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    Spotlight | France, Russia, Syria, Turkey, United States
    French security diplomacy in top gear for Syria's great game

    French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot (centre), his German counterpart Annalena Baerbock (left) and the new Syrian leader Ahmed al-Sharaa in Damascus on 3 January 2025.
    French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot (centre), his German counterpart Annalena Baerbock (left) and the new Syrian leader Ahmed al-Sharaa in Damascus on 3 January 2025. © Sana/AFP

    From secret visits to high-level videoconferences, French security diplomacy has been finding its way among the major players ahead of a major Syria conference in Paris on 13 February. While Russia is trying to get back into the country, some Gulf nations are readying an alternative to Ahmed al-Sharaa's rule.

    LogoSubscribers only Back-door diplomacy

    China
    Anti-corruption campaign in Chinese military takes root at local level

    Chinese President Xi Jinping reviews troops during his inspection of the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) garrison stationed in the Macao Special Administrative Region in southern China on 20 December 2024.
    Chinese President Xi Jinping reviews troops during his inspection of the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) garrison stationed in the Macao Special Administrative Region in southern China on 20 December 2024. © Li Gang/Xinhua News Agency/Newscom/MaxPPP

    At the Guoanbu's instigation, President Xi Jinping has launched a fresh corruption crackdown to quash dissident voices still present within the armed forces. He is relying on the loyalty and enthusiasm of local Chinese Communist Party units to drive his bottom-up approach.

    LogoSubscribers only Defence

    France, Russia
    Baring Vostok case: French banker's battle continues

    French banker Philippe Delpal, a senior executive in Russian private equity firm Baring Vostok arrives at a court hearing in Moscow on 14 July, 2021.
    French banker Philippe Delpal, a senior executive in Russian private equity firm Baring Vostok arrives at a court hearing in Moscow on 14 July, 2021. © Natalia Kolesnikova/AFP

    A former manager of the Russian private equity firm, Philippe Delpal, who was handed a suspended prison sentence in 2019 after being accused of financial fraud, returned to France in 2022 following, it now appears, the involvement of the French president and intelligence services.

    LogoSubscribers only Back-door diplomacy

    France, Saudi Arabia
    Riyadh does not share French hopes for Rafale deal

    Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman receiving French President Emmanuel Macron at Al-Yamamah Palace, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, 2 December 2024.
    Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman receiving French President Emmanuel Macron at Al-Yamamah Palace, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, 2 December 2024. © Bandar Aljaloud/EPA/MaxPPP

    Donald Trump's return to the White House could see F-35s sold to Saudi Arabia, while France thought negotiations to sell the kingdom Dassault Rafales were well advanced. The French side was convinced late last year that the deal was almost a sure thing.

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