Alsouria Net speaks to insider at recent meetings between Turkish representatives and the Syrian armed opposition, in which most major rebel groups — except Ahrar al-Sham — agreed to attend the negotiations with the Assad regime in Astana next week
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
Russian FM says opposition delegation at Astana will include those groups who have signed December’s cessation of hostilities agreement, calling on all factions not linked to ISIS or Nusra to join the truce ahead of negotiations
Writing for All4Syria, Walid Bunni urges opposition factions attending the upcoming talks in Astana to resist foreign pressure for short-term gains
How will the Syrian opposition go to Astana and what are the issues to watch out for? Political opposition and religious figures speak with Alsouria Net about what strategic changes must be made in order to emerge successful
Minister Abdrakhmanov proposing next Monday as the working date to hold talks on Syria in the Kazakh capital
Russian FM meets with counterpart Abdrakhmanov to discuss preparations for the upcoming Syrian peace talks to be held in the Kazakh capital next week
Alaa Ibrahim says reconciliation agreement will take place in the Eastern Ghouta area outside the capital Damascus within the next few days
Deputy head of the Syrian Interim Government expresses hope that a Trump presidency will contribute to Turkey’s efforts to ensure a successful ceasefire in Syria
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.
Eight people killed in Russian attacks which targeted apartment complex in Babka, while separate Syrian and US-led coalition strikes killed scores of Al-Qaeda-affiliated fighters in Idleb province
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
President Assad has said that his mission, according to the constitution and according to the laws, that we have to liberate every inch of the Syrian land. Following is the full context of the statement, as published by SANA
Russia is not serious in its wish to impose a ceasefire, Walid al-Bunni argues
Displaced Aleppans in Lattakia and Tartous are eager to return to their embattled city to prevent demographic change after the regime and Russia declared victory against rebel fighters there
Lebanese militia stopped Russian engineers from entering the area outside the capital after negotiators reached an agreement with locals, sources claim
The past 12 months has seen the killing of over 50 journalists by different parties to the conflict, but the activity of prominent institutions provides a glimmer of hope for journalism’s future in conflict-ridden Syria
Russia’s acknowledgment of the armed opposition is one of the requirements of profiting politically from the victory in Aleppo. This means that transforming the military victory into a political settlement requires recognizing the enemy before sitting with him and agreeing to a solution to the conflict.
Is it really possible for Russia, Turkey and Iran to achieve a lasting solution which enables Syrians to choose their political system in a secular and democratic state, as stated by the three countries following meetings in Moscow?
