A senior US delegation has made progress in its Syria talks with Turkey, a US official said, as a Senate committee on Thursday advanced David Satterfield's nomination as the next US ambassador to Ankara.
The US special representative for Syrian engagement, James Jeffrey, and special envoy for Syria, Joel Rayburn, ended a three-day visit to Turkey on Thursday.
They met senior Turkish officials including presidential spokesman Ibrahim Kalin, Defence Minister Hulusi Akar and Deputy Foreign Minister Sedat Onal.
A State Department official told The National that "the discussions were positive and productive".
Talks “focused on how we could advance issues of mutual concern in Syria, to include addressing Turkey’s legitimate security concerns, promoting stability and security in northern Syria as the US military draws down its presence".
Both countries are seeking to establish a safe zone in Northern Syria and in area under the control of Kurdish forces.
While no agreement was announced on Thursday, the official said discussions will continue.
Nicholas Heras, senior fellow at the Centre for New American Security, said that the policy gap between the two parties remains wide.
“The US team has a tall task in trying to convince President Recep Tayyip Erdogan that a token Turkish force in Syria satisfies his desire to look tough against the Kurdistan Workers' Party, while reassuring the Syrian Democratic Forces that it is not committing suicide by allowing the Turks such force,” Mr Heras said.
“Neither the Turks nor the SDF trust each other and they view the current situation as a zero-sum competition.”
Aaron Stein, director of the Middle East at the Foreign Policy Research Institute, was not optimistic about a safe zone agreement in the near future.
“The US is proposing a plan with a token Turkish presence to placate Ankara and to preserve the maximum pressure policy placed on Iran and the Assad government,” Mr Stein said.
“Turkey is proposing it takes over a zone with a token American presence to put maximum pressure on the SDF."
He said these positions were not compatible and so far neither party has made necessary concessions.
“Ankara has shown no willingness to entertain anything other than its vision for Syria," Mr Stein said.
"The same goes for the US, which is bending over backwards to try and figure out a way to get some Turks into the zone, but can't stomach Turks actually taking over the north-east."
The negotiations could gain impetus as Washington draws nearer to sending an ambassador to Ankara.
The Senate foreign relations committee voted favourably on the nomination of David Satterfield as the next ambassador.
The Senate will meet for a full vote in the next few weeks and the nomination is expected to pass.
At his hearing last month, Mr Satterfield warned Turkey against buying an S-400 Russian defence missile system.
"Turkey must choose – does it want to remain a critical partner in the most successful military alliance in history, or does it want to risk the security of that partnership by making such reckless decisions that undermine our alliance?” he said.
US national security adviser John Bolton also discussed the issue with Mr Kalın on Tuesday.
Turkish media alluded to a visit by US President Donald Trump to Turkey in July but a White House official did not confirm it.
The Senate committee also voted to advance David Schenker’s nomination as assistant secretary for Near East affairs at the State Department.
Mr Schenker served in the administration of George W Bush. He was nominated more than a year ago but Democrat Senator Tim Kaine delayed his nomination to try to obtain a legal memo from the White House on its cruise missile strikes in Syria.
The Senate will soon take a full vote on Mr Schenker’s nomination and he is expected to be confirmed.
If you go
Flying
Despite the extreme distance, flying to Fairbanks is relatively simple, requiring just one transfer in Seattle, which can be reached directly from Dubai with Emirates for Dh6,800 return.
Touring
Gondwana Ecotours’ seven-day Polar Bear Adventure starts in Fairbanks in central Alaska before visiting Kaktovik and Utqiarvik on the North Slope. Polar bear viewing is highly likely in Kaktovik, with up to five two-hour boat tours included. Prices start from Dh11,500 per person, with all local flights, meals and accommodation included; gondwanaecotours.com
THE BIO: Martin Van Almsick
Hometown: Cologne, Germany
Family: Wife Hanan Ahmed and their three children, Marrah (23), Tibijan (19), Amon (13)
Favourite dessert: Umm Ali with dark camel milk chocolate flakes
Favourite hobby: Football
Breakfast routine: a tall glass of camel milk
UK-EU trade at a glance
EU fishing vessels guaranteed access to UK waters for 12 years
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Youth experience scheme to work, study or volunteer in UK and EU countries
Smoother border management with use of e-gates
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
A timeline of the Historical Dictionary of the Arabic Language
- 2018: Formal work begins
- November 2021: First 17 volumes launched
- November 2022: Additional 19 volumes released
- October 2023: Another 31 volumes released
- November 2024: All 127 volumes completed
Roll of honour 2019-2020
Dubai Rugby Sevens
Winners: Dubai Hurricanes
Runners up: Bahrain
West Asia Premiership
Winners: Bahrain
Runners up: UAE Premiership
UAE Premiership
}Winners: Dubai Exiles
Runners up: Dubai Hurricanes
UAE Division One
Winners: Abu Dhabi Saracens
Runners up: Dubai Hurricanes II
UAE Division Two
Winners: Barrelhouse
Runners up: RAK Rugby
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Europe's top EV producers
- Norway (63% of cars registered in 2021)
- Iceland (33%)
- Netherlands (20%)
- Sweden (19%)
- Austria (14%)
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- Denmark (13%)
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Source: VCOe
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Power: 218hp (Cooper and Aceman), 313hp (Countryman)
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The biog
Favourite book: Animal Farm by George Orwell
Favourite music: Classical
Hobbies: Reading and writing
David Haye record
Total fights: 32
Wins: 28
Wins by KO: 26
Losses: 4
MWTC
Tickets start from Dh100 for adults and are now on sale at www.ticketmaster.ae and Virgin Megastores across the UAE. Three-day and travel packages are also available at 20 per cent discount.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The Pope's itinerary
Sunday, February 3, 2019 - Rome to Abu Dhabi
1pm: departure by plane from Rome / Fiumicino to Abu Dhabi
10pm: arrival at Abu Dhabi Presidential Airport
Monday, February 4
12pm: welcome ceremony at the main entrance of the Presidential Palace
12.20pm: visit Abu Dhabi Crown Prince at Presidential Palace
5pm: private meeting with Muslim Council of Elders at Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque
6.10pm: Inter-religious in the Founder's Memorial
Tuesday, February 5 - Abu Dhabi to Rome
9.15am: private visit to undisclosed cathedral
10.30am: public mass at Zayed Sports City – with a homily by Pope Francis
12.40pm: farewell at Abu Dhabi Presidential Airport
1pm: departure by plane to Rome
5pm: arrival at the Rome / Ciampino International Airport
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How to report a beggar
Abu Dhabi – Call 999 or 8002626 (Aman Service)
Dubai – Call 800243
Sharjah – Call 065632222
Ras Al Khaimah - Call 072053372
Ajman – Call 067401616
Umm Al Quwain – Call 999
Fujairah - Call 092051100 or 092224411
MATCH INFO
What: Brazil v South Korea
When: Tonight, 5.30pm
Where: Mohamed bin Zayed Stadium, Abu Dhabi
Tickets: www.ticketmaster.ae
Globalization and its Discontents Revisited
Joseph E. Stiglitz
W. W. Norton & Company
Despacito's dominance in numbers
Released: 2017
Peak chart position: No.1 in more than 47 countries, including the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia and Lebanon
Views: 5.3 billion on YouTube
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Sole survivors
- Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
- George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
- Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
- Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.