Syria updates: Top diplomats meet to discuss Syria's future

The UN's special envoy for Syria, Geir Pedersen, has urged the international community to help maintain institutions in Syria following the ouster of the country's longtime leader, Bashar Assad.

"We need to make sure that state institutions do not collapse, and that we get in humanitarian assistance as quickly as possible," Pedersen said as he met US Secretary of State Antony Blinken in Jordan, where top Arab, Turkish, EU and US diplomats are holding talks on Syria's future.

Pedersen also called for a "credible and inclusive" political process to form the next Syrian government. 

Blinken said that the United Nations "plays a critical role" in humanitarian assistance and protecting minorities in Syria.

Israeli warplanes carried out some 40 airstrikes overnight on former military posts in the countryside around Damascus, the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said on Saturday.

"Israeli strikes destroyed a scientific institute" and other associated military facilities in Barzeh, in northern Damascus, and targeted a "military airport" in the area surrounding the capital, the monitor said.

In addition, the Israeli military also hit "Scud ballistic missile warehouses" and launchers in the Qalamun area 90 kilometers (56 miles) north of Damascus, as well as "rockets, depots and tunnels under the mountain," according to the Observatory.

The group said the strikes were carried out "as part of destroying what is left of the future Syrian army's capabilities."

Israel did not immediately comment on the reports. Since longtime Syrian leader Bashar Assad was ousted by a rebel alliance on December 8, Israel has struck several military sites across the country.

It has also seized a UN-patrolled buffer zone on the Syrian Golan Heights, a move that has been internationally condemned.

UN chief Antonio Guterres on Thursday expressed concern over "extensive violations" of Syrian sovereignty and the Israeli strikes in the country, his spokesperson said.
 

 A Russian cargo plane left Russia's Hemeimeem air base in the Syrian city of Latakia for Libya on Saturday, with more departures expected in the days to come, Reuters news agency reported, citing Syrian sources.

The air base has reportedly seen increased activity, with several aircraft landing, helicopters flying within the base and trucks driving around the compound.

On Friday, satellite images showed military equipment being moved about.

The activity comes after the overthrow of Syrian President Bashar Assad, a longtime ally of Moscow whom Russia has given military support since 2015 amid Syria's civil war.

Russia has said it hopes to maintain its two military bases in Syria — that in Latakia and a naval base in the port city of Tartus — despite Assad's ouster, saying it is pursuing dialogue to this effect with the rebel group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) that orchestrated his downfall.

However, all the Russian naval ships docked in Tartus were reported by a US official earlier this week to have left the port.

International diplomats will meet in Aqaba, Jordan, on Saturday to discuss the future of Syria — with that country itself not being represented at the talks.

According to Jordanian sources, the summit will be attended by the foreign ministers of Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Lebanon, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Qatar, who will also meet with the foreign ministers of Turkey and the US.

EU top diplomat Kaja Kallas and the UN special envoy for Syria, Geir Pedersen, are also set to take part in talks.

The Jordanian Foreign Ministry said in a statement that the talks will explore ways to support Syria during a transitional phase following the fall of longtime dictator Bashar Assad.

Turkey will reopen its embassy in the Syrian capital, Damascus, on Saturday, the Turkish news agency Anadolu reported, citing Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan.

The embassy has been shuttered since 2012 amid the fraught security situation caused by Syria's civil war.

Turkey is considered to be a highly influential actor in the neighboring country since Syrian leader Bashar Assad was overthrown by an Islamist-led rebel alliance after 24 years in power.

tj/zc (Reuters, AFP, AP, dpa)