Syria Conflict

Russia explores way to draw UAE, Saudi Arabia to its Syria policies

As relations with Turkey stall, Moscow seeks ways to engage with the Saudis and Emiratis to have them back in the Syrian game.

Saudi Arabia

Idlib and the collapse of Erdogan’s foreign policy

Gambling on Russia to secure results in Syria turns out to be Ankara’s biggest miscalculation

Syria

Pompeo calls for Idlib cease-fire

The US secretary of state calls for an Idlib cease-fire as the UN and aid groups warn the exodus marks the largest humanitarian crisis in the nine-year Syrian war.

Syria

Intel: US leans on Turkey despite tensions

The top US military commander in Europe told Congress today that Turkey remains a key ally despite the Donald Trump administration’s decision to boot the NATO partner from the F-35 program after it took delivery of the Russian S-400 air defense system last summer.

Syria

Real estate market booms as wave of displaced flock into Syria’s al-Bab

The city of al-Bab in Aleppo’s northeastern countryside is welcoming thousands of displaced persons who are fleeing the fighting in Idlib and western Aleppo and searching for housing.

Syria

Can Ankara’s sudden change of heart on NATO save the day in Idlib?

Ankara’s abrupt U-turn to reembrace NATO appears driven by conjunctural necessity to balance Russia in Idlib and Libya rather than a new realization of structural dependency between Turkey and NATO.

Syria

Idlib exposes Erdogan's untenable policies

Turkey’s predicament in Idlib has laid bare its weaknesses and the longstanding inconsistencies in its foreign and security policy as never before, boding adverse repercussions for the government, both at home and abroad.

Syria

Damascus brushes off Ankara's threats as Assad's forces make gains in Aleppo

Syrian forces have expelled opposition factions 12 miles from the vicinity of the city of Aleppo, opening the highway between Aleppo and Damascus at a time when Ankara is stepping up its rhetoric and threatening to launch a military attack.

Syria

Will Manbij fighters heed the call to return home?

The Manbij Military Council has called on rebel fighters from Manbij to desert their militias and return to their cities and villages.

Syria

SDF avoids fight with Trump over budget cut

The Trump administration's proposed 2021 budget would diminish the SDF's ability to effectively fight IS, but the coalition is unlikely to protest the steep cuts out of fear of angering Trump.

Syria

Intel: What's behind Erdogan's latest threat of imminent attack in Syria

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan told the parliament yesterday that an operation against Syrian government forces in the rebel-held province of Idlib was “a matter of moments” after talks between Turkish officials and their Russian counterparts in Moscow failed to deliver “the desired result.”

Syria

Syrian crossings reopen, freeing up flow of people, goods

The closed crossings that have separated Turkish-affiliated forces in Syria from those of the Kurds have reopened, allowing for trade and travel in those areas for the first time in months.

Syria