State media SANA reports on meeting between Syrian president and Russian Duma delegation as sides look to boost cooperation in the education and health sectors following recent gains against the armed opposition
Editor-in-chief of the pro-regime online newspaper admonishes the US president for continuing to support key regional allies and failing to back Syria, Russia and Iran’s fight against terror in the Middle East
Political opposition stands its ground against attempts by Moscow to influence the make-up of its negotiating delegation at the upcoming Geneva talks, while the US presidency begins meetings with UN and regional leaders on the Syrian issue, Sada al-Sham writes
Opposition website reports on recent strikes on the capital and northern Idleb province which killed and injured scores of people as fighting for control of the last remaining opposition-held areas intensifies
President Assad told Belgian media that statements made by Trump are promising regarding the priority of fighting terrorists, and mainly ISIS. Below is the full text as appeared on SANA:
Activists Anwar Bunni talks to All4Syria about his efforts to prosecute rights violators in Europe, explaining that his recent efforts to file suits in numerous countries is a partial opening of the door to justice in Syria
Amid intensified efforts to clear Damascus and its surroundings of rebel forces following the fall of Aleppo, Enab Baladi lists the areas in which the opposition continues to hold off inside the capital region
In Saudi-owned Al-Hayat, Ibrahim Hamidi breaks down the current struggle for representation at the upcoming negotiations as well as the tug of war around prioritizing the political and military tracks
Assyrian and Syriac Christians in Syria describe their situation in two words: “Feeling of injustice” and “exclusion”
Death toll still to be announced after explosion rocks Russian APC carrying nine soldiers in the coastal province, opposition media reports
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
The country’s Alawite sect, which has been largely marginalized by Syria’s opposition, must be embraced in any future transitional stage if they are to reach the goals of the Geneva communique, writes Saleh Qallab for Saudi-owned Asharq al-Awsat
Russia says regular meetings will be held in the Kazakh capital, and will include representatives from the Syrian government and opposition along with other countries, with the aim of working towards implementing the peace process, according to state media
Russian FM rallies for Syria’s return to the 21-member body claiming the suspension of its membership has hindered efforts at securing peace in the country, Syrian state media reports
At least four aid workers wounded in air strikes by the anti-ISIS coalition in the northern province, opposition media reports
Home to hundreds of archeological sites, rebel-held Idelb’s historical artifacts have seen the full effects of corruption, looting and deliberate bombardment over the past six years, as those antiquities that aren’t destroyed are gobbled up by an eager international black market, Hussein Abdullah writes
Thousands of people transported from the Barada Valley this week since regime forces took complete control of the area west of the capital on Sunday, opposition media Alsouria Net reports
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
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
Loyalist newspaper Al-Watan explains Syrian political opposition figures invited to Russia’s capital Moscow for meetings after news emerged of Russian plans to impose a new constitution on the rebel delegation at Astana
