Tag Archives: envoy
U.S. has seen evidence of Syria preparing chemical weapons in Idlib: envoy
“I am very sure that we have very, very good grounds to be making these warnings,” said Jim Jeffrey, who was named on Aug. 17 as Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s special adviser on Syria overseeing talks on a political transition in that country. “Any offensive is to us objectionable as a reckless escalation,” Jeffrey told a few reporters in his first interview on the situation in Syria since his appointment. “There is lots of evidence that chemical weapons are being prepared.” The White House has warned that the United States and its allies would respond “swiftly and vigorously” if government forces used chemical weapons in the widely expected offensive.
Kurdish militants must leave Syria, Turkey tells U.S. envoy
Turkey told the United States on Tuesday that Kurdish militants must completely abandon Syria, as violence in the rebel-held northern Syrian enclave of Idlib escalated. Turkish Defence Minister Hulusi Akar made the call during talks with visiting U.S. special representative for Syria James Jeffrey, the defense ministry said in a statement. Akar conveyed Ankara’s discomfort with the presence of Kurdish militants in the region, it added.
Netanyahu meets US envoy over Syria, Iran
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met on Sunday with a US envoy for Syria for talks on the war-ravaged country and Iran, his office said. Netanyahu discussed “the situation in Syria and the joint effort to stop Iran’s terror and aggression” with James Jeffrey, the US special representative for Syria engagement, said a statement. Ahead of the visit, the US State Department said Jeffrey, accompanied by US special envoy for Syria Joel Rayburn, would discuss “maintaining Israel’s security while countering Iran’s destabilising activity throughout the region”.
UN Syria envoy floats idea of evacuating Idlib civilians
GENEVA (AP) — Fearing a military offensive, the U.N. envoy for Syria proposed Thursday that civilians holed up in the rebel-held region of Idlib could evacuate to government areas — a move that would send many back into parts of Syria they once fled in its 7-1/2-year-old civil war.
Saudi Arabia Expels Canadian Envoy After Calls to Free Detained Human Rights Activists
UN envoy in Yemen for emergency talks on Hodeida
The UN envoy for Yemen arrived in the rebel-held capital Sanaa on Saturday for talks on the key aid port of Hodeida where rebel fighters are battling a regional coalition. Martin Griffiths is expected to propose to rebel leaders that they cede control of the Red Sea port to a UN-supervised committee to avoid further fighting with advancing government troops which are backed by Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. More than 70 percent of Yemeni imports pass through Hodeida’s docks and the fighting has raised UN fears of humanitarian catastrophe in a country already teetering on the brink of famine.
Dinner diplomacy: Netanyahu's unusual run-in with UAE envoy
WASHINGTON (AP) — Officially, their governments don't speak. The United Arab Emirates doesn't even formally recognize that Israel exists.
Philippines demands explanation as Kuwait expels envoy
Manila demanded an explanation Thursday after its ambassador to Kuwait was expelled, shocking Philippine authorities and deepening a diplomatic row over the treatment of domestic workers in the Gulf state. The two nations had been working to resolve differences sparked by the murder of a Philippine maid, whose body was found stuffed in her employer’s freezer in Kuwait earlier this year. Philippine Foreign Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano apologised, but Kuwaiti officials announced Wednesday they were expelling ambassador Renato Villa and recalling their own envoy from Manila.
Israeli envoy says Iran has recruited 80,000 Shiite fighters in Syria
(Reuters) – Israel’s envoy to the United Nations said on Thursday that Iran had recruited at least 80,000 Shiite fighters which it was training at a base just over five miles from Damascus. Holding up a map, Israeli Ambassador to the United Nations Danny Danon told the Security Council that Iran had set up a training base just over five miles from Damascus. “What you can see here is Iran’s central induction and recruitment center in Syria.
Israeli envoy says Iran has recruited 80,000 Shiite fighters in Syria
(Reuters) – Israel’s envoy to the United Nations said on Thursday that Iran had recruited at least 80,000 Shiite fighters which it was training at a base just over five miles from Damascus. Holding up a map, Israeli Ambassador to the United Nations Danny Danon told the Security Council that Iran had set up a training base just over five miles from Damascus. “What you can see here is Iran’s central induction and recruitment center in Syria.
