Syrian authorities requested Russia to extradite ousted dictator Bashar al-Assad, but were turned down, Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa said in an interview with the New York Times published on April 23.
While officials did not disclose the wheat's origin, a source confirmed to Reuters that the cargo came from Russia.
The closures include Mission Support Site Green Village, MSS Euphrates, and a smaller unnamed facility. U.S. commanders will reportedly decide within 60 days whether to further reduce the troop presence.
Earlier this month, Trump said his first trip during his second term would be to Saudi Arabia, as it had agreed to invest $1 trillion in the U.S. economy.
President Volodymyr Zelensky said he would travel to Saudi Arabia on March 10 and meet Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman before talks with U.S. partners.
In a dramatic confrontation that has reverberated far beyond Washington, the explosive Oval Office exchange on Feb. 28 between U.S. President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky represents a broader U.S. foreign policy — one that many in the Middle East have long viewed with deep skepticism. The
Israeli officials have told Washington that Syria's new Islamist rulers, who ousted pro-Russian Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad, will pose a threat to Israel's borders if backed by Turkey, Reuters wrote, citing four sources familiar with the communications.
As U.S.-Russian talks on ending the war in Ukraine kicked off in Saudi Arabia on Feb. 18, Keith Kellogg, U.S. President Donald Trump's special envoy for Russia and Ukraine, appears to have been partially sidelined from the negotiations. Kellogg will focus on talks with Ukraine and Europe,
Zelensky's arrival in the UAE kicks off a regional tour that includes official visits to Saudi Arabia and Turkey.
The fall of Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad has dealt a significant blow to Russia’s ambitions in the Middle East. Yet Russia still retains influence across the region through trade, diplomacy, and military ties. Even now, Moscow maintains a presence in Syria, making it imperative for the West to capitalize
Russia deployed troops to Syria in 2015 to support Assad regime's brutal crackdown against anti-government forces.
A "large amount" of Russian military equipment vanished from the Syrian port of Tartus with the departure of the Russian cargo ship Sparta II, an investigative journalist at Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Mark Krutov, said on Jan. 27, citing satellite images.
The three sailors arrived in Odesa on Jan. 25, where they were greeted by relatives after 14 months in captivity.
Few agreements are shrouded in more secrecy than inter-government arms deals — especially when one of the parties is a global pariah leading a bloody war. But a recent massive leak of emails and documents has given us an unprecedented glimpse into a particularly secretive transaction. The leak reveals that Saudi
The Sparta II, a Russian cargo ship under U.S. sanctions, had been drifting near Tartus since Jan. 5 after leaving Baltiysk in Kaliningrad Oblast on Dec. 11.
The news comes as the Yemeni rebel group release of the crew of the carrier captured in November 2023 as part of attacks on vessels sailing through the Red Sea corridor. The decision is seen as part of de-escalation efforts in the wake of the Gaza ceasefire.
For Moscow, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian's visit to Russia on Jan. 17 is a diplomatic victory. The trip's centerpiece will be the finalization of a long-heralded partnership deal between Russia and Iran, signed by Pezeshkian and Russian President Vladimir Putin at the Kremlin. The agreement is the latest chapter in
The Sparta II, a Russian cargo ship under U.S. sanctions, has been drifting near Tartus since Jan. 5 after leaving Baltiysk in Kaliningrad Oblast on Dec. 11, according to the Moscow Times.
Editor's Note: Stanislav Aseyev is a Ukrainian writer, journalist, veteran, and a survivor of the Izolyatsia prison in Russia-occupied Donetsk, infamous for its torture of prisoners. He was the first Ukrainian journalist to see to the Sednaya prison and death camp in Syria after the fall of Bashar al-Assad's regime
In a post on the official Facebook page of the Syrian presidency, Assad said he was releasing the statement to address "misinformation and narratives far removed from the truth" in the wake of his overthrow.
The FT said Syria's central bank flew nearly two tonnes of $100 bills and €500 notes into the country, which were then deposited in sanctioned Russian banks.
The Kremlin confirmed on Dec. 11 that longtime Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad had fled to Moscow after rebels took the capital city of Damascus in a lightning offensive that shocked the world. Assad’s exile in Russia comes as little surprise. The Kremlin had invested heavily in propping up the
Of the total number, 346 were employees of the Wagner company, a private mercenary group also deployed in Russia's war in Ukraine and elsewhere.
Syrian opposition fighters took control of the Latakia province, where Russian military facilities – the Kheimin airbase and the Tartus naval base – are based, Russian state news agency TASS reported on Dec. 9, citing a Syrian source.
In a post on X, top EU diplomat Kaja Kallas described Assad’s fall as a “positive and long-awaited development," saying that the collapse "shows the weakness of Assad’s backers, Russia and Iran."
The withdrawal comes as rebels advancing from Damascus push toward Syria's coastal provinces, including Latakia, Hama and Tartus, where Russian military bases are located, Ukraine's military intelligence agency said.
Reuters on Dec. 8 reported, citing its Syrian sources that "there was a very high probability that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad may have been killed in a plane crash" as he was fleeing Damascus following its capture by rebels. Reuters later deleted the information from its reporting.
"The tyrant Bashar al-Assad has fled. We declare the city of Damascus free from the tyrant Bashar al-Assad," rebel leaders claimed on Dec. 8.
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad boarded a plane out of Damascus on Dec. 8 as rebel forces swept into the capital, two senior army officers told Reuters.
Homs is located between Damascus, Syria's capital, and the Mediterranean coast — where Russia maintains its Khmeimim Air Base and Tartus Naval Base.
The regime of Syrian President Bashar Al Assad may fall within days as Syrian rebels continue to advance on the country's capital Damascus, five different U.S. officials told CNN on Dec. 7.
Syrian rebels claim to have reached the suburbs of Damascus, Syria's capital, on Dec. 7, as the rebel groups' rapid offensive against pro-government forces continues.
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