Putin offers cooperation to Syrian leader, backs efforts to stabilize country

Putin offers cooperation to Syrian leader, backs efforts to stabilize country
Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow, Russia, Thursday, March 20, 2025. (AP)
Short Url
Updated 20 March 2025
Follow

Putin offers cooperation to Syrian leader, backs efforts to stabilize country

Putin offers cooperation to Syrian leader, backs efforts to stabilize country
  • Russia, which has two strategically important military bases in Syria, was one of the main supporters of former President Bashar Assad

MOSCOW: Russian President Vladimir Putin has sent a message to Syria’s interim President Ahmed Al-Sharaa supporting efforts to stabilize the situation in the country and saying Russia is ready to engage in “practical cooperation,” Russian state news agency TASS reported on Thursday.
Putin confirmed “Russia’s continuing readiness to develop practical cooperation with the Syrian leadership on the whole range of issues on the bilateral agenda in order to strengthen traditionally friendly Russian-Syrian relations,” it quoted Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov as saying.
Syria has been rocked by a wave of sectarian killings. The Kremlin
said
earlier this month it wanted to see a united and “friendly” Syria because instability there could affect the whole of the Middle East.
Russia, which has two strategically important military bases in Syria, was one of the main supporters of former President Bashar Assad, who fled to Russia after he was toppled in December.


Lebanon fighting ‘terror financing’, president tells US

Lebanon fighting ‘terror financing’, president tells US
Updated 58 min ago
Follow

Lebanon fighting ‘terror financing’, president tells US

Lebanon fighting ‘terror financing’, president tells US
  • President Aoun called on Sunday for “pressure on Israel to stop its ongoing attacks”
  • Since January 2025, Iran’s Revolutionary Guards have “transferred over $1 billion” to Hezbollah

BEIRUT: Lebanon’s President Joseph Aoun told US officials on Sunday his country was tackling money laundering and the financing of terrorism, days after Washington imposed sanctions on three Hezbollah members.
The trio were accused of money laundering to fund Lebanon’s Hezbollah militant group, designated a terrorist organization by the United States and other Western powers.
The US delegation’s visit to Beirut, headed by senior director for counterterrorism Sebastian Gorka, came as Washington works to cut off Iran-backed Hezbollah’s funding and Lebanon’s government tries to disarm it.
The group was severely weakened in its most recent war with Israel, which was halted by a November 2024 ceasefire.
“Lebanon strictly applies the measures adopted to prevent money laundering, smuggling, or its use in financing terrorism, and severely punishes financial crimes of all kinds,” Aoun said he had told the delegation.
On Thursday, the US imposed sanctions on three Hezbollah members allegedly involved in the transfer of tens of millions of dollars from Iran, the group’s main sponsor.
Part of the funding was via money exchange businesses that operate in cash, said a US Treasury statement.
Since January 2025, Iran’s Revolutionary Guards have “transferred over $1 billion” to Hezbollah, “mostly through money exchange companies,” it added.
“Lebanon has an opportunity to be free, prosperous and secure — but that can only happen if Hezbollah is fully disarmed and cut off from Iran’s funding and control,” deputy director for counter-terrorism John Hurley said Thursday.
Hurley later posted on X that he, Aoun and Gorka had “discussed ways in which we can partner together to stop the flow of money from Iran to Hezbollah and create a safer and more prosperous Lebanon.”
Israel on Sunday carried out new strikes in south Lebanon, killing two people according to the health ministry, putting the toll from Israeli strikes since Saturday at five.
Aoun called on Sunday for “pressure on Israel to stop its ongoing attacks.”