U.S., Israel, Syria issue joint statement after security talks in Paris

China

U.S., Israel, Syria issue joint statement after security talks in Paris

2026-01-07 14:52 Last Updated At：18:47

The U.S. Department of State issued on Tuesday a joint statement on the trilateral meeting between the U.S., Israel and Syria on security arrangement after conclusion of the meeting in Paris.

The statement said that under the auspices of the United States, senior Israeli and Syrian officials met in Paris, with the discussions focused on respect for Syria's sovereignty and stability, Israel's security, and prosperity for both countries.

In the statement, Israel and Syria reaffirmed their commitment to strive toward achieving lasting security and stability arrangements for both countries. Both sides have decided to establish a joint fusion mechanism -- a dedicated communication cell -- to facilitate immediate and ongoing coordination on their intelligence sharing, military de-escalation, diplomatic engagement, and commercial opportunities under the supervision of the United States. The mechanism is intended to handle disputes swiftly and avoid misunderstanding.

Israel's Prime Minister's Office confirmed on the same day that Israel and Syria had resumed talks with the support of the United States.

China launches Shenzhou-23 manned spaceship

China's Shenzhou-23 crewed spaceship blasted off from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in the country's northwest on Sunday, sending three astronauts to its orbiting space station.

The spaceship, atop a Long March-2F carrier rocket, lifted off from the launch site at 23:08 Beijing Time (15:08 GMT).

The crew members consist of mission commander Zhu Yangzhu, and fellow astronauts Zhang Zhiyuan and Lai Ka-ying, who is also the first astronaut from China's Hong Kong Special Administrative Region.

In another notable first, one of the crew members is set to undertake a year-long stay aboard the space station, double the usual duration of previous Shenzhou missions.

After entering orbit, the Shenzhou-23 spaceship will perform a fast automated rendezvous and docking with the radial port of the space station core module Tianhe, forming a combination of three modules and three spacecraft.

Shenzhou-23 marks the 40th flight of China's manned spaceflight program and the seventh manned flight mission since the Tiangong space station entered its application and development phase in late 2022.