The Latest Breaking News from Damascus

The Russian-sponsored Syrian-Turkish military meeting that was held in Moscow on Wednesday is the latest effort to achieve rapprochement between Ankara and Damascus. It will likely culminate in a “gift” to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan from his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin: a meeting with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad ahead…

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu revealed on Thursday that his country was prepared to hand over Syrian regions under its control to the Syrian regime “should political stability be established.” Speaking to the press, he stressed that Türkiye has repeatedly said it was ready to hand over power in areas…

Turkey's defence minister and intelligence chief met their Syrian counterparts in Moscow on Wednesday in a clear sign of normalisation between Ankara and Damascus in the decade-long Syrian war.

When Syrian President Bashar al-Assad visited Tehran last May, one of the urgent requests he made was to send oil to contribute to resolving his country’s economic crisis. In the past years, it has become customary for ships to violate sanctions and waterways.

Iran is seeking to revive its expansion near the Syrian capital, Damascus, which it has always sought to do and was previously thwarted by Russia. Iran's objective is to create another “southern suburb”, commonly known as Dahieh, like the Hezbollah-dominated one in the Lebanese capital, Beirut. The plan is to…

Damascus is mired in its suffocating economic crisis. Syria is expelling its people and is divided into three “states” separated by border-like lines, where militias, organizations, extremists and warring foreign armies coming from major and regional countries abound. Contradictory offers and different conditions are put forward to start a long…

Moscow has launched a new diplomatic battle at the UN Security Council, declaring its opposition to the extension of the international mechanism for the delivery of humanitarian aid to Syria for another six months. Damascus, like its major ally Moscow, also stepped up its opposition of renewing and extending the…

Syrian student Ziad al-Ezz can no longer get to university as severe fuel shortages cripple the capital Damascus, pushing residents to seek alternatives for heating and shuttering businesses. With the country's economy battered by more than a decade of war, authorities have announced four fuel price hikes since the start…

Moscow welcomed on Friday Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's proposal to establish a three-way mechanism for diplomacy between Türkiye, Russia and Syria, Russian state news agencies reported, citing a deputy foreign minister. Mikhail Bogdanov said Moscow received Erdogan’s proposal "very positively." The RIA Novosti news agency also reported that Syria's…

Facing crippling electricity cuts, Syrian dentist Ibrahim al-Akzam has turned to solar power to keep his Damascus clinic going, a reflection of the deep energy crisis in his country after 11 years of war.

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan was quoted on Thursday as saying he proposed to his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin forming a trilateral mechanism with Russia and Syria to accelerate diplomacy between Ankara and Damascus.