French President Macron must convince Moscow of the benefits of a political solution if Paris hopes to have any luck in settling the Syrian crisis, Michel Abu Najm writes for Saudi-owned newspaper
Syria is witnessing a recovery thanks to the withdrawal of Wahhabi terrorist groups including ISIS and the Nusra Front, president tells Indian media
Riad Hijab warns newly elected president of Assad regime’s “preparations for an escalatory military campaign,” opposition media office reports
President Assad’s political and media adviser writes in loyalist Al-Watan that recent U.S. military action in Syria is part of a century-old plan to fracture the unity of the Arab world
Some U.N. members remain skeptical of plan as Security Council prepares to meet in closed session to debate specifics of the deal, Saudi-owned newspaper reports
Damascus strongly rejects claims by French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault connecting the Assad regime to the chemical attack in Idleb’s countryside on April 4, government media writes
President Bashar al-Assad gave an interview to Croatian newspaper Vecernji List published Thursday, in which he reflects on six years of conflict, the negotiation process and the fight against terrorism. The following is the full text as published by government news agency SANA
Moscow tries to bail out Assad regime in statement claiming Syrian warplanes struck a facility for making toxic bombs, resulting in a fallout which killed scores of civilians in Idleb province on Tuesday, Al-Araby al-Jadeed reports
Operations by the U.S.-led coalition to liberate Raqqa will not be enough as long as Assad and his regime continue their abuse against their own people, the real source of resentment which allows terrorism to thrive, Randa Taqi al-Din writes for Saudi-owned Al-Hayat newspaper
As the battle for Raqqa city draws closer, a rebel spokesperson laments Kurdish domination of upcoming operations, also predicting that American forces will remain in Raqqa for years at the airbase they seized from ISIS last week, Alsouria Net writes
The four military officials will be banned from traveling to the EU and unable to access any assets in the bloc or its banks
Assad says U.S. forces in Syria are ‘invaders’ and he has yet to see ‘anything concrete’ emerge from President Donald Trump’s vow to prioritize the fight against ISIS. Below is the full interview as published by SANA.
Syrian lawyers and activists launch suits against regime’s security leadership in European courts, hoping to to establish a mechanism for transitional justice for Syrians on a national level
De Mistura’s incompetence led to the failure of the talks at Geneva as every platform vied for divergent interests, giving hope that his exclusion as a special envoy at Astana will bring about good results
This charade called Moscow and Cairo’s platforms is only an accessory to the Syrian regime
The recent repositioning of Paris vis-à-vis the Syrian crisis toward viewing the regime as a solution to an end of terrorism comes as right-wing movements across the globe dominate the political stage
The Syrian regime forces scored a major gain against ISIS militants in the eastern countryside of Aleppo, while the negotiations at Geneva continue as Russia and US talk of plans for establishment of safe zones
Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Gennady Gatilov said that the draft resolution put forward by Western countries to impose sanctions on Syria was unacceptable to Russia and violates the presumption of innocence
Syrian opposition leader reiterates that the upcoming round of Geneva talks should focus on the issue of political transition in Syria
Syria’s President Bashar al-Assad denied Amnesty reports on mass killing in a Syrian prison and said President Donald Trump’s ban on Syrians targeted terrorists, not the Syrian people. Below is the full interview he gave to French TF1 TV and EUROPE 1 Radio as appeared in SANA, the Syrian news agency
