Israeli and Syrian officials will meet in the Azerbaijani capital of Baku on Thursday to discuss containing hostilities in the mostly Druze area of Sweida in south Syria, senior diplomats have told The National.
The move comes after an offensive by Damascus that has drawn in Sunni militants and risked regional instability.
Axios first reported that Tom Barrack, the US envoy to Syria, had arranged the meeting, without specifying the venue. However, officials from Turkey, the most powerful backer of the post-Bashar Al Assad government in Syria, will also be present in Baku, along with US officials, the two diplomats said.
Israel conducted an aerial campaign last week that killed hundreds of Syrian military personnel, curbing a government offensive on Sweida. The city's Druze leadership has largely opposed attempts by Damascus to deploy security forces to take control of the area. The central government is dominated by Hayat Tahrir Al Sham, a splinter group of Al Qaeda that ousted the former regime in December.
“The immediate goal will be to stop destruction of Syrian assets by Israel as part of a deconfliction deal,” one diplomat said. “In return the Israelis will want [Syria's President Ahmad] Al Shara to leave the Druze alone, for now.”
A third source in Jordan said the meeting was arranged shortly before a deadline set by Israel for all Syrian government forces to withdraw from the governorate of Sweida. Israel said it would resume the aerial campaign otherwise.
Jordan's state television said the kingdom on Wednesday sent an aid convoy to southern Syria. But the authorities did not reveal its size or say whether any of the aid has reached besieged Sweida.
Syrian and Israeli officials conducted a face-to-face meeting in Baku last month, arranged by Turkey and attended by senior officials from the two sides. It addressed southern Syria and touched on the potential for a broader peace deal, the sources said.
Syrian security forces stand by as a UN convoy evacuating families from Sweida moves through a buffer zone in Busra Al Harir, in Syria's southern Daraa province. AFP
“The Israelis made it clear that they will not allow Al Shara free hand in Sweida. It seems that he thought that he had enough US and Turkish support to ignore them,” one of the sources said.
Damascus deployed thousands of militants near the border with Jordan as part of an offensive by the government to control Sweida. Israel has accused Damascus of breaching demilitarisation deals that forbade the Syrian government from posting the military in the south.
Although the thrust of the offensive on Sweida subsided at the weekend, government forces were on Wednesday still attacking rural Druze areas next to the city of Shahba, near Sweida city, the provincial capital.
A comparison of sending Dh20,000 from the UAE using two different routes at the same time - the first direct from a UAE bank to a bank in Germany, and the second from the same UAE bank via an online platform to Germany - found key differences in cost and speed. The transfers were both initiated on January 30.
Route 1: bank transfer
The UAE bank charged Dh152.25 for the Dh20,000 transfer. On top of that, their exchange rate margin added a difference of around Dh415, compared with the mid-market rate.
Total cost: Dh567.25 - around 2.9 per cent of the total amount
Total received: €4,670.30
Route 2: online platform
The UAE bank’s charge for sending Dh20,000 to a UK dirham-denominated account was Dh2.10. The exchange rate margin cost was Dh60, plus a Dh12 fee.
Total cost: Dh74.10, around 0.4 per cent of the transaction
Total received: €4,756
The UAE bank transfer was far quicker – around two to three working days, while the online platform took around four to five days, but was considerably cheaper. In the online platform transfer, the funds were also exposed to currency risk during the period it took for them to arrive.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Investors: Palestine’s Ibtikar Fund, Abu Dhabi’s Gothams and angel investors
Key figures in the life of the fort
Sheikh Dhiyab bin Isa (ruled 1761-1793) Built Qasr Al Hosn as a watchtower to guard over the only freshwater well on Abu Dhabi island.
Sheikh Shakhbut bin Dhiyab (ruled 1793-1816) Expanded the tower into a small fort and transferred his ruling place of residence from Liwa Oasis to the fort on the island.
Sheikh Tahnoon bin Shakhbut (ruled 1818-1833) Expanded Qasr Al Hosn further as Abu Dhabi grew from a small village of palm huts to a town of more than 5,000 inhabitants.
Sheikh Khalifa bin Shakhbut (ruled 1833-1845) Repaired and fortified the fort.
Sheikh Saeed bin Tahnoon (ruled 1845-1855) Turned Qasr Al Hosn into a strong two-storied structure.
Sheikh Zayed bin Khalifa (ruled 1855-1909) Expanded Qasr Al Hosn further to reflect the emirate's increasing prominence.
Sheikh Shakhbut bin Sultan (ruled 1928-1966) Renovated and enlarged Qasr Al Hosn, adding a decorative arch and two new villas.
Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan (ruled 1966-2004) Moved the royal residence to Al Manhal palace and kept his diwan at Qasr Al Hosn.
Family: Wife, Pom; and daughters Kate, 18, and Ciara, 13, who attend Jumeirah English Speaking School (JESS)
Favourite book or author: “That’s a really difficult question. I’m a big fan of Donna Tartt, The Secret History. I’d recommend that, go and have a read of that.”
Dream: “It would be to continue to have fun and to work with really interesting people, which I have been very fortunate to do for a lot of my life. I just enjoy working with very smart, fun people.”
Strait of Hormuz
Fujairah is a crucial hub for fuel storage and is just outside the Strait of Hormuz, a vital shipping route linking Middle East oil producers to markets in Asia, Europe, North America and beyond.
The strait is 33 km wide at its narrowest point, but the shipping lane is just three km wide in either direction. Almost a fifth of oil consumed across the world passes through the strait.
Iran has repeatedly threatened to close the strait, a move that would risk inviting geopolitical and economic turmoil.
Last month, Iran issued a new warning that it would block the strait, if it was prevented from using the waterway following a US decision to end exemptions from sanctions for major Iranian oil importers.
