On Thursday, President Bashar al-Assad received a Russian delegation from the Defense and Foreign Ministries headed by the Russian President’s Special Envoy to Syria, Alexander Lavrentiev.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that the Turkish Armed Forces may carry out a new operation in Syria if ‘terrorists’ do not move away from the Turkish border.

Two White House senior officials visited Damascus to meet with the head of Syrian Security and Intelligence, Ali Mamlouk, in an attempt to release two American hostages who have been kidnapped and forcibly hidden by the Assad regime for years.