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WORLD NEWSSaturday 26 September
Greece’s Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras sits during the first cabinet meeting of his new government UN-backed truce deal reached
in Athens, Friday, Sept. 25, 2015. Tsipras told his cabinet that the country can exit its debilitating for 2 front line theaters in Syria
financial crisis by 2019.
SARAH EL DEEB
(AP Photo/Thanassis Stavrakis) Associated Press
BEIRUT (AP) — A U.N.-backed truce deal has been
Tsipras pledges to end Greece crisis by 2019 reached for two key Syrian battleground theaters
that will see the transfer of thousands of Shiite and
NICHOLAS PAPHITIS He called the snap polls clude” the first review of Sunni civilians and fighters from one area to another,
Associated Press seven months into his first Greece’s progress by bail- activists and a militant cleric said Friday.
ATHENS, Greece (AP) — mandate, after hardline out inspectors. The deal will end months of fighting between Sunni in-
Greece’s newly re-elected left-wingers in his Syriza par- “That will allow the process surgents and pro-government forces, including fight-
prime minister pledged Fri- ty rebelled against a policy to go ahead speedily to ers from Lebanon’s Shiite militia group Hezbollah, and
day to fast-track negotia- U-turn that saw Greece open, as soon as possible, the besieging of civilians.
tions with international bail- signing a third international the crucial discussion on The controversial transfer will allow a group of Sunni
out creditors so the country bailout — accompanied reducing Greece’s debt, insurgents operating under a coalition called Jaish
can be in a position to get by new austerity measures. as foreseen in the (July bail- al-Fatah,or Army of Conquest, and their families safe
some much-needed debt The July agreement, which out) agreement,” he said. passage out of the Zabadani area, along the Leba-
relief. was concluded under du- Greece’s European credi- nese border.
Alexis Tsipras told his first ress as bankruptcy and tors have promised to look In exchange, 10,000 Shiites, civilians and wounded
Cabinet meeting that his isolation from the rest of Eu- again at Greece’s debt if pro-government fighters from two villages in rebel-
aim is to have steered the rope loomed, came after the country gets past its first controlled northern Idlib province will be allowed to
country out of its crisis by months of negotiations with review. Though an outright leave, said Abdullah al-Muhaysini, a Saudi militant
2019 when his four-year creditors that hammered cut in the country’s debt cleric living in Syria.
mandate ends. “This is an the economy and led to has been ruled out, Tsipras The Sunni insurgents will head from Zabadani to the
absolutely achievable tar- the imposition of strict capi- will be hoping to get relief rebel-controlled Idlib province, while the Shiites will
get, provided we dare tal controls to prevent a in the form of longer re- settle in the government-controlled suburb of Damas-
carry out major reforms bank run by worried de- payment periods and cuts cus, the head of the Britain-based Syrian Observatory
and changes,” Tsipras said, positors. in the interest rates on the for Human Rights said.
in a speech liberally punc- Tsipras pledged to respect loans. If implemented, the agreement would be another
tuated with references to Greece’s commitments for Tsipras promised action to rare example of international diplomacy successfully
speed. “We must work to further spending cuts, tax fight tax evasion and unde- brokering an end to fighting in specific areas in Syr-
re-establish, as soon as pos- hikes and reforms, and said clared employment, and ia. The U.N. previously brokered a cease-fire in 2014
sible, financial stability, and his first, urgent priority will be reform public administra- to end over two years of siege on the central city of
restore normality to the to launch talks on reduc- tion, while seeking a good Homs. But the deal would also underline concerns
banking system.” ing the country’s crippling compromise on creditor- about forced demographic changes in the Syrian
Tsipras, 41, heads a left- debt burden and boost its demanded labor and pen- civil war, now in its fifth year, which has already dis-
led coalition with the small battered banks. sion reforms. placed nearly half of Syria’s pre-war population.
right-wing populist party, Tsipras said implementing He also told cabinet mem- The opposition has accused Syrian President Bashar
the Independent Greeks, “without delay” the coun- bers to spend less time giv- Assad’s government of working with its allies, includ-
following last Sunday’s try’s bailout agreement ing interviews and more ing Iran, on moving populations around to empty
election. in order to “speedily con- time at work.q government-held areas of Sunnis. The insurgents
against Assad are largely Sunnis, including foreign
fighters from around the region and elsewhere who
joined the war.
Lebanese Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah said
Iran played a key mediating role in the U.N.-brokered
deal during negotiations held in Turkey, representing
the Syrian government at the table. He said decisions
were, however, made by the government.
Nasrallah, in remarks aired Friday on Hezbollah’s Al-
Manar TV, said the deal will not force people to relo-
cate but that civilians who want to leave Zabadani
with the militants are free to do so if they want. He
added that the deal allows for humanitarian supplies
and goods to reach the two villages by road for those
remaining behind.
U.N. spokeswoman Jessy Chahine told The Associ-
ated Press on Friday that the U.N. facilitated contacts
between the different parties but would not elabo-
rate on details of the deal.q
