In the lead-up to the Syria talks in Geneva, attendees should prepare for the US president to shift focus from the political process to the issue of establishing safe zones, Ali Dahi writes in loyalist Al-Watan
Lebanese website Al-Modon comments on the fracturing of opposition forces in Syria’s northern provinces as internal fighting forces factions to side with one of the two main rebel groups, Ahrar al-Sham or Al-Qaeda’s affiliate Jabhat Fateh al-Sham
Attempted advance by Assad forces quashed by key rebel group, killing 10 fighters, while clashes continued on a number of other fronts as part of a new regime offensive to retake the rural area surrounding the capital
Saudi-owned Al-Hayat details the recommendations inside the separate Kurdish and Russian draft constitutions, which call for greater autonomy for Kurds and a more decentralized government, while also acknowledging the multi-ethnic make-up of Syria’s demography
President Assad and Iranian envoy Abdullahian reaffirm support for Syrian ceasefire agreement which they say is the beginning of the return of peace and stability to the country, government media reports
The draft constitution has been prepared by Russian experts in order to speed up the political process
Opposition media reports on interview between rebel negotiator and German press agency DPA following rumors of rebel representatives accepting inducements from the Assad regime
Key rebel group says it will not back down until former Al-Qaeda affiliate is stopped after fighters launched attacks on groups attending the Astana negotiations earlier this week, opposition media reports
Syrian government’s head negotiator speaks to the press about the success of the talks in Kazakhstan’s capital, lauding the efforts of allies Russia and Iran in reaching an agreement to form a ceasefire monitor
Coalition reports that Syria’s rebel delegation to the Astana meetings demands the departure of Assad, as well as rejecting Iran’s involvement as a guarantor in any political process while calling for the removal of Iranian-backed militias from Syrian territory
Loyalist Al-Watan newspaper writes that Erdogan’s mounting domestic and international problems will force the Turkish president to accept that the only way to restore his regional standing will be through rapprochement with Assad
Iranian president hails the liberation of Aleppo as a critical step towards establishing peace and stability in Syria as countries ready to gather in Kazakhstan for negotiations on the crisis
Writing for All4Syria, Walid Bunni urges opposition factions attending the upcoming talks in Astana to resist foreign pressure for short-term gains
Syria and Iran sign contracts on economic cooperation in oil, mobile communications, agriculture, animal resources and industry, with an additional agreement to develop Syria’s ports currently in the pipeline
Obama’s two terms and the lie of the bloody Arab Spring made us feel that George W. Bush was a dove of peace. Bush did not, in practice, destroy anywhere but Iraq, given that Afghanistan was already destroyed, whereas Obama went ceaselessly from Syria to Libya and Yemen.
Walid Bunni asks whether the US president-elect will continue the Obama administration’s stance in denying the goals and freedoms of the region’s people for the past eight years
What Moscow is trying to achieve with the political settlement depends to a large extent on the Turkish and Iranian positions, and on the possibility of reaching clear agreements between these actors amid independent efforts to direct their battles in ways which achieve only their interests
Opposition members claim ongoing violations by regime and allied Iranian militias in the Damascus countryside is proof the regime does not want the truce deal to succeed
Store owners and sellers in the capital’s marketplaces describe a gloomy scene of overstocked merchandise for a non-existent clientele as the impacts of the war finally take hold of the Damascus tourism industry
Russia is not serious in its wish to impose a ceasefire, Walid al-Bunni argues
