Middle Orient

The Syrian government has accepted a Russian proposal to put its chemical weapons under international control to avoid a possible US military strike, Interfax news agency quoted Syria’s foreign minister as saying on Tuesday. “We held a very fruitful round of talks with Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov yesterday, and he

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has said Turkey has not yet decided the type of support it would provide in a possible US-led military strike against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s administration, saying that Turkey will join in efforts that will target “peace” in the country.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov called Monday on the Syrian regime to hand over control of its chemical weapons arsenal to international supervision as a way of staving off the threat of military action.

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has told a US broadcaster there is “no evidence” that his government has used chemical weapons. US Secretary of State John Kerry has been lobbying hard for military action against Mr Assad during talks with EU and Arab foreign ministers in Europe.

French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius downplayed importance of obtaining commitments from Europe with regard to possible military participation against Syria, but praised increased political support to confront the Bashar Al-Assad’s regime.

Russian and Syrian foreign ministers say they will push for the return of United Nations inspectors to Syria to continue their probe into the use of chemical weapons. Lavrov said after Monday’s talks with his Syrian counterpart Walid al-Moallem

Lebanon is preparing itself for all eventualities, including a possible closure of Beirut’s airport, to cope with the repercussions of a potential U.S.-led military strike on Syria as officials scrambled Sunday to reassure foreign diplomats about their safety.

US Secretary of State John Kerry said on Monday that Syria could prevent a military attack if President Bashar al-Assad handed over all his chemical weapons to the international community within the next week but added that

Syrian troops launched an attack Monday on hills overlooking a Christian-majority village near the capital Damascus, two days after rebel forces captured the ancient community, an activist group said. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said fighters from the al-Qaida-affiliated Jabhat al-Nusra or Nusra Front and the Qalamon Liberation Front still control Maaloula, an ancient …

Cyprus said on Monday it would have no involvement of any kind in a potential U.S.-led strike on Syria, which lies about 100 km to its east. It would, however, be ready to offer assistance to third-country nationals evacuated from the Middle East, Cypriot government spokesman