France mobilizes the Europeans to confront Turkey, Trump reduces Iranian pressure on al-Kazemi

On Thursday morning, Arab newspapers reported on the fires raging in the regions of Syria, in addition to the French-Turkish tension, and the partial American withdrawal from Iraq.

Al-Sharq al-Awsat: Syrian anger over the delay of the Russian "fireman"

The Arab newspapers published this morning on the Syrian issue dealt with several topics, including the fires raging in a number of governorates, and in this context Al-Sharq Al-Awsat newspaper said: “Anger appeared in Damascus due to Russia’s delay in intervening to extinguish fires that devour large areas in central and western Syria.”

The director of the government's "Civil Defense" organization, Major General Saeed Awad, said, "These fires have no parallel for decades," noting that "cooperation with the armed forces has had a greater role in controlling many fires." But he pointed out that the organization "has not received offers from friendly countries, such as Russia, to help extinguish the fires."

Fires have been devouring, since days, large areas of forests and wooded areas in central and western Syria, while the firefighting teams and the Syrian army are making unremitting efforts to surround them and prevent them from reaching homes.

Yesterday, an Iranian plane carrying about 40 tons of water joined the Syrian army's helicopters, which are participating for the first time in extinguishing the large fires in rugged mountainous areas, according to the official news agency (SANA).

During the past few days, small fires broke out in separate areas in the geographically intertwined countryside of Hama and Latakia, which soon turned into huge fires, which contributed to the high temperature and wind speed to increase their spread in large areas. During the past few days, state television has broadcast scenes showing the raging fires in forests and woods, which have turned large areas of trees to ashes.

Al-Arab: France is gathering in Corsica to confront Turkey in the eastern Mediterranean

Regarding the French-Turkish tension, Al-Arab newspaper said: “French President Emmanuel Macron is leading Thursday a summit of southern European Union countries on the French island of Corsica, which is expected to end with setting a unified strategy to avoid the aggravation of the crisis between Turkey and Greece in the eastern Mediterranean, in preparation for the European Union summit to be held in This September, which includes among its options the imposition of wide-ranging economic sanctions on Ankara. "

Although the European Union tends to resolve the dispute between Turkey and Greece over the right to explore for gas in the disputed areas in the Eastern Mediterranean by peaceful means, the successive Turkish escalation signals reduce these opportunities and enhance the chances of imposing sanctions.

The European Union had earlier given Turkey a choice between stopping its provocations or facing sanctions, but Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan confirmed Tuesday his country's "determination" to move forward with exploration activities, saying, "We will not back down on our rights."

The French president, who is very committed to this file, will discuss the situation with the prime ministers of Italy, Giuseppe Conte, Spain's Pedro Sanchez, Greece, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, Portugal, Antonio Costa, Malta, Robert Abela, and the Cypriot President, Nicos Anastasiades.

The Elysee Palace said that the aim is "to advance on the path of consensus on the relationship of the European Union with Turkey, in preparation especially for the European summit on September 24 and 25, which will be devoted" to this purpose in Brussels.

Observers believe that Paris, which has tense relations with Turkey in several files such as Syria and Libya, is seeking, through the Corsica summit, to mobilize a united European front against the German reservation to impose European sanctions on

Al-Arab: A deliberate US withdrawal from Iraq would secure the forces and ease pressure on Al-Kazemi

Regarding Iraq, Al-Arab newspaper said: “The United States announced, on Wednesday, its decision to reduce the number of its forces in Iraq from more than five thousand soldiers to three thousand only, this September.

This came, according to what US media reported, according to General Kenneth McKinsey, commander of the US Central Command in the Middle East.

This would be the largest reduction of US forces in Iraq since 2016, and it will be implemented in a much faster timeframe than was reported just weeks ago.

To the extent that the decision is related to a broader goal previously set by the Trump administration and related to reducing the US military presence in specific places in the world, withdrawing forces from Iraq comes closer to the process of rearranging the status of those forces by reducing their numbers and confining them to their deployment in specific highly fortified sites.

The issue of the US military presence on Iraqi lands does not concern Baghdad alone, but also Tehran, which sees the withdrawal of those forces as a victory for it in the struggle for influence it is waging in the region, and therefore it has worked to disturb its comfort by using its affiliated militias that are active in Iraq.

The various sources unanimously agree that Washington is not about to radically end the US military presence in Iraq, because maintaining a minimum level of that presence is vital for the United States to closely monitor Iranian moves in Iraq and Syria, and it is a strategic goal that Washington has been working on for years and is not about to abandon about him.

Observers link the new US decision to the election campaign of President Donald Trump, who previously promised to "end America's wars abroad," but he also agrees with an urgent Iraqi need.

If this decision is linked to the US presidential elections that will be held next November, it may play a decisive role in tipping the Iraqi government during the heated debate in which Iran uses the card of "occupying American forces" to diminish the sovereignty of Iraq and put pressure on Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kazemi to submit to its policies.

T/S

ANHA