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August 16, 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

SONY DSC

Syrian Heavy Metal Bands Rock On During War

With the situation in Syria deteriorating daily, Syria’s rock and heavy metal artists continue to make music despite pressure from more than just their government.

Members of the Free Syrian Army gather as gunfire is heard between them and the armed Kurds of The Kurdish Democratic Union Party (PYD) in the northern Syrian town of Ras al-Ain, November 25, 2012. Iran said Turkey's plans to deploy Patriot defensive missiles near its border with Syria would add to the region's problems, as fears grow of the Syrian civil war spilling across frontiers. REUTERS/Amr Abdallah Dalsh (TURKEY - Tags: POLITICS CONFLICT) - RTR3AV5G

Kurdish Jihadists Fight Kurds in Syria

Some young Iraqi Kurdish men are being lured by al-Qaeda's call for jihad in Syria, even if it puts them into combat with their Kurdish brethren.

An Israeli Postal Service employee shows a man how to adjust a gas mask at a distribution point at a shopping mall in the West Bank Jewish settlement of Maale Adumim near Jerusalem August 26, 2013. Thousands of Israelis lined up for gas masks at nationwide distribution centers or phoned in orders fearing a deadly chemical weapons attack in Syria may wind up ensnaring their own nation in conflict, officials and analysts said on Monday. REUTERS/Baz Ratner (WEST BANK - Tags: POLITICS MILITARY CIVIL UNREST) -

Israel Must Take Clear Stand on Syria

An operation against Syria carries the potential for escalation that could lead to Armageddon, yet the United States must make it clear: Using weapons of mass destruction is not an option.

An Israeli soldier inspects a building after it was destroyed during an Iraqi Scud missile attack last night January 26, 1991. At least one person was killed and 69 wounded. Reuters/Ulli Michel /landov BEST QUALITY AVAILABLE - RTR2P2QB

Israel Should Be Part Of Coalition Against Syria

Israel has a moral obligation to be part of the international coalition being formed against the Assad regime, both as a concerned neighbor and as part of the international community.

Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov (R) and U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry speak during a joint news conference after their meeting in Moscow, May 7, 2013. The U.S. secretary of state sought Russian help in ending Syria's civil war on Tuesday, telling President Vladimir Putin in Moscow that common interest in a stable Middle East could bridge divisions among the big powers. REUTERS/Sergei Karpukhin (RUSSIA - Tags: POLITICS CONFLICT TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY) - RTXZE2I

US-Russia Diplomacy Could Be Casualty of Attack on Syria

A US attack on Syria may undermine the prospects for a Geneva II peace conference and worsen already strained ties between Washington and Moscow.

Iranian President Hassan Rowhani (L) and Oman's Sultan Qaboos bin Said (C-R) review the honour guard during the latter's welcoming ceremony at Tehran's Saadabad Palace on August 25, 2013. The Iranian authorities have announced that Sultan Qaboos of Oman, the only Gulf leader to maintain good relations with Tehran, arrived in Iran for a focus on economic issues and diplomacy visit. AFP PHOTO/BEHROUZ MEHRI (Photo credit should read BEHROUZ MEHRI/AFP/Getty Images)

Sultan Qaboos, UN's Feltman Test Diplomacy with Iran

Sultan Qaboos of Oman and UN Under Secretary-General for Political Affairs Jeffrey Feltman create diplomatic flurry in Tehran.

Members of the Free Syrian Army react as they fire a home-made rocket towards forces loyal to the Syrian regime in Deir al-Zor, June 16, 2013. Picture taken June 16, 2013. REUTERS/Khalil Ashawi (SYRIA - Tags: CONFLICT) - RTX10QLQ

US Attack on Syria Will Achieve Nothing

US attack on Syria will backfire on the Obama administration and Israel, awaken nationalism within the Syrian people and strengthen President Bashar al-Assad.

Israeli mounted policemen guard as Israeli-Arab protesters wave Palestinian flags during a demonstration to show their solidarity with Bedouin citizens, in the Israeli-Arab town of Umm el-Fahm August 1, 2013. Hundreds demonstrated on Thursday against an Israeli cabinet plan to relocate some 30,000 Bedouin citizens who live in unrecognized villages in Israel's southern Negev desert and relocate them to towns built by the government. Clashes erupted at the demonstration as police prevented the protesters from

Syria's Tragedy IsA Warning to Israel

There are lessons for Israel in the Syria war.

A boy who survived from what activists say is a gas attack cries as he takes shelter inside a mosque in the Duma neighbourhood of Damascus August 21, 2013. Syrian activists accused President Bashar al-Assad's forces of launching a gas attack that killed nearly 500 people on Wednesday, in what would, if confirmed, be by far the worst reported use of chemical arms in the two-year-old civil war. The Syrian armed forces strongly denied using chemical weapons. Syrian state television said the accusations were fa

Reports of Syria Chemical Attack Split Iraqis

The alleged chemical attack in Syria has revealed a sectarian rift in Iraq, with some Sunnis accusing Syria’s Alawite regime, while some Shiites blame the massacre on the opposition.

The burnt interior of Kevork Church is pictured after clashes between Free Syrian Army fighters and forces loyal to Syria's President Bashar al-Assad, at the al-Midan area in Aleppo October 30, 2012. REUTERS/George Ourfalian (SYRIA - Tags: CONFLICT CIVIL UNREST POLITICS) - RTR39RY3

Aleppo Christians Fear Iraq-Style Ethnic Cleansing

Many Christians in Aleppo are fleeing, while others are taking up arms alongside the regime to defend their way of life.

United Nations (U.N.) vehicles transport a team of U.N. chemical weapons experts to the scene of a poison gas attack outside the Syrian capital last week, in Damascus August 26, 2013. The experts dressed in blue U.N. body armour, left in a six-car convoy, according to a Reuters witness, and were accompanied by security forces and an ambulance. They said they were headed to the rebel-held outskirts of Damascus, known as Eastern Ghouta, where activists say rockets loaded with poison gas killed hundreds of peo

Five Game Changers in Syria

What can prolong or shorten the Syria conflict?

Lebanon's Hezbollah supporters wave Palestinian and Hezbollah flags during a demonstration, organised by Lebanese and Palestinian factions, against Israel's military operation in Gaza, in front of the U.N. headquarters in Beirut November 17, 2012. Israeli aircraft bombed Hamas government buildings in Gaza on Saturday, including the prime minister's office, after Israel's cabinet authorised the mobilisation of up to 75,000 reservists, preparing for a possible ground invasion. REUTERS/Jamal Saidi (LEBANON - T

Hezbollah-Hamas Relations 'Good' Despite Beirut Bombing Accusations

Sources close to Hezbollah claim ties with Hamas remain on relatively good terms despite disagreements and accusations that Hamas was involved in bombing a Hezbollah stronghold in southern Beirut.