Middle Orient

The Syrian government has not decided yet whether to take part in a second round of peace talks tentatively scheduled for next week, a senior official said. A tumultuous week of negotiations in the Swiss city of Geneva last month between President Bashar Assad’s government and the main Western-backed

Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has met a delegation headed by the leader of the opposition Syrian National Coalition, Ahmed al-Jarba, in Moscow. The two sides discussed an outline for a potential transitional government in Syria. Lavrov said all parties should get more involved in exchanging dialogue with each other.

Washington’s top diplomat on Tuesday slammed the Syrian government’s use of deadly barrel bombs in the northern city of Aleppo. “Each and every barrel bomb filled with metal shrapnel and fuel launched against innocent Syrians underscores the barbarity of a regime that has

The Syrian government extended its intense aerial campaign against rebel-held areas of the northern city of Aleppo on Monday, conducting a series of airstrikes that killed at least 18 people, including five children, activists said. President Bashar Assad’s air force has pounded opposition areas of the divided city since mid-December, …

Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov will meet leader of the Syrian National Coalition (SNC) for Opposition and Revolutionary Forces, Ahmed al-Jarba, in Moscow Feb 4, the Russian foreign ministry said Friday.

Peace talks between Syria’s regime and opposition have made slim progress, but have raised hopes for a solution to the country’s civil war, U.N. mediator Lakhdar Brahimi said Jan. 30, announcing that the next round of

Activists say the latest Syrian Government shelling has killed at least 16 people in a rebel—held area of the northern city of Aleppo.

The U.S. on Thursday blamed the Syrian government for slow progress in removing its stockpiled chemical weapons, urging Damascus to take “necessary steps” to expedite the process.

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Wednesday said the operation to eliminate Syria’s chemical weapons programme is “now behind schedule” despite Damascus’ ability to speed up the process. Ban told the Security Council in a report that “while remaining aware of the challenging security situation, it is the assessment”

Some of the “most vulnerable” Syrian refugees will be temporarily resettled in the UK, Deputy PM Nick Clegg has confirmed. He said girls and women who had been victims of or were at risk of sexual violence, torture victims, and elderly and disabled people would get priority.