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From the Liveblog of
Sunday, January 18, 2026
From the Liveblog of
Sunday, January 18, 2026
US envoy Barrack says Syria truce a ‘pivotal inflection point’
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US Ambassador to Turkey and Special Envoy for Syria Tom Barrack speaks during a joint press conference following his meeting with Lebanon's president at the Presidential Palace in Baabda on August 18, 2025. (ANWAR AMRO/ AFP)
US envoy Tom Barrack welcomes a truce announced today between Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa and Kurdish leader Mazloum Abdi after government forces advanced in Kurdish-held areas of the country’s north and east.
“This agreement and ceasefire represent a pivotal inflection point, where former adversaries embrace partnership over division,” Barrack, who is also the US ambassador to Turkey, writes on X. The envoy met Sharaa in Damascus earlier today and Abdi a day earlier in Iraq’s Erbil.
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