6 Spheres of Foreign Influence in Syria: Geographic Gains and Political Concessions
Ibrahim Hamidi for al-Hayat
September 16, 2016
Syria has become divided between conflicting forces into spheres of influence
Syria has become divided between conflicting forces into spheres of influence
Presence of the Russian forces on the Castello Road is not acceptable due to its lack of neutrality, says local council
High-level military source says rebel group was responsible for most of the 60 documented truce violations
Group’s deputy general dismisses truce as a deal which forfeits the sacrifices and gains of the revolutionary people while working to benefit the Assad regime
The opposition meets with high-level diplomatic figures in London to discuss its three-stage political vision, which includes six months of negotiations, a transition period lasting 18 months, and ending in elections
If what we hear is true, the solution is based on acknowledging the status quo and surrendering to the rule of the current regime despite the killing, destruction and displacement that it has carried out over the last five years.
“It does not seem that Obama is far from joining the list of the Russian president’s fans, especially in that he was keen throughout his second term, which witnessed a terrible escalation in the brutality of the Assad regime against its opposition, to stand on the side of the victors”
“What happened recently for the Turkish leadership to decide to send its tanks and soldiers inside Syrian territory and support some of the rebel groups to regain Jarablus from ISIS?”
Top diplomats meet on sidelines of G20 summit in Chinese city of Hangzhou
Lavrov stresses importance of differentiating between “opposition groups supported by the United States and the terrorists whom the opposition use as a shield,” during phone call with Kerry
Until recently, Damascus saw the Kurds as an ally able to help pressure a wide geographical area that needed hundreds of thousands of soldiers and at the same time would constitute a thorn in the Turkish throat, which was greedy to swallow Syrian geography and people at the same time.
Following the recent Turkey-Iran-Russia strategic alliance, Assad sought to find a role to play in the Kurdish file, choosing to strike Hassakeh in order to be at the center of the Kurdish issue
Today, the governments of Turkey, Iran, Iraq and Syria act based on a conviction they are reluctant to proclaim publicly, which is that the Kurds are more dangerous than ISIS
For the consecutive third day, Russian warplanes launch attacks from Iran to strike Syria, and targets “overlap” with America
Moscow is convinced that Syria’s opposition should distance itself from ISIS and Jabhat al-Nusra
According to leaders in the Islamist and moderate groups, Western diplomats, and officials and civilian activists in Aleppo, 10 reasons can be noted for the “Aleppo coup”
The regime had been pursuing a political-military plan based around extending its control over Aleppo and waiting for American-Russian pressure to hold a round of negotiations in which the regime would be the victorious party
It is possible to expect Clinton’s policy to be built on a review of the views of five women from among those expected to play a major role in her administration
Russia and Iran’s militias launched a heavy assault on Aleppo last month, allowing Iranian forces and allied Iraqi and Lebanese sectarian militias, as well as what remains of the Syrian army still loyal to Assad, to impose a siege on eastern Aleppo
Russian deputy FM tells press that there are no plans for a major offensive in Aleppo city after US warns of escalation
