Kirkuk tops Turkey's list of ambitions, and Corona tightens its grip on Europe

Today, the Arab newspapers discussed the situation in Syria, in addition to the Turkish ambitions in Iraq, and the spread of the Corona virus.

Asharq al-Awsat: Chinese-Russian campaign to lift sanctions on Damascus

The Arab newspapers issued this morning dealt with the Syrian status quo and several issues, most notably the issue of sanctions against the Syrian government. In this context, Al-Sharq Al-Awsat newspaper said: "China and Russia have led a campaign at the United Nations to lift Western sanctions on a number of countries, including Syria, to give priority to fighting Corona virus.

Russia, China and six other countries relied on the call of the United Nations’ Secretary-General Antonio Guterres for a "comprehensive cease-fire" in Syria and other conflict arenas in the world to devote themselves to fighting the pandemic, and representatives of the signatory countries, including Venezuela, Syria, North Korea and Cuba subject to Western sanctions, stressed the need for " Not to politicize such a pandemic.”

On the other hand, a Western official told Asharq Al-Awsat that "there is no executive authority for this message on Western countries because American sanctions are imposed by the Treasury Department, and the Europeans are imposed by the Ministerial Council."

The official spoke about Western claims to Russia and China "by pressing Damascus to stop the ceasefire and facilitating the arrival of aid to Idlib to combat (Corona) instead of raising the issue at the United Nations."

Al-Arab: Turkey places the "state" of Kirkuk at the top of its list of ambitions in Iraq

On the Iraqi issue, Al-Arab newspaper said: “Turkey shows an uncharacteristic“ generosity ”and an exceptional“ volunteering ”to“ help ”the people of Kirkuk governorate in northern Iraq in any emergency they face, putting it under the headings such as“ good neighborhood, human solidarity and religious brotherhood ”. Which is denied by most Iraqis, including the people of the province itself, considering that Ankara's ambitions in their oil-rich province are behind its clear focus on it.

Turkey announced that it had provided a few thousand gags to the Health Directorate in Iraqi Kirkuk "on the initiative of its (new) ambassador in Baghdad, Fatih Yildiz, within the framework of its efforts to support Iraq in its fight against the Corona virus."

It appears that the appointment of Yildiz himself as Turkish ambassador to Iraq came recently in the framework of the inauguration of Ankara for a new stage of work to extend influence in the neighboring country open to external influences, based on the current state of weakness in Iran, and may lead to a decline in its influence in the country.

Observers of the Iraqi issue believe that Kirkuk’s great oil wealth is what drives Turkey to enter the conflict arena over the province that the Kurds of Iraq are demanding to annex to their region, while the Iraqi central government is determined to keep it outside.

Al-Bayan: The Libyan army takes control of the border with Tunisia

In Libya, Al-Bayan newspaper said: “The Libyan National Army imposed full control over the northwestern region on the Tunisian border, while its forces entered the cities of Gemayel, Rikdalin, Al-Asa, Zaltan, and Bukamash, all the way to Ras Jdeir border crossing, imposing a siege on the coastal city of Zuwara from its western, eastern and southern sides and entered into negotiations with notables and officials, with the aim of entering it peacefully.

Al-Bayan learned from well-informed sources that Zuwara militia, which controls the city and the Ras Jdeir crossing, left their positions at the crossing, which appeared to be free of all armed appearances, but refused to obey the call of notables to abandon their positions inside the city and surrender their weapons.

Asharq al-Awsat: The pandemic tightens its grip on Europe despite the optimism of «World Health»

Regarding the spread of the Corona virus, Al-Sharq Al-Awsat newspaper said: "The Corona pandemic (Covid 19) tightened its grip on Europe, killing thousands of people, destroying its health systems and crippling its economies.

While confirmed infected cases worldwide exceeded 500,000, and deaths 23,000, as Iran, Italy and Spain remained among the most affected by the pandemic, but the European Health Organization’s Director of the World Health Organization, Hans Klug, said yesterday that “although the situation is still very disturbing, we are beginning to see encouraging signs »of a slowing outbreak of the virus in Europe. He explained that the increase in the number of cases in Italy, which recorded more than 7,500 deaths, seems to be slowing, "but it is too early to say that the pandemic reached its peak in this country."

In contrast to this optimism, Spain is suffering from the outcome of traumatic infections and deaths, after it was ranked the second most affected country by China, with more than 4000 deaths, while France and Britain witnessed a jump in the daily death rate, and the first announced 365 deaths in 24 hours, among them a boy at sixteen, while the second recorded the highest daily toll with 115 deaths compared to the previous day.

Meanwhile, attention is turning to the United States, where 70,000 cases of corona have been recorded, including more than 1,000 deaths, and New York has become a "epicenter" of the pandemic in the country, as it topped the list of US states in terms of the number of deaths, and recorded about half of the total number of cases.

J.O