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August 15, 2026

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Russian President Vladimir Putin greets Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa at the Grand Kremlin Palace, Moscow, Oct. 15, 2025.

Analysis

Beyond bases: Russia’s foothold in Syria shrinks even as ties endure

Syria's relations with Russia have entered a new phase with a deal reorganizing Moscow’s military presence, and leaving the door open to continued economic relations and influence.

Samuel Wendel

By Samuel Wendel

In Washington, DC, reporting on regional business and tech

Colombia's new president, Abelardo de la Espriella, delivers a speech at the Pichincha Battalion after being sworn in, in Cali, Colombia, on Aug. 7, 2026.

Syria lodges UN complaint against Colombia’s recognition of Israeli sovereignty over Golan

Bogota’s move marked a foreign policy shift under new right-wing President Abelardo de la Espriella, reversing Petro-era policies that strained ties with Israel.

Bashar Al Assad

Syrian court sentences Bashar al-Assad, brother to death for war crimes

Ousted President Bashar al-Assad and his younger brother Maher al-Assad were both sentenced to death in absentia for war crimes along with several other defendants.

Latest News

New deal reduces Russia’s military presence in Syria: What to know

A Syrian rebel fighter looks on as he stands at an inspection checkpoint for incoming vehicles before a Russian flag and Russian soldiers behind manning the entrance of the Russian-leased Syrian military base of Hmeimim in Latakia province in western Syria on Dec. 29, 2024.

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

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

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

A general view shows people attending a candle-lit vigil at the Balamand Monastery in Koura, near the north Lebanese city of Tripoli, to call for the release of bishops kidnapped in northern Syria two months ago, June 22, 2013. Greek Orthodox Patriarch John Yazigi led the candle-lit vigil on Saturday for Greek Orthodox archbishop Paul Yazigi and Syriac Orthodox archbishop Yohanna Ibrahim, appealing to their kidnappers to free them and urging Syrian security forces to do more to win their release. REUTERS/Om

New Information Indicates Kidnapped Syrian Bishops Still Alive

The two Syrian bishops kidnapped in April are still alive, according to new information, and Turkish authorities may be working to secure their release.

Syrian refugees work to help produce concrete blocks in Bekaa Valley, Lebanon September 21, 2013. Female Syrian refugees of the Masari family, who fled from the Aleppo countryside in Syria a year ago, worked alongside their husbands in the concrete producing factory owned by a Lebanese man, according to the workers. Each Syrian couple produces 700 concrete blocks a day and earns a combined wage of $50, the refugees said. Picture taken September 21, 2013. REUTERS/Jamal Saidi (LEBANON - Tags: BUSINESS CONS

In Lebanon, Syrian Refugees Put Political Differences Aside

Syrian refugees in Lebanon try to avoid the divisions that are fueling the war at home.

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani addresses the 68th United Nations General Assembly at UN headquarters in New York, September 24, 2013. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid (UNITED STATES - Tags: POLITICS) - RTX13YDW

Obama, Rouhani Stress Diplomacy But Do Not Meet

The presidents of the US and Iran suggest they can resolve their differences peacefully in dueling speeches at the UN General Assembly.

Fighters from Iraq's Islamist Shi'ite militias pose for pictures before departing to Syria from Baghdad, June 11, 2013. Syria is splintering the Middle East along a divide between the two main denominations of Islam, becoming a battlefield in a proxy war between Assad's main regional ally, Shi'ite Iran, and his Sunni enemies in Turkey and the Gulf Arab states. As the Syrian war grinds into its third year, sectarian killings are increasing, while hardline Sunni clerics are declaring Jihad or holy war on the

Tracing Syrian Conflict Back to Iraq’s Civil War

The relationship between Iraq and Syria has always been close, yet contradictory, with some arguing that the economic and political results of the Iraqi civil war led to the outbreak of Syria’s current conflict.

ATTENTION EDITORS - VISUAL COVERAGE OF SCENES OF INJURY OR DEATH
Blood covers the walls and furniture of a restaurant after a suicide bombing, at al-Basel Sport city in Aleppo, August 22, 2013. A suicide bomber wearing an explosive belt blew himself up in the crowded restaurant during a private party, killing at least seven people according to Syria's national news agency SANA. Picture taken August 22, 2013. REUTERS/George Ourfalian (SYRIA - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST CONFLICT BUSINESS) TEMPLATE OUT - RTX1

Al-Qaeda's Latest Target: Syria's Civilian Activists

Opposition activists are being targeted by al-Qaeda fighters in rebel-held areas in northern Syria.

Lebanese army soldiers are deployed on their armoured vehicles in Beirut's southern suburbs September 23, 2013. Lebanese security personnel were deployed today in the southern suburbs of Beirut, part of a move to take over the checkpoints set up by Hezbollah after recent car bombings targeted the area, according to the local media. REUTERS/Sharif Karim (LEBANON - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST) - RTX13WWO

Nasrallah Warns Turkey, Gulf on Syria

Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah speaks on Syria and the region.

Turkish soldiers salute during a ceremony marking the 91st anniversary of Victory Day at the mausoleum of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, founder of modern Turkey, in Ankara August 30, 2013. REUTERS/Umit Bektas (TURKEY - Tags: POLITICS MILITARY) - RTX131DP

Turkey Should Postpone Bill On Sending Troops Abroad

It is not time for Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan to ask the parliament to pass a new bill authorizing sending troops abroad, including Syria.

Turkish soldiers patrol on the Turkish-Syrian border in the town of Ceylanpinar in Sanliurfa province July 19, 2013. Kurdish militias have sought to consolidate their grip in northern Syria after exploiting the chaos of the country's civil war over the past year by seizing control of districts as President Bashar al-Assad's forces focused elsewhere. The clashes have reduced to the odd burst of gunfire, but days of heavy exchanges last month sent stray shells and bullets crashing onto the Turkish side. The T

Impressions From Turkey’s Syrian Frontier

A visit to Turkey’s border with Syria provides context for the complexity of Ankara’s choices in dealing with the Syria war.

An officer of the Syrian Kurdish Democratic Union Party (PYD) stands guard near the Syrian-Iraq border October 31, 2012. Iraqi Kurdish President Masoud Barzani warned Kurds in Syria against being sucked into the "fires of discord," urging them to preserve Kurdish unity as tensions between rival factions threaten to spillover into violence. Syria's Kurds see the war ravaging their country as an unprecedented opportunity to gain the kind of freedoms enjoyed by their ethnic kin in neighbouring Iraq, where they

Syrian Opposition, Kurd Agreement Irrelevant Without PYD

The Syrian National Coalition will need to reach an agreement with the powerful Democratic Union Party if it truly wants to win Kurdish support.

Russia's President Vladimir Putin (2nd L) shakes hands with his Iranian counterpart Hassan Rouhani (L) during a meeting at the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit in Bishkek, September 13, 2013. Rouhani said on Friday that he wanted a swift resolution to a dispute over Tehran's nuclear programme, which Western states fear is aimed at developing nuclear weapons. REUTERS/Mikhail Klimentyev/RIA Novosti/Kremlin (KYRGYZSTAN - Tags: POLITICS) ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD

Rouhani Heads to New York, Offers Help On Syria Talks

Al-Monitor’s analysis and coverage of what to expect at the UN General Assembly this week.

Kurdish Parties Build Alliance To Curb Barzani’s Power in Syria

On the eve of elections in the Kurdistan region of Iraq, the Kurdish question in Turkey, Iraq, and Syria becomes even more entangled.

Policemen secure a police compound in Ankara September 20, 2013. The police compound was struck by three rockets on Friday, Interior Minister Muammer Guler said. Two buildings belonging to the national police directorate in the district of Dikmen were hit, but no one was hurt, Guler said. A third rocket fell into the grounds. REUTERS/Umit Bektas (TURKEY - Tags: POLITICS CRIME LAW) - RTX13STZ

Attack on Ankara Police Station Leads to New Questions for AKP

An attack on police headquarters further deepens mutual suspicions between anti and pro-AKP Turks.