuesday he did not see Donald Trump's. new administration increasing the danger of an IsraelIran. dispute, attending to a problem the area has actually feared since the. start of Israel's war in Gaza. Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud also stated in Davos that he. hoped President Trump's method to Iran would be consulted with a. willingness by Tehran to favorably engage with the U.S. administration and address the problem of its nuclear programme. Certainly a war in between Iran and Israel, any war in our. area is something we ought to try to...

Pope Francis on Wednesday called on the Syrian rebels who toppled the routine of President Bashar alAssad to stabilise the nation, and govern in a manner that promotes national unity. I hope they find political options that, without other conflicts or divisions, responsibly promote the stability and unity of the nation, the pontiff said throughout his weekly audience at the Vatican. The pope, in his very first public remarks about Syria since the ending of al-Assad's guideline, likewise called on the country's diverse religious groups to stroll together in relationship and shared regard for the good of the country. Francis,...

Iraqi Shi'ite Muslim ruling parties and armed groups are weighing the pros and cons of equipped intervention in Syria, viewing as a severe hazard the advance of Sunni Islamist rebels who have taken two Syrian cities and now bear down on a third. Baghdad has a dark history with Syria-based Sunni fighters, thousands of whom crossed into Iraq after the 2003 U.S. intrusion and fuelled years of sectarian killing before returning once again in 2013 as Islamic State to conquer a third of the nation. The Syrian rebels currently advancing in Syria, led by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, have actually disavowed...

Iranian English-language Press TV reported Iranian sources saying that Iran's elite Revolutionary Guards carried out a drone strike against Israel targets on Saturday. Ayatollah Khamenei, the Iranian Supreme Leader, vowed revenge after a senior commander of the Corps' Quds Force, Mohammad Reza Zahedi was killed in an airstrike that Iran blamed Israel for on April 1, in Damascus. Here are some questions and their answers regarding the IRGC - Iran's most powerful military force, which includes its own army and navy, as well as an air force and intelligence wing. What is the IRGC? The Shi'ite Muslim ruling clerical system...

Two U.S. senators introduced legislation on Thursday to solidify the ban on selling crude oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) to China. The bill, introduced by Senators Joni Ernst, a Republican and John Fetterman, a Democrat, would make sure that business owned or managed by China's government do not purchase oil from the SPR. A financing expense signed by President Joe Biden this month obstructed Chinese companies from purchasing oil, but contained an exception if the oil was not exported to China. This bipartisan costs will make sure America's Strategic Petroleum Reserve does not fall into the hands of...