In a recent conversation between Vietnam’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Bui Thanh Son, and Syria’s Minister of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates, Faisal Mekdad, the Vietnam Red Cross Society pledged a sum of 600,000 dollars to support post-earthquake recovery in Syria. Simultaneously, Cyprus is urging the European Union to consider designating certain regions of the war-torn country as safe for repatriation, as announced by the Cypriot interior minister. Meanwhile, Jordan’s Foreign Minister, Ayman Safadi, conveyed to Iran that his country is prepared to take all necessary measures to safeguard its national security. This commitment follows the unfortunate incident where infiltrators smuggling drugs from Syria claimed the life of a Jordanian border guard.
AANES delegation continues its meetings in Denmark
The Kurdish ANHA news agency reported that, as part of the diplomatic meetings held by the delegation of the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria in Denmark, yesterday, the representative of the AANES in Europe, Abdul Karim Omar, and the representatives of the Autonomous Administration in Denmark, Dara Mustafa and Alan Mansour, met with a delegation from the Danish Socialist People’s Party.
The Danish party delegation consisted of the Vice-President of the Danish Parliament and member of the Foreign Relations Committee Carsten Hong, the political advisor to the party’s bloc in the Danish Parliament, Klaus Peeirgord, Member of the Danish Parliament Serdal Penli, and former member of the Danish Parliament and the European Parliament for the party, Pernilla Frahm.
During the meeting, the current situation and the latest developments in the Middle East and Syria were discussed, in addition to the situation in NE Syria in particular and the economic, political and security challenges facing the Autonomous Administration – in addition to the escalation of ISIS activity and the Turkish occupation attacks targeting infrastructure and service institutions.
At the conclusion of the meeting, the Socialist People’s Party officials expressed their agreement with the vision of the Autonomous Administration and affirmed their commitment to cooperation and searching for common solutions to the issues discussed.
Vietnam to provide $600,000 to Syria as quake relief aid
The North Press Agency has reported that the Vietnam Red Cross Society will provide 600,000 to Syria. This came in a phone call between Vietnamese Minister of Foreign Affairs Bui Thanh Son and Syrian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates Faisal Mekdad on Wednesday.
This brings the total aid contribution from Vietnam to Syria to $900,000.
The aid is intended to support Syria in recovering from the aftermath of the devastating earthquake that struck the country in February.
Cyprus calls for EU rethink on Syria migration as refugee numbers rise
Reuters has reported that, as record numbers of Syrian refugees reach the shores of Cyprus, the Nicosia government wants the European Union to consider declaring parts of their war-torn homeland safe to repatriate them to, the Cypriot interior minister said.
“Starting a discussion to re-evaluate the issue of Syria is crucial for us,” Minister Constantinos Ioannou told Reuters in an interview.
The foreign ministry was preparing to raise the matter formally with Brussels, he added.
Medical tourism flourishes in Syria
The opposition website Enab Baladi asked five people of different Arab nationalities why they went to Syria to seek treatment in general and cosmetic treatment in particular, and they agreed that the cost of treatment in Syria is cheap compared to their countries.
A Syrian dermatologist told Enab Baladi that the low cost in Syria is due to the cost of the products used, as most beauty centers adopt Korean and Chinese products, which are cheaper than the French and German products approved in many countries.
AANES Becomes DAANES
The Kurdistan 24 news website has said that the General Council of the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (AANES) on Wednesday adopted a social contract on Wednesday, in which the AANES was renamed as Democratic Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (DAANES).
Moreover, the new de-facto constitution said that the DAANES will have its own flag that will be flown alongside “the flag of the Syrian Democratic Republic.”
Furthermore, the administration area will now be consolidated into a single region named the “North and East Syria Region,” encompassing seven provinces.
The new social contract also paves the way for elections in northeast Syria, which were delayed in 2018.
Moreover, the “General Council” was also renamed to the “Peoples’ Council of North and East Syria.”
Jordanian and Iranian Foreign Ministers meet after soldier killed at border with Syria
The pan-arab The National has reported that Jordan’s Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi told Iran on Wednesday that the kingdom will “take all necessary steps” to protect its national security, official media said.
Mr Safadi was talking to Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian a day after infiltrators smuggling drugs from Syria killed a Jordanian border guard.
A war against drug smugglers, who Jordan says are linked to the Syrian military and pro-Iranian militias in southern Syria, intensified in recent weeks, with the authorities in Amman reporting increased intrusion attempts.
The latest casualty on the Jordanian side was Iyad Al Naimi, a corporal who the military says was killed in an attack on his northern border unit on Tuesday by “dozens of infiltrators” who tried to cross under the cover of fog.
“Those responsible for the attack on Jordan’s security … will not escape punishment and will pay for their aggression and crime,” official media quoted Mr Safadi telling Mr Amirabdollahian.
The two met on the sideline of the Global Refugee Forum in Geneva.
Iraqi factions bomb U.S. in Syria
The pro-Iran al-Mayadeen website has said that the “Islamic Resistance” in Iraq announced Tuesday that it attacked the US base in al-Omar oil field in Syria.
The Iraki group said that attack, which consisted of a barrage of rockets, was reportedly not intercepted and caused casualties for the US forces.
The US forces in Iraq and Syria have been attacked some 89 times in recent weeks, Pentagon Press Secretary Pat Ryder said Tuesday.
