Russia’s Shoigu in Iran to signal support, urge restraint against Israel A top Russian security official visited Tehran as Iran says it "welcomes trilateral cooperation between Iran, Russia and China." Iran
Erdogan meets 'dear friend' Putin as Russia, Turkey eye cooperation on Syria The two leaders reaffirmed their commitment to bilateral ties only days ahead of the NATO summit. Turkey
Analysis Can Turkey help Europe build effective air and missile defense system? With Turkey joining the German-led European Sky Shield Initiative, in the long run Ankara could use its burgeoning Hisar and Siper platforms to improve Europe’s air and missile defense. By Barin Kayaoglu In Ankara, reporting on geopolitics and national security
Russia sets up observation points in Syria near Golan Heights New Russian observation posts have popped up in southwest Syria amid increased tensions between pro-Iranian groups and Israel amid the Israel-Hamas war. Syria
Interview Syrian Kurdish commander tells Washington not to sell F-16s to Turkey With Mazlum Kobane SDF commander in chief
Analysis Israel-Russia ties unravel as Putin calls meeting over Dagestan mob incident By Rina Bassist In Paris, reporting on Israeli politics and European affairs
Analysis Israel relayed to Russia 'dissatisfaction' over its Hamas position as rift widens By Rina Bassist In Paris, reporting on Israeli politics and European affairs
Analysis In Israel-Hamas war, Russia's leverage erodes, outflanked by US naval power By Anton Mardasov
Putin, Netanyahu struggle to mend ties in Paris Despite the brief meeting on the margins of the Paris Peace Forum, Vladimir Putin and Benjamin Netanyahu seem to have failed to fully mend bilateral ties damaged over the downed Russian spy plane. Israel
Putin pivots to Europe for next play on Syria Russian president intensifies diplomatic push; Erdogan goes "big" to leverage the Khashoggi murder with the Trump administration; Oman emerges as Israeli-Palestinian broker. Oman
Russia braces for new diplomatic push on Syria Russia's frenzy of diplomatic and military activity around Syria in recent days suggests Moscow is pushing its own initiatives before a new UN envoy on Syria takes the reins and before Democrats take control of the House in the United States. Syria
Will Idlib buffer zone agreement see the light? The second item of the Turkish-Russian agreement on Syria’s Idlib providing for the withdrawal of jihadist organizations from the heavily demilitarized buffer zone is facing serious obstacles. Syria
Moscow, Syrian High Negotiations Committee go down to-do list on Syria Following the Syrian High Negotiations Committee's visit to Russia, Syrian opposition groups are faced with a choice: wait until Washington upholds its position on the country's settlement or hop on the bandwagon with Moscow. Syria
Turkey, Russia seek European input on Syria settlement The heads of four nations gathered in Istanbul last week, all seeking to promote their countries' own national interests in Syria. But it's unclear if they'll eventually be able to negotiate a peaceful solution to the Syrian crisis that Damascus will accept. Syria