DAMASCUS: Syria announced that its army had begun to withdraw from violence-hit Sweida on Wednesday (Jul 16), following a wave of Israeli strikes on the capital and a United States call for

Nongovernmental organizations filled some of the gap in health services, often with funding from the United States or Europe, but now that lifeline, too, is disappearing. The United States — Syria’s largest donor,

Thomas J. Barrack Jr., the U.S. ambassador to Turkey, says Washington is facilitating the discussions and prioritizing economic development over nation-building in the Middle East.

Background: Norway imposed sanctions on Syria in 2011 in response to Assad’s crackdown on protesters that sparked the civil war. The measures prohibited dealing with Syrian financial institutions, including the Central Bank, as well as supplying oil and other products to Syria.

U.S. Envoy to Syria Tom Barrack has a clear message for the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF). “So there’s a big sentiment that because they were our partners, we owe them. The question is what do we owe them? We don’t owe them the ability to have their own independent government within a government,” he said on Friday.

President Donald Trump signed an executive order lifting most US sanctions on Syria this week, cementing a sea change in his country’s approach to Damascus. What explains the shift, and what could future relations look like?

The United States' special envoy for Syria on Wednesday called on all parties to step back and engage in dialogue for a lasting ceasefire in Syria following clashes with Druze factions in the south and Israeli strikes in Damascus.

Welcome back to Al-Monitor Israel.Israeli officials are divided over whether to seize the moment and pursue a security agreement with Syria, with some convinced that Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa cannot be trusted.