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August 8, 2026

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Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shibani meets with his Turkish counterpart, Hakan Fidan, in Ankara, Aug. 6, 2026.

Syria's Shibani updates Turkey on Kurds' integration, slams Israel during Ankara visit

The visit highlighted Ankara's growing influence in post-Assad Syria, with the two neighbors expanding strategic coordination on security and regional affairs.

A Syrian Air passenger jet lands at Aleppo airport on March 18, 2025, the first aircraft to land after it was shut during the offensive that toppled president Bashar al-Assad. "The Syrian Civil Aviation Authority announced the resumption of operations at Aleppo International Airport starting Tuesday, March 18," the official news agency SANA reported. The reopening of the airport in the northern city will see the arrival of domestic and international flights, the authority said, adding that it welcomes all a

Explainer

Syria launching Moscow, Medina flights as aviation momentum builds

Damascus and Aleppo are adding a growing number of international flights in 2026, with activity in Syria's airspace already doubling so far this year amid fallout from the US-Israel-Iran war.

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday appointed veteran diplomat Dmitry Dogadkin, pictured here, as Russia's Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to Syria, succeeding Alexander Yefimov.

Russia names Dmitry Dogadkin new ambassador to Syria amid thaw: What to know

The appointment of the new ambassador, who previously served as Russia’s envoy to Qatar, comes as Moscow recalibrates its ties with the new Syrian authorities to maintain its strategic foothold in the Mediterranean country.

Latest News

Iraqi Kurdish president’s meeting with Syria’s Sharaa signals shift in SDF dynamics

Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa meets with Iraqi Kurdistan Region President Nechirvan Barzani in Damascus, Aug. 3, 2026. IKRPresident/X

On eighth visit, Israel’s Netanyahu seeks to repair ties with Trump

Trump Netanyahu

Amberin Zaman

Chief Correspondent

Reporting on geopolitics, minorities, human rights, culture

Jared Szuba

Defense and Security Correspondent

In Washington, DC, reporting on defense, national security, military

Beatrice Farhat

Associate Editor (Lebanon)

In Beirut, reporting on regional news, culture, conflict

Danny Makki

In London, reporting on Syrian politics and culture

Ali Hashem

In Doha, reporting on Iran, regional politics, conflict

Cagatay Cebe

In Istanbul, reporting on security and counterterrorism

What will be the cost of Aleppo victory for Damascus?

Larger-than-life posters of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad adorn the few walls still standing in the Old City of Aleppo, alongside Syrian flags that have reappeared. What will be the political invoice for the destruction?

What prompted Russia’s shift in stance on Syria opposition?

Given Russia's policy on Syria in 2016 and its willingness to negotiate with Syrian opposition groups, it seems that Russian President Vladimir Putin favors a mediating role in the conflict.

A Lebanese Army soldier stand guard inside a cafe where a suicide bomb attack took place in Jabal Mohsen, Tripoli January 11, 2015. At least seven people were killed after a cafe was attacked by a suicide bomber in the Lebanese city of Tripoli on Saturday. The al Qaeda-linked Nusra Front claimed responsibility for the attack on a Twitter account describing it as revenge for the Sunnis in Syria and Lebanon. REUTERS/Hasan Shaaban (LEBANON - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST MILITARY) - RTR4KW9O

Why Lebanon could be spared from recent terrorism bloodshed

Lebanon has been spared from the terrorism violence that has struck other neighboring countries of Syria over the past few weeks.

A Kurdish fighter from the People's Protection Units (YPG), operating alongside with the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), sits inside a vehicle as she works on a laptop in the town of Hisha after the SDF took control of the area from Islamic State militants, in the northern Raqqa countryside, Syria November 14, 2016. REUTERS/Rodi Said - RTX2TNGJ

Turkey, US take Syrian Kurdish battle to Twittersphere

CENTCOM retweeting Syrian Kurds' denial of affiliation with the Kurdistan Workers Party has opened a new front in the battle between Turkey and the United States over US support for Syrian Kurdish forces in the fight against the Islamic State.

TOPSHOT - A general view shows Syrian pro-government forces walking in the ancient Umayyad mosque in the old city of Aleppo on December 13, 2016, after they captured the area.
After weeks of heavy fighting, regime forces were poised to take full control of Aleppo, dealing the biggest blow to Syria's rebellion in more than five years of civil war.

/ AFP / George OURFALIAN (Photo credit should read GEORGE OURFALIAN/AFP/Getty Images)

Return to Aleppo: A squandered legacy

Historic Aleppo was the center of many empires over the centuries but now resembles a city plundered once again by Mongols.

A Kurdish fighter stands with his weapons near a fluttering Kurdish flag in the Ghwairan neighborhood of Hasaka, Syria, August 23, 2016.REUTERS/Rodi Said - RTX2MP4F

Ankara riled by US push for Kurdish seat at Syria talks

US statements that Syrian Kurds should be included in talks on Syria's future have further agitated Turkish leaders, who are already upset about Washington's coalition with the People's Protection Units.

People walk past a picture of Syria's President Bashar al-Assad at Bab Sharqi entrance, near the Jobar district of Damascus, Syria, January 5, 2017. REUTERS/Omar Sanadiki - RTX2XN2D

Two sides of Syria: Damascus and Aleppo

While Aleppo lies in ruins, life in wartime Damascus remains vibrant, but not untouched.

An Assyrian Church is seen damaged, due to what activists said was a bomb placed by Islamic State fighters, in tel Nusri, May 21, 2015. Picture taken May 21, 2015. REUTERS/Rodi Said - RTX1E3X3

Assyrian family shares tale of capture, displacement

A family of Assyrians, one of Syria’s Christian sects, tells Al-Monitor their story of surviving imprisonment by the Islamic State only to lose their son this year to the fighting in Raqqa.

A female member of the Sinjar Resistance Units (YBS), a militia affiliated with the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), carries a sniper and an AK-47 rifle in the village of Umm al-Dhiban, northern Iraq, April 29, 2016. They share little more than an enemy and struggle to communicate on the battlefield, but together two relatively obscure groups have opened up a new front against Islamic State militants in a remote corner of Iraq. The unlikely alliance between the Sinjar Resistance Units, an offshoot of a lefti

Who's fighting whom in Iraq's Sinjar?

After KRG Prime Minister Nechirvan Barzani warned that the KRG may resort to force to expel the Kurdistan Workers Party from Sinjar, tensions rose in the region.

AMMAN, JORDAN- NOVEMBER 7: Jordan's King Abdullah II is welcomed by the chairman of the joint chiefs staff Mahmoud Freihat, upon his arrival for the State opening of the Parliament on November 7, 2016, in Amman, Jordan. King Abdullah addressed the recently elected 18th Jordanian Lower House of Parliament with the appointed Higher House of the Senate with the attendence of royal family members and the government. ( Photo by Jordan Pix/ Getty Images)

Jordanians question timing, messages of top military brass

The Dec. 30 BBC interview with Lt. Gen. Mahmoud Freihat, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, raised eyebrows in Amman and prompted local commentators to speculate about the purpose and meaning of Freihat’s statements.

Sports champion provides artificial limbs near Aleppo

In the thick of the Syrian war, an athlete channels his skills to help amputees receive prosthetics.

Foreign ministers, Sergei Lavrov (C) of Russia, Mevlut Cavusoglu (R) of Turkey and Mohammad Javad Zarif of Iran, attend a news conference in Moscow, Russia, December 20, 2016. REUTERS/Maxim Shemetov - RTX2VUYG

Is Iran following Russia’s lead in Syria?

Russian diplomatic blitz on Syria includes building bridges between Iran and Turkey.