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Syria

July 29, 2024

Damascus Governorate 9:35 am

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NICOSIA, CYPRUS - JULY 20: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan speaks during celebrations marking the 50th anniversary of Turkey's invasion of Cyprus on July 20, 2024 in occupied northern Nicosia, Cyprus. Fifty years has passed since Turkey's invasion and occupation of northern Cyprus, spurred in 1974 by Greece's attempts to oust the Cypriot president and forge a political union with the island. Over time, the northern part became the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC), which is largely populated

Analysis

As Assad softens tone, can Turkey and Syria normalize relations?

As news of normalization between Turkey and Syria and a meeting between the Turkish president and his Syrian counterpart abound, many strategic and technical questions need to be addressed.

Barin Kayaoglu

By Barin Kayaoglu

In Ankara, reporting on geopolitics and national security

Antonio Masiello/Getty Images

Quick Take

Italy appoints ambassador to Syria in latest sign of European thaw

Syria’s relations with the international community are gradually improving amid the ongoing civil war.

MAXIM SHEMETOV/AFP via Getty Images

Russia, Turkey FMs meet in Laos, discuss Syria reconciliation efforts

The two top diplomats’ talks come after the Russian and Syrian presidents discussed the Turkish president’s invitation to hold a three-country leaders' summit with his Syrian counterpart after more than a decade of hostilities.

Ezgi Akin

By Ezgi Akin

In Ankara, reporting on diplomacy, EU-Turkey ties, NATO

VALERY SHARIFULIN/AFP via Getty Images

Syria’s Assad meets Putin in Russia amid Turkey dialogue push

Russia has been the main backer of President Bashar al-Assad’s forces against rebels throughout the Syrian civil war.

Beatrice Farhat

By Beatrice Farhat

In Beirut, reporting on regional news, culture, conflict

Latest News

Quick Take

Syrian businessman with ties to Assad killed in suspected Israeli airstrike

An undated image of Baraa al-Qaterji (L) with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad

Regional View

Syrians in Turkey change attire, avoid cars after mob attacks

Syrians attend the burial of a man killed during clashes with Turkish troops, in Afrin in northern Syria on July 2, 2024.

Quick Take

Iraq aims to host first meeting between Turkey's Erdogan, Syria's Assad

A composite image of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erodgan (L) and Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

Analysis

As Erdogan woos Assad, is Turkey-Syria reconciliation rhetoric or reality?

This combination of file photographs created on July 7, 2024, shows Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (L) in Ankara on May 29, 2023, and Syria's President Bashar al-Assad in Damascus on July 16, 2023.

Amberin Zaman

By Amberin Zaman

In London, reporting on geopolitics, minorities, human rights, culture

Saudi Arabia and Syria resume regular flights as thaw with Assad advances

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman greets Syrian President Bashar Assad during the Arab summit in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, on Friday. Saudi Press Agency / Saudi Press Agency via AP

Beatrice Farhat

By Beatrice Farhat

In Beirut, reporting on regional news, culture, conflict

Amberin Zaman

Chief Correspondent

In London, reporting on geopolitics, minorities, human rights, culture

Danny Makki

In London, reporting on Syrian politics and culture

Lyse Mauvais

In Amman, reporting on humanitarian crises

Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry (L) and Syrian Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad (R) give a press conference at the Foreign Ministry headquarters, Damascus, Syria, Feb. 27, 2023.

Quick Take

Egypt's FM Shoukry visits Syria, Turkey in renewed earthquake diplomacy

The top Egyptian diplomat's visit to Syria and Turkey marks a first after almost a decade.

Turkey quake refugee

Quick Take

A Syrian exodus: Some 30,000 refugees return home after Turkey's earthquake

The UN's refugee agency stresses that Syrian refugees who visit their homeland can return to Turkey later.

Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan attends a joint press conference with his Russian counterpart following their talks in Yerevan on June 9, 2022.(Photo by KAREN MINASYAN/AFP via Getty Images)

Quick Take

Armenia’s FM in Syria as Turkey’s opposition declares solidarity with Assad

In a statement released on Wednesday, the Munich Security Conference and others, called for "urgent action to overcome the political obstacles that are blocking humanitarian assistance" to Syria.

Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad gets a red carpet reception on a rare visit to Oman on Feb. 20, 2023. (Photo: Foreign Ministry of Oman)

After Syria earthquake, Saudi Arabia is linchpin to Assad's normalization

If Assad’s earthquake diplomacy succeeds in improving relations with Saudi Arabia, the path to Syria's normalization in Arab politics will be wide open.

Aron Lund

By Aron Lund

OMAR HAJ KADOUR/AFP via Getty Images

Regional View

Farms, fisheries stagnate along Syria's polluted Orontes River

Many people who depend on the Orontes River in Syria are complaining of worsening pollution and official inaction.

Aisha Mohammed Ali, 25, a mother of five who is a refugee from Aleppo, Syria, teaches the alphabet to one of her daughters, on January 5, 2022 in Tripoli, Lebanon. Tripoli is home to one of the country's largest population of Syrian refugees, 9 out of 10 of whom live in extreme poverty. (Photo by Andreea Campeanu/Getty Images)

Regional View

Syrian refugees in Lebanon turn to TikTok 'begging' for money

TikTok has allowed thousands of refugees in Lebanon to beg for money from donors online by exposing their children and poor conditions to the outside world, a method that heightens the risk of exploitation and human-trafficking.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken (2nd R) chats with United Arab Emirates' Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan (R) in Sde Boker, Israel on March 28, 2022.

Analysis

UAE diplomacy guides response to Syrian, Palestinian crises

UAE steps up on Syria in wake of earthquake; Netanyahu settlement threat is déjà vu for Abu Dhabi.

Week in Review

By Week in Review

Sheep walk amid drought and low water levels in the Euphrates River in the western countryside of Tabqa, Raqqa governorate, Syria, Nov. 22, 2022.

Regional View

Double blow: Syria braces for historic drought after earthquake

For the third consecutive year, delayed rains have left the land scorched and farmers reeling from the impact of a historic drought.

Armenian rescuers use a dog in search in rescue operations after the earthquake in Aleppo, Syria, February 2023.

Regional View

Quake disaster delivers diplomatic silver lining for Turkey

Post-quake solidarity has warmed Turkey’s ties with Greece, Armenia and Israel, but no thaw is seen between Turkey and Syria despite their common suffering from the disaster.

Turkey earthquake

Analysis

Will Turkey-Syria earthquake redraw the fault lines of geopolitics?

As in previous decades and centuries, geologic rumblings could be followed by political upheavals in both countries.

Gilles Kepel

By Gilles Kepel

Quake-hit displaced children play near tents set by Turkey's Disaster and Emergency Management Presidency (AFAD) at Islahiye Atatürk Stadium in Islahiye near Gaziantep on Feb. 14, 2023, a week after a deadly earthquake struck parts of Turkey and Syria.

Regional View

Earthquake orphans in Turkey, Syria face uncertain future

Thousands of requests poured into Turkey’s Social Affairs Ministry to foster children who survived last week's quakes, but the ministry maintains that its priority is to reunite kids with families or relatives, if they can.

BAKR ALKASEM/AFP via Getty Images

Explainer: Why Syria’s Assad opened two border crossings for earthquake aid

Aid has reached both Syrian government and rebel territory in response to the disaster, but the situation remains dire.

Adam Lucente

By Adam Lucente

In New York City, reporting on regional news, militancy, climate change