What does Donald Trump have to do with Iran and Russia’s insistence that rebel fighters be evacuated to Idleb exclusively, even though areas of the Damascus countryside under opposition control are much closer? Walid Bunni explains
Foreign minister says agreement will call for all gunmen to leave the city, adding any armed group that refuses to leave will be treated as ‘terrorists’
Does the fall of the ISIS-held town of Dabiq to Western-backed forces signal the end of the radical Islamist group, and could its legacy live on following its possible demise?
Late Cuban president will remain a model for those seeking independence and liberation from yoke of colonialism, says Assad
Trump symbolically and practically has given a green light to finish off Aleppo city, and he has become, along with Obama, partners with Putin in the most horrific stage the city has endured in its long history, writes Abdel Wahab Bedarkhan
The push by Assad and his allies to achieve decisive victories before the end of Obama’s term, and the beginning of an unpredictable Trump presidency, could explain the brutality which they are employing against Aleppo, the Damascus countryside, and the eastern and western Ghoutas
Damascus has rejected a proposal from Moscow to host a broad conference for the Syrian opposition with “Russia’s guarantees” aiming to form an expanded opposition coalition ahead of possible peace negotiations in Geneva
If Trump’s framework – partnerships and not hostility – finds a path to be implemented, then his policy in the Syrian issue will be better than that of his predecessor Obama, who gave up his role and delivered the issue to Russia, writes Fayez Sara
Where will the next domino fall? Perhaps France? Will the French left give up Hollande to stave off political extinction in the presidential elections next year?
The advent of Trump to the presidency is likely to draw the curtain on this era, which requires relying more than before on subjective factors, and inventing means of resistance which are less costly to the revolution, and less dependent on external support
Syrian President Bashar al Assad said on Tuesday Damascus would have to “wait and see” if U.S. President-elect Donald Trump would change Washington’s policy on Syria but that he was ready to cooperate with him in fighting militants. Following is the full text, as published in SANA
Despite the president-elect’s promises to withdraw American power from the region and revert to a more isolationist strategy, history shows us that major changes in US foreign policy rarely occur with the rotation of presidential administrations, writes Eyyad al-Jaafari
Key Assyrian figure congratulates president-elect Trump on election win, calling on US to devote greater interest in ending the suffering of Assyrians in the region
Trump will not support the armed opposition and will not support intervention in Syria, loyalists say, but he will strongly support fighting terrorists
Tensions boil as regional players in the Syrian crisis voice discontent at the choice of the international coalition to back the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces to liberate Raqqa from ISIS
Naturally, Arab-Americans suffered their share of shock, a shock from which they may not wake up soon and will likely change the way that they interpret American society and the American reality.
Bashar al-Assad told Serbian newspaper Politika the US’ “secret collaboration with terrorists is the reason why all attempts at a ceasefire and political transition in Syria have so far failed.” Following is the full text of the interview as published by SANA, the official news agency.
“It’s not pressure that created the problem — it’s the intellectual cultivation and the mentors who were raised by the teachers of Al-Qaeda and the Wahhabi ideology… This is the fruits of decades of sectarian broadcasts and miseducation.”
“Committee believes it is necessary to revive the truce once more in Aleppo and elsewhere and remove the fighters of Jabhat Fateh al-Sham and permit international organizations to enter the eastern districts, and to bring out wounded and sick and treat them”
One of the most likely reason’s for Russia’s announcement to halt raids on Aleppo may be that Moscow has begun to sense the weight of international pressure upon it, and has begun to resent the situation of international embarrassment which the developments in Aleppo have caused
