Damascus–Baghdad Ties Move Into a New Era
AL-THAWRA
February 20, 2026
Syria and Iraq appear to be entering a new phase in their relationship, Al-Thawra writes.
Syria and Iraq appear to be entering a new phase in their relationship, Al-Thawra writes.
The battered Iranian-made taxis that rattle through the streets remain a visible relic of the so-called era of resistance, Youssef Bezzi writes in Al-Modon.
Syrian women focus their efforts on dismantling discriminatory structures, foremost among them the Personal Status Law—one of the most entrenched instruments of inequality, Rosa Hassan writes for Daraj.
The proposal follows a three-day tour of Israel, Cyprus, and Lebanon by Jens Spahn, the parliamentary leader of the Christian Democratic Union, al-Hal writes.
A report contends that Syria’s long-term stability depends on genuinely opening the political system — empowering parliament, clarifying the role of political parties and social groups, integrating Kurdish communities on equal footing with others, and reducing the dominance of former HTS figures in decision-making.
The Women’s Protection Units (YPJ), the all-female militia within the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), have declared they will maintain their armed presence despite the recent integration agreement between the Syrian government and the SDF.
With the SDF file nearing resolution, attention is shifting southward to Suweida province, Ultra Syria writes.
Between 2016 and the fall of the former regime in late 2024, allegations of corruption within Aleppo’s city council deepened the problem, as oversight weakened and enforcement faltered.
Informed sources told Al-Modon that senior officials in the U.S. administration have warned the Israeli government against providing any form of support to the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), amid rapidly shifting political and security dynamics in Syria—particularly in the country’s north and east.
A striking paradox lies in the fact that the PKK—long a military tool of the former regime —now opposes a system that has officially recognized the Kurds as an integral component of society, Abdul Hakim Bashar argues in Al-Thawra.
Repeated statements by U.S. officials emphasized support for the new Syrian authority and for a unified Syrian state, Faisal Alloush argues in Ultra Syria.
This assault also lays bare the regime’s complete subservience to Turkey, Mohammad Dibo claims.
Turkish exports to Syria rose to $2.6 billion in 2025, Enab Baladi writes.
Well-informed Syrian-American sources with knowledge of the negotiations told Al-Modon that “the discussions have advanced far beyond what many imagine”
The convergence of these American statements and Israeli military actions has heightened Syrian concerns that a new, entrenched occupation reality is taking shape in southern Syria.
If the struggle for daily sustenance once diverted broad sectors of society from democratic concerns, the situation has since grown immeasurably worse as a result of the catastrophic war Syria has endured, Faisal Allouche argues.
The update follows the United Kingdom’s routine reviews to determine whether the continued designation of certain individuals or entities remains justified under prevailing legal criteria.
Available information indicates that the U.S.-led International Coalition is now encouraging the SDF to engage in security coordination with the Syrian government.
The suffocating deadlock in Suweida has cast a shadow over Syria’s national scene, Ali al-Abdallah writes in Al-Araby Al-Jadeed.
Syrian politician Fahd al-Masri, in exile in France for over three decades, describes the past year as nothing short of “a political miracle.”
