Ukraine, Syria key focus of Biden talks with G7

 

Burning buildings are seen on site after a Russian drone attack in Chernihiv region, Ukraine, Dec. 13, 2024.

WASHINGTON —

U.S. President Joe Biden met virtually with G7 leaders Friday to secure support for Kyiv’s fight against Russia’s invasion, less than six weeks before President-elect Donald Trump, a skeptic of aid to Ukraine, is set to take office.

The talks followed Washington’s $20 billion disbursement earlier this week to a new World Bank fund that will provide economic support for Ukraine. The money is part of a new $50 billion loan for Kyiv from the Group of Seven democracies that will be paid back with interest income earned from Russian sovereign assets immobilized in G7 countries.

Earlier this week Biden approved a new security assistance package for Ukraine that will provide Kyiv with additional air defense, artillery, drones, and armored vehicles — the 72nd such drawdown package announced by Washington since Russia’s invasion.

“As the president made clear, we’re going to continue to provide additional packages right up until the end of this administration,” White House National Security spokesperson John Kirby said during a news briefing Thursday.

A woman holds a torch as she stands in a dark street during partial power cuts following a Russian attack on Ukrainian energy facilities, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in central Kyiv, Ukraine, Dec. 13, 2024.

On Jan. 20, Biden will hand over power to Trump, who has been critical of using American taxpayers’ money to help Kyiv. Without providing details, Trump often boasts he can swiftly end the war — a statement that many in Europe fear would mean forcing Ukraine to capitulate.

“We are likely to see the G7 redouble support for Ukraine in part because of concerns that President Trump may reduce support,” said William Courtney, adjunct senior fellow at the RAND Corp, to VOA in an interview.

Additional sanctions on Russia appear to be in the works, Courtney told VOA.

Syria aftermath

G7 leaders also focused on fast-moving events related to the momentous transition of power in Syria following the ouster of President Bashar al-Assad.

On Thursday , the leaders said in a statement they "stand ready to support a transition process that leads to credible, inclusive, and non-sectarian governance" in Syria.

Support for the new government is conditional upon “respect for the rule of law, universal human rights, including women\’s rights, the protection of all Syrians, including religious and ethnic minorities, transparency and accountability,” the leaders’ statement said.

Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, the rebel group that toppled Assad, is a U.S.-designated foreign terrorist organization. Its leader, Abu Mohammed al-Jolani, has a $10 million bounty on his head. The U.S. and other G7 countries have signaled that HTS’ delisting from their terror list would be dependent upon how inclusive the new government would be.

FILE – Islamist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) leader Abu Mohammed al-Jolani addresses a crowd at the capital's landmark Umayyad Mosque on Dec. 8, 2024.

In recent years, Jolani has distanced himself from extremist ideology. Since the rebels’ victory, he has sought to assure his non-sectarian stance to Syria’s ethnic and religious minorities, which include Christians, Kurds, Druze and the Alawite community, a sect from which the Assad family originates.

Trump has also signaled that he wants the U.S. to stay out of the Syrian conflict. “This is not our fight," Trump said on social media in response to Assad’s ouster. "Let it play out. Do not get involved!”

It’s unclear whether a new U.S. administration would be able to maintain a hands-off approach that Trump said he wants. There are approximately 900 American troops stationed in Syria, and Washington has close ties with all of Syria’s neighbors including allies Turkey and Israel. Both are already making military maneuvers to secure their interests.

Two days after the Syrian rebels took control of Damascus on Dec. 8, Israel launched airstrikes across the country, further weakening what remains of the Assad regime’s military, once a stalwart-ally of Israel’s archnemesis, Iran. Since then, Israeli troops have advanced deeper into the U.N.-patrolled buffer zone separating the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights and Syrian territory.

FILE – Syrians look for metal and unexploded ammunition at the site of the previous evening's Israeli airstrike that targeted shipments of weapons that belonged to Syrian government forces in Qamishli, in mainly Kurdish northeastern Syria, on Dec. 10, 2024.

The United Nations said Israel’s actions violate the country’s 1974 Disengagement Agreement with Syria. The U.S. said it is in line with Israel’s right to self-defense, to avoid weapons falling into extremists’ hands amid a vacuum in power.

Meanwhile, Syrian Kurds near the northern border with Turkey have been displaced amid clashes between U.S.-backed Kurdish forces and Ankara-backed rebels. The U.S. brokered a ceasefire deal between the groups on Wednesday but it is unclear whether the fragile truce will hold.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan are currently in the region for talks, hoping to ensure a smooth transition in Damascus and making a last-ditch diplomatic push to achieve a deal to end fighting between Israel and Hamas in Gaza.

Kim Lewis contributed to this report.

 

By：VOA