Middle East latest: Top diplomats from US, Arab League and Turkey discuss Syria’s transition

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Top diplomats from the United States, the Arab League and Turkey are meeting in Jordan to discuss plans and goals to assist Syria’s transition from the deposed government of Bashar Assad.

Some 12 foreign ministers and senior officials from the European Union and United Nations on Saturday gathered in the Jordanian port city of Aqaba to try to forge consensus on what new leadership in Syria should prioritize. No Syrian representatives are set to attend, however.

The collapse of the Assad family’s more than half-century of rule last week has sparked new fears of instability and turmoil in a volatile region already immersed in the Israel-Hamas conflict in Gaza and hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon despite a tenuous ceasefire.

The U.S. is also making a renewed push for an ceasefire in Gaza, where the war has plunged more than 2 million Palestinians into a severe humanitarian crisis.

Israel’s war against Hamas has killed over 44,800 Palestinians in Gaza, more than half of them women and children, according to the Gaza Health Ministry, which does not say how many were combatants. The Israeli military says it has killed over 17,000 militants, without providing evidence.

The October 2023 Hamas attack that sparked the war killed some 1,200 people in Israel, mostly civilians, and around 250 others were taken hostage. Some 100 hostages are still inside Gaza, at least a third of whom are believed to be dead.

Here’s the latest:

US Secretary of State Blinken wrapping up regional tour in Jordan

AQABA, Jordan — U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken says broad consensus exists among regional partners that Syria’s new government must be inclusive, must respect women and minority rights, reject terrorism and secure and destroy suspected Assad-era chemical weapons stockpiles.

Blinken is wrapping up a three-country regional tour in Aqaba after visiting Iraq, Turkey and Jordan once already this week.

Earlier Saturday in a meeting with U.N. Special Envoy for Syria Geir Pederson, Blinken said he expected to talk about the challenges ahead for Syria and “our determination to work together to support a Syrian-led transition where the United Nations plays a critical role, particularly when it comes to the provision of assistance, to the protection of minorities.”

Pederson agreed, saying: “What is so critical in Syria is that we see a credible and inclusive political process that brings together all communities in Syria. And the second point is that we need to make sure that state institutions do not collapse, and that we get in humanitarian assistance as quickly as possible. And if we can achieve that, perhaps there is a new opportunity for the Syrian people.”

In announcing Saturday’s meetings, the Jordanian Foreign Ministry said the ministers would “discuss ways to support a comprehensive political process led by Syrians to achieve a transitional process,” which “ensures the reconstruction of Syrian state institutions, and preserves Syria’s unity, territorial integrity, sovereignty, security, stability, and the rights of all its citizens.”