Free Syrian Army commander says international coalition authorized units to take over and administer 11 villages in the northern Aleppo countryside, opposition website reports
Abdulnasser Al-Ayed explains that for Russia’s ‘safe zone’ proposal to work, Moscow will need to consider U.S. concerns despite attempts to sideline Washington in the Syrian peace process
Munzer Eid laments the decision by the U.S. president to include Saudi Arabia among the destinations for his first foreign trip, in piece for loyalist newspaper Al-Thawra
Media adviser to Turkey’s president threatens to hit Americans patrolling the southern border days after U.S. forces arrived in the Kurdish region of northern Syria, Qatari-owned Al-Arabi Al-Jadid reports
Russian delegation also holds bilateral meetings in the Kazakh capital with Iranians and the United States, Syrian state media reports
Gen. Ali Abdullah Ayoub says Iran, Russia and Hezbollah are the only forces who can foil the conspiracy against Syria, government outlet reports
Moscow hails phone call between leaders as constructive and ‘business-like,’ with the Russian president also urging caution on U.S. policy toward North Korea, Saudi-owned newspaper Asharq Al-Awsat reports
British-based group singles out regime and Russian forces for their human rights violations in report documenting the deaths of more than a thousand non-combatants in 30 days, Madar al-Youm reports
Russia’s head of arms control claims new ‘chemical theater’ could take place in the Damascus countryside, Saudi-owned Al-Hayat reports, weeks after Putin pointed to the possibility of ‘fake’ gas attacks to justify further U.S. strikes on the Syrian regime
Opposition media reports that family hit by strike while trying to leave the town of Tabqa, the ISIS-held Syrian town currently besieged by Western-backed SDF forces
The Assad regime is scrambling to receive assurances from allies and make sense of U.S. policy after the Trump administration’s surprise strike on a Syrian air base. But Damascus is failing to see that rules of the game have already changed, Yahya Al-Aridi writes for opposition outlet All4Syria
Russian foreign minister tells European counterpart that Moscow will continue to move ahead with plans for a peaceful political solution through U.N.-approved channels, despite efforts by some players to evade negotiations in favor for regime change in Syria
Speaking to Zaman al-Wasl, the opposition figure explains that the stances of international and regional states toward the Assad regime have changed since the chemical attack in Idleb’s countryside on April 4
Opposition outlet Ain al-Medina reports on the preparations for the upcoming battle for control of Tabqa, explaining that around 650 ISIS fighters are holed up inside the city awaiting close-range fighting with the Western-backed forces
Unnamed source claims Walid al-Muallem told U.S. official that Syria cannot be held accountable for killing civilians as long as America is responsible for civilian deaths in ISIS-held Mosul, opposition website Zaman al-Wasl reports
Syrian president addresses his ruling Baath Party during committee meeting, calling for placing greater importance on helping the party adapt to a changing society and attracting younger members, state media reports
Assad’s top political and media advisor speaks to Lebanese television, framing the U.S. strike in the scope of CIA efforts to punish Damascus, claiming that the attack on the base came in the wake of victories by government forces against terror groups, state media reports
Opposition members and activists decry the forced relocation of thousands of civilians from the “four Syrian towns” as part of a negotiation deal to release kidnapped Qatari businessmen, Paula Istih writes for Saudi-owned Asharq Al-Awsat
Led by the United States, an international consensus has finally formed that the rule of the Assad family has reached its end, but Syrians must understand that the battle is not yet over, writes Walid al-Bunni for All4Syria
Kurdish-Arab alliance readies for the takeover of ISIS’ self-styled capital in Syria’s northeast, as the Western-backed forces look to completely cut off Raqqa from surrounding areas before its liberation, Saudi-owned Al-Hayat reports
