SDF Stuck Between Turkish Operation and Blackmail of the Regime

Tuesday July 19th, 2022 by AL-MODON (Lebanese website)          

The regime is taking advantage of the SDF's position to get more and more concessions, according to al-Modon.

(AL-MODON)

The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) are increasingly suffocated between Turkey’s tight grip and the Syrian regime’s pressure. Turkey has the opportunity to start its military operation against SDF, and the regime is pressing for additional gains in the event of U.S. indifference. 

The regime’s military columns sent into northwest and eastern Syria to repel a seemingly imminent Turkish invasion reflect the narrowness of the maneuver against SDF– which finds itself obliged to make concessions to the regime. 

According to information obtained by Al-Modon from confidential sources, SDF has provided guarantees of openness to the dialogue held by the Autonomous Administration with the Syrian regime. This comes in exchange for the increased deployment of the regime’s forces in areas threatened by Turkish aggression, particularly in Tel Rifaat and Manbij.   

Read Also: Americans Warn SDF of Rapprochement with Damascus, Abdi Claims Battle Concerns All Syrians

In terms of direct concessions, the regime demanded full control of the M4 road, which is between Hassakeh and Aleppo through the Raqqa countryside. SDF did not oppose this, the sources said. 

When asked about the nature of the agreement that the SDF had with the regime, Riad Darar, joint president of the Syrian Democratic Council (SDC ) said: “This is not an agreement, and what is going on is a continuation of the agreement that took place with the regime after Turkey’s occupation of Ras al-Ain and Tal Abyad in 2019.” 

He added to al-Modon, that defending Syria’s borders is the army’s job, and SDF always says that it will be within the Syrian army after the settlement (…) We are working together to face the Turkish occupation. 

Avoid taking chances with Afrin 

“We don’t want to take our chances with Afrin when the Syrian army’s call to defend Afrin was delayed. We now hold the army responsible, if it resists, this is its duty and that’s what we want. If it withdraws, history is recorded,” Darar said. 

“The army’s approach will be the beginning of a factor of confidence that determines the path to a political solution, and makes understanding about it better than the current tensions and accusations,” he said.  

“By the way, we had addressed all the opposition and factions earlier. We invited them to confront the tyrannical regime together, but they were not discussing common Syrian issues. Their speech was accusations against us, similar to those of Turkey,” he said. 

Fall of SDF 

Columnist Abdel Nasser al-Ayed wrote an article entitled Fall of SDF, in which he said that the Leaders of SDF believed that the threat to ISIS would work indefinitely. They did not learn from the Afghan lesson as Washington handed over the whole of Afghanistan, in one night, to the Taliban. 

He added that SDF’s leaders chose to pay the PKK bill in Turkey, in Syria, without receiving anything in exchange. 

On the other hand, they chose to avoid the forces of the Syrian revolution, did not seek any seriousness to take advantage of their political, moral and human balance, and built high walls of isolation around themselves in the valleys of northeastern Syria. This separated their presence from the main current of events under the illusion of independence.

 

A call from Australia against possible

Türkiye determined to expel terrorists from Syria - Erdogan

Türkiye Materials 20 July 2022


BAKU, Azerbaijan, July 19. Türkiye is determined to expel terrorists from Syria, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said at the summit of the "Astana" trio, Trend reports citing Turkish media.

"We are determined to drive the terrorists out of Syria. Separatist terrorist organizations must be completely expelled from Syria. As guarantor countries of the Astana process, we expect the Russian Federation and Iran to support Türkiye in this fight. It must be clearly understood that there is no place for separatist terrorism and its manifestations for the future of our region," Erdogan noted.

Erdogan also said that the safe return of Syrian refugees to their country is also one of the important items on the agenda of the Astana process. According to him, Tel Rifat and Manbij in northern Syria have become a "port for terrorists" that need to be cleared of them.

Ayatollah Khamenei to Erdogan: Any Military Attack on Northern Syria Serves Terrorists Interests

Tuesday July 19th, 2022 by THE SYRIA TIMES (Pro-government newspaper)

Khamenei said that Iran considers the security of Turkey's borders as its own, according to the Syria Times.

(THE SYRIA TIMES)

The Leader of the Islamic Revolution in Iran, Imam Seyyed Ali Khamenei, stressed that preserving Syria’s territorial integrity is very important, asserting that any military attack on northern Syria would benefit terrorists and would be to the detriment of Syria, Turkey and the region.

This came during a meeting held between Khamenei and the President of the Turkish regime, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, in Tehran on Tuesday.

Khamenei reiterated that Iran considers the security of Turkey’s borders as its own. Turkey should also consider Syria’s security as it would its own, noting that issues in Syria must be resolved through dialogue.

Assad’s Foreign Minister Visits Tehran in Conjunction with Three Leaders Summit

Tuesday July 19th, 2022 by AL-SOURIA NET (Opposition website)      

Mekdad visited Tehran ahead of a trilateral meeting between Erdogan, Raisi and Putin, according to al-Souria Net.

(AL-SOURIA NET)

Assad’s foreign minister, Faisal al-Mekdad, will visit Tehran on Tuesday. This will coincide with a summit that will bring together the leaders of Turkey, Russia, and Iran: Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Vladimir Putin, and Ibrahim Raisi respectively. 

Iranian and Russian media close to the regime reported on Monday that Mekdad, while arriving in the Iranian capital, “will meet with his Iranian counterpart, Hussein Amir Abdullahian, to discuss the outcome of the Astana-format summit.” 

No official Iranian or Syrian regime comment has confirmed Mekdad’s arrival in Tehran on Tuesday. 

If officially confirmed that the visit will coincide with the summit. The summit will bring together Erdogan, Raisi, and Putin. This meeting is the first of its kind in two years. 

The three leaders are scheduled to discuss the Syrian issue precisely and regional and global issues.  

In a statement on Friday, the Russian Foreign Ministry described the summit as “a very important event.”

Russia, Turkey and Iran have been holding talks for years on the situation in Syria as part of what has been called the “Astana peace process.” 

A call from Australia against possible

Turkish incursion into northern Syria

A city councillor in Australia has called for international solidarity against Turkey's continuing threats and plans to further invade the region.

On Jul 19, 2022

The city councillor in Moreland, a city of 180,000 near Melbourne, Australia, called for international solidarity with the people of north and east Syria in the face of Turkey’s threats to launch yet another incursion into the region.

Sue Bolton, a member of the Socialist Alliance, noted that some organisations recently addressed the United Nations (UN) for a no fly zone over the region, and said that people all over the world should support the call.

Over thirty political parties and groups in north and east Syria had called on the UN in early July for a no-fly zone, expressing their concern at Turkey’s threats of a military campaign to further occupy parts of the region.

Bolton said in a video message:

“Once again the Kurds are being used as a bargaining chip for other countries making deals, and this could be a dangerous deal for the Kurds because Finland and Sweden are promising to provide more arms to the Turkish government, they are promising to stop assistance to the autonomous administration in northern Syria, and they are promising to crack down on Kurdish activists in their own countries, and extradite those people to Turkey. So this is a really disastrous issue for the Kurds.”

She continued:

“It’s also especially disastrous because this will be used to support the Turkish government’s plans to invade and seize more territory in the northern parts of Syria. The Turkish government has already been using drones and heavy artillery to bombard the civilians in northern Syria. Now a number of organisations approached the United Nations for a no fly zone. I think people all over the world should support the call for a no fly zone to stop the Turkish government from firing missiles on civilians from the air and causing the expulsion of more tens of thousands of Kurds and other people from the towns and villages in northern Syria.

She added:

“The people in northern Syria, including the Kurds, deserve our support all over the world. And everyone who has been opposing the Russian invasion in Ukraine should equally be con

demning the Turkish government’s plans to invade, or further invade north and east Syria.”

Source:  MedyaNews

The views expressed in this article belong to the author and do not necessarily reflect the editorial policy of the Observatory.

SDF Increases Preparations to Repel Turkish Aggression on Northern Syria

Tuesday July 19th, 2022 by NORTH PRESS (Kurdish agency)

The SDF and its affiliates are ready to go to war if Turkey decides to invade areas in Syria’s north, according to North Press.

(NORTH PRESS)

The spokesperson of the Northern Democratic Brigade, which is affiliated with the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), said on Tuesday that their forces have increased preparations to repel any possible Turkish aggression on northern Syria.

Mahmoud Habib, the spokesman of the Northern Democratic Brigade, told North Press that the Turkish threats require the military forces to increase preparations, which is what they did.

On Monday, the Northern Democratic Brigade released a statement rejecting the continued threat of the Turkish potential military operation on northern Syria.

The statement pointed out that the military forces in northern Syria are ready and prepared for a long and violent war to repel the Turkish invasion of the region.

“Our forces have got ready, some of them were deployed, and military convoys stood by to repel if needed,” Habib added.

Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has recently announced plans to carry out another major military cross-border incursion into northern Syria. Erdogan specified his targets in the two northern Syrian cities of Manbij and Tel Rifaat.

According to Habib, the SDF and its affiliated military groups are ready to go to war if Turkey decides to invade areas in Syria’s north.

He said that the military forces are responsible for protecting the population in areas of northeastern Syria and preventing Turkey from occupying new areas where massacres and violations will be committed, as happened previously.

Botswana journalist Tshepo Sethibe criminally charged over ‘alarming publications’

  

 Moeladilotlhoko News Boiler director Tshepo Sethibe appears on July 14 at the Village Magistrate Court in Gaborone, Botsowana after police charged him under a law barring 'alarming publications.' (Moeladilotlhoko News Boiler)

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July 19, 2022 

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Lusaka, July 19, 2022 – Botswana authorities should immediately drop the criminal charge against Moeladilotlhoko News Boiler director Tshepo Sethibe, return devices seized from the outlet, and refrain from harassing the press, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Tuesday. 

On July 13, about 25 law enforcement officers arrested Sethibe at his home in the town of Mogoditshane, northwest of the capital Gaborone, and charged him under a law barring “alarming publications,” according to news reports, a Facebook post by his outlet, and the journalist and his lawyer, Obonetse Jonas, both of whom spoke with CPJ via messaging app. 

After arresting Sethibe, police seized two laptops, three mobile phones, a desktop computer, and passwords from Moeladilotlhoko News Boiler’s offices in the town of Kumakwane, Sethibe told CPJ. As of July 19, police have not returned the equipment.

Sethibe appeared in the Village Magistrate Court in Gaborone on July 14 and was released on a bail of 2,000 pula (US$156), according to Jonas and a police statement reviewed by CPJ, which said his next court date is set for September 6.

If convicted of spreading alarming publications, Sethibe could face up to two years imprisonment and an unstipulated fine, according to Section 33 of the penal code. 

“Botswana authorities should immediately drop the criminal charge against Moeladilotlhoko News Boiler director Tshepo Sethibe and return all devices seized from the publication,” said Angela Quintal, CPJ’s Africa program coordinator, in Durban, South Africa. “Censorship and criminal prosecution should never be the antidote for journalism that authorities disagree with.”

The charges against Sethibe stem from a July 8 Facebook post by Moeladilotlhoko News Boiler, a privately owned outlet that publishes on Facebook and has nearly 344,000 followers about a missing 6-year-old child, which alleged that police had found the child’s remains and would cremate them without holding a funeral or releasing them to the family, according to a chargesheet reviewed by CPJ. Police maintain that the remains belong to the missing child although the family has refused to collect them for burial, according to a news report.

Moeladilotlhoko News Boiler has published several posts about the child since his March 2022 disappearance. 

“They arrested me because the government is trying, by all means, to intimidate me from revealing the truth about the whereabouts of a 6-year-old boy,” the journalist told CPJ. 

Near Bagali, assistant of the Botswana police service public relations officer, told CPJ by messaging app that he could not comment, as the “matter is before court.”

Sethibe was previously arrested with four other Moeladilotlhoko News Boiler staff members on criminal trespassing charges in January 2021, as CPJ documented at the time. The state withdrew the case on February 15, 2022, as Moeladilotlhoko News Boiler reported.

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Turkish court upholds exit from treaty protecting women
In this file photo, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan listens to his Iranian counterpart Ebrahim Raisi during their joint press briefing at the Saadabad Palace, in Tehran, Iran, Tuesday, July 19, 2022. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi) more >
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By Associated Press - Tuesday, July 19, 2022


ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — A top administrative court in Turkey ruled Tuesday that President Recep Tayyip Erdogan‘s decision to pull the country out of a key European treaty protecting women from violence was lawful, rejecting petitions seeking its cancellation, the state-run news agency reported.

Erdogan withdrew Turkey from the Council of Europe’s Istanbul Convention last year, prompting condemnation from women’s rights groups and Western countries. The landmark convention was signed in Istanbul in 2011.


Several women’s groups and other organizations had petitioned the Council of State, arguing that Erdogan’s move to pull out of the treaty through a presidential decree was unlawful. The court’s judges, however, ruled by a majority decision to reject the petitions, Anadolu Agency reported.

Yilmaz Tunc, a member of Erdogan‘s ruling party, welcomed the court’s decision, saying it would put an end to “discussions that lack a legal basis.” The main opposition party leader, Kemal Kilicdaroglu, vowed to return Turkey to the convention “within a week or even 24 hours” should his center-left party come to power in an election next year.

Last year’s decision to leave the convention came after some officials from Erdogan’s Islam-oriented party had advocated for a review of the agreement, arguing it was inconsistent with Turkey’s conservative values by encouraging divorce and undermining the traditional family unit. Critics also claimed that it promoted homosexuality.

Erdogan insisted it wouldn’t be a step backward for women and in March, Turkey’s parliament ratified a bill aimed at combating violence against women that included introducing tougher sentences if the victim of a violent crime is a woman and making persistent stalking punishable by prison.

At least 226 women have been murdered in Turkey so far in 2022, and 425 last year, according to the We Will Stop Femicide group.

SAS pilots reach agreement with management, end strike

July 20, 2022

STOCKHOLM (AP) – Scandinavian Airlines (SAS) pilots in Sweden, Norway and Denmark yesterday called off a strike that has been causing major disruption for 15 days after reaching a deal with management.

The carrier said the strike led to the cancellation of around half of all SAS scheduled flights and had impacted thousands of passengers per day.

SAS CEO Anko van der Werff said the parties agreed on an agreement for the next five-and-a-half years that guarantees both cost savings for the airline and job security for the pilots.

“I am pleased to report that we now have come to an agreement with all four pilot unions for SAS Scandinavia and the strike has ended. Finally, we can resume normal operations and fly our customers on their much longed-for summer holidays. I deeply regret that so many of our passengers have been impacted by this strike,” van der Werff said in a statement.

Some 900 pilots walked out on July 4, citing inadequate pay and working conditions and expressing dissatisfaction with the decision by the carrier to hire new pilots to fill vacancies at its subsidiary airlines, SAS Link and SAS Connect, rather than rehire former pilots who were laid off due to the pandemic.

“Pilots have secured an important breakthrough. Four hundred and fifty pilots who were laid off during the corona pandemic have been guaranteed re-employment and the pilot associations’ collective agreements will also apply to the new companies SAS Connect and SAS Link,” the pilot association SAS Pilot Group said in a statement.

SAS said the strike led to the cancellation of over 3,700 flights, affecting some 380,000 passengers, adding the walkout cost SEK100-SEK130 million (USD9.5-USD12.3 million) per day in lost revenue and costs.

Talks between pilot unions and the airline had started in November to renew a collective agreement that expired on April 1. However, months of negotiations had failed to conclude a new deal.

A day after the strike began, the financially troubled SAS filed for bankruptcy protection in the United States, saying the walkout had put the future of the carrier at risk. The airline said it voluntarily filed for Chapter 11 in New York, meaning civil litigation is put on hold while the business reorganises its finances.

Scandinavian Airlines is part-owned by the governments of Sweden and Denmark. In 2018, Norway sold its stake but holds debt in the airline and has said it might be willing to convert that into equity.

Panama government and protesters strike deals to clear key highway

Panama's government agreed to lower fuel prices to end the Panamerican Highway blockade. Indigenous-led protests have halted food transportation over the last fortnight

IN THIS AERIAL VIEW TRUCKS BLOCK THE PAN-AMERICAN HIGHWAY IN CAPIRA, PANAMA, ON JULY 15, 2022. | AFP/PISARENKO IVAN

Panama's government and indigenous leaders reached a second deal Sunday to clear all remaining demonstrators from the Panamerican Highway in exchange for lower fuel prices, ending a two-week blockade that had stymied food deliveries.

The government released footage from the signing of an initial agreement in far-west Chiriqui province, where most of the Central American country's food is produced, and of a blocked section of the highway being cleared.

Angered by high prices and corruption, protesters had clogged the highway linking Panama to the rest of Central America over the past two weeks. Large trucks and banner-waving demonstrators paralysed the strategic route, making it hard for the country of 4.4 million to feed itself.

To avert the crisis, a second deal was signed later Sunday in Santiago de Veraguas, a city 250 kilometres (155 miles) northwest of Panama City, the epicentre of the negotiations and a protester stronghold.

"Many Panamanians have suffered from these stoppages," said Vice-President José Gabriel Carrizo after signing the agreement. "This is a huge government effort."

The deal establishes the fixed price of fuel for 91 and 95 octane gasoline and diesel, and is effective from July 18.

"The traffic of cars and heavy equipment in Veraguas is free," Eduardo Cortés, who participated in the demonstrations on the highway, told AFP by phone.

The proposal of US$3.25 per gallon (3.78 litres), was better than the 3.30 offered in the deal made earlier in the day with the indigenous community of the Ngäbe-Buglé Comarca in Chiriqui.

"This has not been easy, we have made progress with (reducing the cost of) the basic food basket," said Luis Sánchez, a spokesman for the organisations promoting the protests.

In Panama City, a hundred people gathered on the waterfront to demonstrate. They all wore black, in contrast with the white suits worn by lawmakers during official ceremonies.

Read more...
Fresh roadblocks as Panama protesters reject deal


Food costs are "higher than what is earned. We have a big social problem," lawyer Jaqueline Hurtado told AFP. "People are fed up and have taken to the streets to demonstrate for things to change."

Retiree Iliana Arango said: "In my 68 years of life, I am tired of seeing governments that promise, go up, steal, go down, the next one follows and here we are lacking everything, medicine, education, food."

Year-on-year inflation in Panama of 4.2 percent was recorded in May, along with an unemployment rate of about 10 percent and fuel price hikes of nearly 50 percent since January.

Despite its dollarized economy and high growth figures, the country has a high rate of social inequality.

Economic woes have led to a shortage of fuel in some parts of the country, and stalls at food markets in the capital have run out of products to sell.


– TIMES/AFP

Brazilian Amazon lost 18 trees per second in 2021

18 trees lost per second from Brazilian Amazon in 2021, according to new report. Deforestation is up 20 percent.



AERIAL VIEW SHOWING A DEFORESTED AREA OF THE AMAZON RAINFOREST SEEN DURING A FLIGHT BETWEEN MANAUS AND MANICORE, IN AMAZONAS STATE, BRAZIL, ON JUNE 6, 2022. THE WAY FOR MAN'S LUST OVER THE AMAZONIAN RICHNESS IS OPEN AT THE "NON-DESTINED PUBLIC FORESTS" OF BRAZIL, A NON-REGULATED IMMENSE AREA WHERE LAND INVADERS, MINERS AND ILLEGAL LOGGERS CAMP FREELY. | AFP/PIMENTEL MAURO


The Brazilian Amazon lost about 18 trees per second in 2021 as deforestation in the country increased by more than 20 percent, according to a satellite data-based report released Monday.

The Mapbiomas report said the country lost some 16,557 square kilometres (1.65 million hectares) of indigenous vegetation in 2021 – an area bigger than Northern Ireland.

In 2020, the area lost was 13,789 square kilometres.

Nearly 60 percent of land deforested in 2021 was in the Amazon, the world's largest tropical rainforest, the report said.

Read more...
Speaking to ambassadors, Bolsonaro again questions electoral system

"In the Amazon alone, 111.6 hectares per hour or 1.9 hectares per minute were deforested, which is equivalent to about 18 trees per second," according to Mapbiomas, a network of NGOs, universities and technology companies.

Clearing land for farming was the main driver, accounting for almost 97 percent, it said, with illegal mining also a major factor.

In the last three years, coinciding with the presidency of far-right President Jair Bolsonaro, the tree cover lost in Brazil was about 42,000 square kilometres – "almost the area of the state of Rio de Janeiro," said the report.

Read more...
Peruvian women ask Michelle Bachelet for help in face of violence

Data from the National Institute of Space Research (INPE) show that between January and June 2022, the Brazilian Amazon lost 3,988 square kilometres to deforestation.

And government statistics state that average annual Brazilian Amazon deforestation increased by 75 percent during Bolsonaro's presidency compared to a decade earlier.

Environmentalists accuse Bolsonaro of actively encouraging deforestation for economic gain and of weakening research and protection agencies.

NO PASARAN!

Spain advances bill to honour dictatorship victims

Spanish lawmakers vote Thursday on a bill seeking to honour the memory of leftwing victims of Spain's civil war and dictatorship.


Spanish lawmakers will vote Thursday on a controversial bill which seeks to rehabilitate the memory of leftwing victims of Spain's 1936-39 civil war and Francisco Franco's dictatorship.

The proposed law threatens to fuel tensions in a nation where public opinion is still divided over the legacy of the dictatorship that ended with Franco’s death in 1975.

Franco assumed power after the civil war in which his Nationalists defeated Republicans, leaving the country in ruins and mourning hundreds of thousands of dead.

While his regime honoured its own dead, it left its opponents buried in unmarked graves across the country.

Pedro Sánchez, a Socialist, has made the rehabilitation of the victims of the Franco era one of his priorities since coming to power in 2018.

In 2019 he had Franco's remains removed from a vast mausoleum near Madrid and transferred to a discreet family plot.

The so-called "Democratic Memory" law will for the first time make unearthing the mass graves a "state responsibility."

Up until now the search for the Franco-era disappeared has been carried out by voluntary associations, as was featured in Oscar-winning Spanish director Pedro Almodóvar's most recent film "Parallel Mothers."

The bill is expected to be approved by a narrow majority in Spain's lower house of parliament later Thursday.

It then goes to the Senate for final approval expected at the end of the year.

"The State must exhume the remains of the victims of the Franco dictatorship," Sánchez told parliament on Tuesday, adding "there are still 114,000 disappeared in Spain," mostly Republicans.

Only Cambodia has more forcibly disappeared people, the premier said.

The bill will also create a DNA database to help identify remains found in the mass graves, create a map of mass graves and prevent publicly-funded institutions from glorifying the dictatorship.

It will also annul the criminal convictions of opponents of the dictatorship and appoint a prosecutor who will probe human rights abuses during the civil war and dictatorship.

Previous attempts to bring Franco-era officials to justice in Spain have been blocked by an amnesty agreement signed by political leaders after Franco's death.

The agreement was seen as essential to avoid a spiral of score-settling as they tried to unite the country and steer it towards democracy.

The main opposition conservative Popular Party (PP) accuses the left of opening the wounds of the past with the bill. It has vowed to repeal the law if it returns to power after the next general election expected at the end of 2023.

14-07-2022 
by AFP / Mathieu Gorse

Putin holds talks in Tehran with leaders of Iran, Turkey

Tue, July 19, 2022 



TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Russian President Vladimir Putin held meetings Tuesday in Iran, seeking to deepen ties with regional heavyweights as part of Moscow's challenge to the United States and Europe amid its grinding campaign in Ukraine.

In only his second trip abroad since Russian tanks rolled into its neighbor in February, Putin met Iran's President Ebrahim Raisi and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on pressing issues facing the region, including the conflict in Syria and a U.N.-backed proposal to resume exports of Ukrainian grain to ease the global food crisis.

As the West heaps sanctions on Russia and the costly campaign drags on, Putin is seeking to bolster ties with Tehran, a fellow target of severe U.S. sanctions and a potential military and trade partner. In recent weeks, Russian officials visited an airfield in central Iran at least twice to review Tehran's weapons-capable drones for possible use in Ukraine, the White House has alleged.

Iran rolled out a long red carpet for Putin at Tehran’s Mehrabad airport, where Iranian Oil Minister Javad Owji greeted him warmly before he was whisked into his presidential convoy to the city.

But perhaps most crucially, the Tehran trip offers Putin a chance for a high-stakes meeting with Erdogan, who has sought to help broker talks on a peaceful settlement of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, as well as help negotiations to unblock Ukrainian grain through the Black Sea.

Turkey, a NATO member, has found itself opposite Russia in bloody conflicts in Syria and Libya. It has even sold lethal drones that Ukrainian forces have used to attack Russian troops. But Turkey hasn't imposed sanctions on the Kremlin, making it a sorely needed partner for Moscow. Grappling with runaway inflation and a rapidly depreciating currency, Turkey also relies on the Russian market.

Speaking to Erdogan at the start of their meeting, Putin thanked him for his mediation to help “move forward” a deal on Ukrainian grain exports. “Not all the issues have been resolved yet, but it's good that there has been some progress,” Putin added.

Erdogan praised what he described as Russia’s “very, very positive approach” during last week's grain talks in Istanbul. He voiced hope a deal will be made, and “the result that will emerge will have a positive impact on the whole world.”

The trip to Tehran has symbolic meaning for Putin’s domestic audience as well, showing off Russia’s international clout even as it grows increasingly isolated and plunges deeper into confrontation with the West. It comes just days after U.S. President Joe Biden’s visited Israel and Saudi Arabia — Tehran’s primary rivals.

From Jerusalem and Jeddah, Biden urged Israel and Arab countries to push back on Russian, Chinese and Iranian influence that has expanded with the perception of America’s retreat from the region.

It was a tough sell. Israel maintains good relations with Putin, a necessity given Russian presence in Syria, Israel's northeastern neighbor and frequent target of its airstrikes. Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates have declined to pump more oil beyond a plan approved by their energy alliance with Moscow.

But all the countries — despite their long-standing rivalries — could agree on drawing closer to counter Iran, which has rapidly advanced its nuclear program since former U.S. President Donald Trump abandoned Tehran's atomic accord with world powers and reimposed crushing sanctions. Talks to restore the deal have hit a deadlock.

Backed into a corner by the West and its regional rivals, the Iranian government is ramping up uranium enrichment, cracking down on dissent and grabbing headlines with optimistic, hard-line stances intended to keep the Iranian currency, the rial, from crashing. Without sanctions relief in sight, Iran's tactical partnership with Russia has become one of survival, even as Moscow appears to be undercutting Tehran in the black market oil trade.

“Iran is (the) center of dynamic diplomacy,” Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian wrote on Twitter, adding the meetings will “develop economic cooperation, focus on security of the region ... and ensure food security.”

Fadahossein Maleki, a member of the Iranian parliament's influential committee on national security and foreign policy, described Russia as Iran's “most strategic partner” on Monday. His comments belied decades of animosity stemming from Russia’s occupation of Iran during World War II — and its refusal to leave afterward.

After his arrival, Putin held talks with Raisi that followed meetings in Moscow in January and again last month in Turkmenistan. During his fifth visit to Tehran, Putin also met Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, continuing what Kremlin foreign affairs adviser Yuri Ushakov called a “trusting dialogue.”

“Our relations are developing at a good pace,” Putin said at the start of the meeting with Raisi, noting that Moscow and Tehran “strengthen their cooperation on international security and contribute significantly to the Syrian settlement.”

Raisi voiced hope that Putin's visit will help expand cooperation on regional and international issues.

According to the IRNA news agency, Raisi and Putin discussed boosting ties in energy, transportation and trade.

The focus of later trilateral talks among the presidents will be the decade-old conflict in Syria, where Iran and Russia have backed President Bashar Assad’s government, while Turkey has supported armed opposition factions. Russia intervened in the conflict in 2015, pooling efforts with Iranian forces and using its air power to shore up Assad’s fledgling military.

Ushakov said the parties will discuss efforts to encourage a political settlement, while Erdogan is expected to take up Turkey's threats of a new military offensive in northern Syria to drive away U.S.-backed Syrian Kurdish fighters from its borders. The operation is part of Turkey's plan to create a safe zone along its border with Syria that would encourage the voluntary return of Syrian refugees.

In a meeting with Erdogan, Khamenei delivered a stern warning against the planned Turkish incursion.

“Any sort of military attack in northern Syria will definitely harm Turkey, Syria and the entire region, and will benefit terrorists," Iran's top leader said, stressing the need to “bring the issue to an end through talks.”

Iran and Turkey signed preliminary agreements covering investment, diplomacy, media and business, among other fields, and pledged to triple bilateral trade, to $30 billion.

In his speech, Erdogan called for solidarity in the fight against Kurdish militant groups as well as a network led by a U.S.-based Muslim cleric whom Ankara accuses of orchestrating a failed coup in 2016.

“They are nuisances that disrupt the calm of the countries where they are present,” he said. “We need to continue to lead a struggle against them.”

Humanitarian issues in Syria have also come into focus since Russia used its veto power at the U.N. Security Council last week to restrict aid deliveries to 4.1 million people in Syria’s rebel-held northwest after six months, instead of a year.

Talks to lift a Russian blockade and get Ukraine’s grain into global markets also are on the agenda. Last week, U.N., Russian, Ukrainian and Turkish officials reached a tentative agreement on some aspects of a deal to ensure the export of 22 million tons of desperately needed grain and other agricultural products trapped in Ukraine’s Black Sea ports by the fighting.

Tuesday’s meeting between Putin and Erdogan could help clear remaining hurdles, a major step toward alleviating a food crisis that has sent prices of vital commodities like wheat and barley soaring.

___

Isachenkov reported from Moscow. Associated Press writers Isabel DeBre in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, and Suzan Fraser in Ankara, Turkey, contributed.

___

Follow AP’s coverage of fighting in Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine

Nasser Karimi And Vladimir Isachenkov, The Associated Press

Tripartite summit in Tehran will pave way for peace in Syria: Iran FM

July 19, 2022 - 

TEHRAN- Iran's Foreign Minister, Hossein Amir Abdollahian, says the purpose of a tripartite summit in Tehran on Tuesday is to help restore peace and stability to the war-torn Syria.

“The return of Syrian refugees to their homes and cities as well as facilitating establishment of peace, stability and security in Syria are among the main topics on the agenda of this tripartite summit,” the top diplomat announced on Monday.

The Iranian foreign minister remarked that “I conveyed a message from Iran’s President Ebrahim Raisi and we tried to manage the current security crisis that is brewing between Turkey and Syria” during his recent trip to Turkey and Syria.

He went on to say that “we tried to settle this crisis and allay Turkey's security concern through the political path.” 

He then alluded to Turkey's preparations to begin military operations in a 30-kilometer-deep security zone on the Syrian side of the Turkish border.

"Naturally, under the current sensitive circumstances, one of the issues on the agenda of the Tehran summit is that instead of resorting to war and witnessing the subsequent displacement of Syrian people, we can help solve this issue through political channels," Amir Abdollahian added. 

On Tuesday, Tehran hosted the seventh summit of the Astana peace talks on Syria with the participation of Vladimir Putin of Russia and Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey.

Syrian Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad was set to visit Tehran on Tuesday as well.

The Astana peace process was established in January 2017 to resolve the Syrian crisis by involving both the Syrian government and the opposition. Iran and Russia are supporters of the Syrian government, while Turkey takes sides with the opposition.

18 rounds of negotiations between the three governments have already taken place in Astana, now renamed Nur-Sultan, in Kazakhstan. 

Participants in the 18th Astana-format international conference on Syria reaffirmed their unwavering support for Syria's territorial integrity and sovereignty as well as their firm opposition to Israeli aggression and crimes in the country that is racked by civil strife.