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April 21, 2026

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Members of Iraq's security forces stand guard on the the al-Rabia border crossing with Syria on April 20, 2026.

How Syria's border opening with Iraq redefines Turkey-Kurd balance

After years of closure, the reopening of al-Yaaroubiya crossing is redrawing Kurdish economic leverage and reinforcing Turkey’s regional strategy.

Tobias SCHWARZ / AFP via Getty Images

EU to restore Syria cooperation pact ahead of May talks: What to know

The European Union has proposed the full resumption of a decades-old cooperation agreement with Syria ahead of high-level talks next month.

Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa and Turkish Presient Recep Tayyip Erdogan at the Antalya Diplomatic Forum in Turkey April 17, 2026.

Sharaa distances Syria from Iran war, says Israel talks ongoing: What to know

Negotiations with Israel "have not reached a dead end, but they are progressing with great difficulty” Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa said at the Antalya Diplomacy Forum.

Kurdish people waving Kurdistan flags gather to celebrate Nowruz on the hill of Urkesh in the countryside of Amuda in northeastern Syria on March 18, 2026. Nowruz, meaning "new day," is an ancient festival that marks the start of spring and the new year on the vernal equinox, which usually falls on March 20 or 21. It is celebrated by more than 300 million people worldwide and has been observed for over 3,000 years across regions including the Middle East, Central Asia, the Caucasus and parts of Eastern Euro

Analysis

Is Syria’s Sharaa poised to outdo Turkey in formalizing gains for Kurds?

Damascus is making limited but tangible progress in its engagement with Syrian Kurds, even as Ankara seeks to shape the terms of any settlement.

Amberin Zaman

By Amberin Zaman

Reporting on geopolitics, minorities, human rights, culture

Latest News

US troops depart Syria, ending decade of presence in fight against ISIS

Boys along a road wave to an approaching US military mine-resistant ambush protected (MRAP) armored fighting vehicle moving in a convoy transporting Islamic State group detainees being transferred to Iraq from Syria, on the outskirts of Qahtaniyah in Syria's northeastern Hasakah province on Feb. 7, 2026.

Analysis

How the Iran war can help Syria manage Turkey and its regional rivals

This handout photograph provided by the Turkish Foreign Ministry press service shows Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan (L) meeting with Syria's Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani (R) in Damascus on Dec. 22, 2025.

Amberin Zaman

By Amberin Zaman

Reporting on geopolitics, minorities, human rights, culture

Syria reopens key crossing after 11 years, aiding Iraq's oil exports amid war

A member of the Popular Mobilization Forces patrols along a concrete wall at the Iraqi-Syrian border in Al-Qaim, west of Iraq, on Jan. 23, 2026.

In UK visit, Syria’s Sharaa doubles down on Western ties amid Iran war, refugee pressures

Sharaa, King Charles

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

An Islamic State flag flies over the custom office of Syria's Jarablus border gate as it is pictured from the Turkish town of Karkamis, in Gaziantep province, Turkey August 1, 2015. Karkamis is a Turkish town of 10,500 people that sits directly opposite the border post. Shut for more than a year, the military sealed the crossing with a breeze block wall a few months ago. Behind it, just inside Syria, the black flag of Islamic State flaps in the breeze. Karkamis lies on the northeastern edge of a rectangle o

Turkey deports 12 Islamic State-linked fighters to Finland

The move comes after European governments have largely declined to take back detained citizens with links to the terror group.

Reports: Children among the dead after Syrian rebels clash in Turkish-held Afrin

Clashes between Syrian rebel groups in the northern city of Afrin left at least two children dead Thursday.

Turkey's assault against Syrian Kurds leaves trail of misery and spin

Was a burn victim hit by white phosphorus during Turkey's invasion of Ras al-Ain in October? Whatever the reason, he and many others are still suffering.

Smoke rises from Mitiga Airport after being attacked in Tripoli, Libya February 28, 2020. REUTERS/Ahmed Elumami - RC2O9F9S4FIK

What does Libya’s ‘Syrianization’ scenario mean for key actors?

Turkey may have gotten kudos for tipping the balance in Libya, but Russian countermoves raise the prospect of Turkish collaboration with Russia in the North African country, which is not to the liking of countries that have been giving plaudits to Ankara.

ALEPPO, SYRIA - NOVEMBER 18: Russian soldiers, with Russian flag, are seen on armoured vehicle as they enter the base at the Tishrin Dam on the Euphrates, which the US troops' withdrew from, located 90 kilometres east of Aleppo in Aleppo Governorate, Syria on November 18, 2019. (Photo by Bekir Kasim/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

Russia to negotiate with Syria on more military bases: Interfax

Russia, which currently has two permanent military facilities in Syria, will reportedly hold talks with Damascus over obtaining more.

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Intel: EU renews sanctions on Syrian regime

The European Union renewed its sanctions against the government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad for another year.

Russian and Syrian forces are seen in the Nasib border crossing with Jordan in Deraa, Syria July 7, 2018.REUTERS/ Omar Sanadiki - RC1BD48D1A50

Report: Russia building new military base in northeast Syria

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported that the news coincides with tensions between Kurdish and Russian forces over the M4 highway.

Erdogan dashes hopes of Turkey-Israel reconciliation

The resumption of El Al cargo flights to Turkey does not mean that relations between Israel and Ankara have thawed.

Russian President Vladimir Putin, Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu and Syrian President Bashar al-Assad attend a meeting in Damascus, Syria January 7, 2020. Picture taken January 7, 2020. Sputnik/Aleksey Nikolskyi/Kremlin via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. - RC2IBE9TXXCM

Putin appoints third special envoy to Syria

Putin's decision to appoint a new special envoy for developing relations with Syria likely has several aims, including to balance military and diplomatic involvement in Russia's Syria policy.

A Russian Sukhoi Su-35 fighter takes off at the Russian military base of Hmeimim, located south-east of the city of Latakia in Hmeimim, Latakia Governorate, Syria, on September 26, 2019. - With military backing from Russia, President Bashar al-Assad's forces have retaken large parts of Syria from rebels and jihadists since 2015, and now control around 60 percent of the country. Russia often refers to troops it deployed in Syria as military advisers even though its forces and warplanes are also directly invo

Intel: Russian jets intercept US Navy plane over eastern Mediterranean

Two Russian fighter aircraft intercepted a US Navy patrol plane over the eastern Mediterranean.

Customers order a popular Yemeni meal known as Al-Saltah, at a restaurant in Sanaa July 3, 2013. According to the United Nations, there are approximately five million people in Yemen who are either suffering from food insecurity or are at risk of acute food insecurity caused by rising food and fuel prices and political instability. REUTERS/Mohamed al-Sayaghi (YEMEN - Tags: FOOD SOCIETY BUSINESS) - GM1E97401O501

Pandemic worsening existing food crises across the Middle East, UN agencies warn

Even before the coronavirus outbreak, nearly 110 million people across the Middle East and North Africa were undernourished.

TOPSHOT - Relatives of farmer Hamad al-Ibrahim clean his damaged land in the eastern Syrian village of Baghouz on March 13, 2020, a year after the fall of the Islamic State's (IS) caliphate. - A year after the last black flag of the Islamic State group was lowered in the Syrian village of Baghouz, traces of the jihadist group are still all around this small and remote village near the Iraqi border, where Kurdish fighters and the US-led coalition declared the IS proto-state defeated in March 2019 after a bli

Coalition airstrike kills Islamic State leader in eastern Syria, Iraq says

Mu'taz Numan 'Abd Nayif Najm al-Jaburi was killed in a coalition-led airstrike, Iraq's intelligence services said.