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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

People inspect the damage inside one of two mosques hit by explosions in Lebanon's northern city of Tripoli, August 23, 2013. Twin explosions outside two mosques killed at least 27 people and wounded hundreds in apparently coordinated attacks in the northern Lebanese city of Tripoli on Friday, a senior health official and witnesses said. REUTERS/Mohamed Azakir (LEBANON - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST) - RTX12U8I

Who's Behind Attempts to Spread Chaos in Lebanon?

According to a senior former Lebanese security official, jihadists are carrying out a series of attacks in Lebanon to draw the country into a civil war.

A Free Syrian Army fighter goes down a ladder near Aleppo's historical citadel in the old city of Aleppo August 23, 2013. REUTERS/Muzaffar Salman (SYRIA - Tags: CONFLICT POLITICS) - RTX12UCK

Turkey's Foreign Policy: Slip-Up or Success?

While Turkey boasts foreign policy successes in the Middle East, these measures could be more accurately described as blunders.

ATTENTION EDITORS - VISUAL COVERAGE OF SCENES OF DEATH AND INJURY

A man inspects bodies of victims found on Friday and were killed by what activists say was a chemical weapons attack, in the Ain Tarma neighbourhood of Damascus August 23, 2013. REUTERS/Bassam Khabieh (SYRIAPOLITICS CONFLICT - Tags: CONFLICT CIVIL UNREST POLITICS) TEMPLATE OUT - RTX12UGS

Israel Urged to Speak Out Against Chemical Weapons Use in Syria

A philosopher, a poet, a writer and a Nazi hunter call for Israel to take a firm stance against the use of chemical weapons in Syria.

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and Israel's Justice Minister Tzipi Livni shake hands before their meeting in Jerusalem August 16, 2013.
REUTERS/Sebastian Scheiner/Pool (JERUSALEM - Tags: POLITICS) - RTX12NEC

UN Leader's Visit to Israel Shows Waning US Influence in Mideast

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon's visit to the region and his meetings with Israeli leaders show how the West is losing control over Middle East events.

Protesters, who are against Egyptian President Mohamed Mursi, hold a poster featuring the head of Egypt's armed forces General Abdel Fattah al-Sisi in Tahrir Square in Cairo July 3, 2013. Egypt's armed forces overthrew elected Islamist President Mohamed Mursi on Wednesday and announced a political transition with the support of a wide range of political, religious and youth leaders. A statement published in Mursi's name on his official Facebook page after al-Sisi's speech said the measures announced amounte

Is Hypernationalism The New Islamism?

Islamism in the Middle East may have met a match in the hypernationalism taking hold in Egypt and Syria.

A woman cries at the site of an explosion in Beirut's southern suburbs, August 15, 2013. Rescue workers in the southern Beirut district hit by an explosion on Thursday have found nine bodies, a witness at the scene said. The powerful blast engulfed several cars in flames and also trapped people in a nearby building. REUTERS/Mahmoud Kheir (LEBANON - Tags: CIVIL UNREST POLITICS TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY) - RTX12MIN

Lebanon Caught in Middle Of Iranian-Saudi 'Cold War'

Lebanon’s unique position in the Arab Levant means it has been inevitably caught up in the back and forth of Iran and Saudi Arabia’s proxy war in the region.

Syrian refugees, who fled violence in Syria, are seen at a new refugee camp on the outskirts of the city of Arbil, in Iraq's Kurdistan region, August 20, 2013. The government of Iraqi Kurdistan has set an entry quota of 3,000 refugees a day to cope with an influx of Kurds fleeing the civil war in Syria, but there are signs many more are still coming in, aid agencies said on Tuesday. REUTERS/Thaier al-Sudani (IRAQ - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST SOCIETY IMMIGRATION) - RTX12RQY

Iraqi Kurdistan Struggles With Influx of Syrian Refugees

Like other countries in the region struggling to take in the huge influx of Syrian refugees fleeing the war at home, the Kurdistan Region of Iraq has not received the international support needed to do so.

Supporters of Lebanon's Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah carry his picture and wave Hezbollah and Lebanese flags as they listen to him via a screen during a rally on the 7th anniversary of the end of Hezbollah's 2006 war with Israel, in Aita al-Shaab village in southern Lebanon, August 16, 2013. Nasrallah renewed his commitment on Friday to the battle in Syria, where the Shi'ite militant group has been fighting alongside President Bashar al-Assad's forces, saying he was ready to go himself if needed

Lebanon Risks Becoming More Like Iraq Than Syria

The nature of back-and-forth Shiite-Sunni fighting in Lebanon more closely resembles the conflict raging in Iraq than the one in neighboring Syria.

Smoke rises after what activists said was shelling by forces loyal to Syria's President Bashar al-Assad in the village of Dourit, in Latakia countryside August 17, 2013. Picture taken August 17, 2013. REUTERS/Khattab Abdulaa (SYRIA - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY) - RTX12PMS

Syria's Alawites Torn Between Regime, Opposition

While many analysts inside and outside Syria seem to assume Syrian Alawites support President Bashar al-Assad’s Baathist regime, the reality on the ground is much more nuanced.

Lebanon's Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah addresses his supporters via a screen during a rally on the 7th anniversary of the end of Hezbollah's 2006 war with Israel, in Aita al-Shaab village in southern Lebanon, August 16, 2013. Nasrallah renewed his commitment on Friday to the battle in Syria, where the Shi'ite militant group has been fighting alongside President Bashar al-Assad's forces, saying he was ready to go himself if needed. REUTERS/Ali Hashisho (LEBANON - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST AN

Nasrallah Threatens to Double Hezbollah Forces in Syria

Responding to the Aug. 15. bombing of a Hezbollah neighborhood in Beirut, which killed 22 people, Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah threatened to escalate the war with the "takfiris" in Syria.

Lebanese army soldiers, military policemen, security forces and Hezbollah members inspect the site of a car bomb that occurred on Thursday in Beirut's southern suburbs, August 16, 2013. The death toll from a car bomb which ripped through the southern Beirut stronghold of Lebanon's militant group Hezbollah rose on Friday to 24, and the government said it was investigating whether the blast was a suicide attack. REUTERS/Sharif Karim (LEBANON - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY MILITARY) - RT

Lebanese Officials Speculate On Israeli Role in Beirut Bombing

After the blast that killed more than 20 people in Beirut’s southern suburbs on Aug. 15, several Lebanese politicians have accused Israel of being involved.

Israeli police officers stand guard atop a wall overlooking Damascus Gate in Jerusalem's Old City, during the holy month of Ramadan July 26, 2013. REUTERS/Baz Ratner (JERUSALEM - Tags: POLITICS RELIGION CRIME LAW) - RTX11ZWT

Israel, West Bank Quiet For Now Amid Region in Flames

Israel is surrounding itself with more fences and tightening security measures in anticipation of more violence on its borders as regional unrest continues.