The essentials
• New attempt to elect a president in Lebanon. The Lebanese Parliament must meet on Thursday to agree on a President of the Republic in a country deprived of a head of state for more than two years, in the grip of a serious economic crisis. Analysts, however, doubt that the deputies will be able to agree.
• Berlin wants to ease EU sanctions against Syria. According to diplomatic sources, Germany has sent a request for a meeting of European foreign ministers at the end of the month. The EU imposed a series of sanctions targeting the former regime, its supporters, as well as certain sectors of the economy.
• Start of withdrawal in Lebanon. US envoy Amos Hochstein, visiting Lebanon, announced that Israeli forces began their withdrawal on Monday from the border town of Naqoura, in the far south of the country.
• Last lap for Antony Blinkenwho will meet on Thursday in Rome with his European counterparts on Syria. This will probably be the last foreign trip for the Blinken-Biden duo before the inauguration of Donald Trump.
• Northern Syria torn between pro-Turks and Syrian Kurdish forces. Fighting continues between Kurdish forces, supported by the West, and pro-Turkish Syrian groups, supported by Ankara. Recep Tayyip Erdogan threatens to “take the necessary measures” in the event of the division of the country.
• Discussions on a truce in Gaza continue. This was assured on Tuesday by Qatar, which plays the role of mediator between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas.
