About: Syrian war
War-ravaged Syria heads to polls with Assad set to win
Polling stations opened Wednesday (26 May) across Syria for an election where few doubt that Bashar al-Assad will extend his grip on power for a fourth term, in a war-battered country mired in economic crisis.
Kazakhstan repatriates ‘foreign fighters’ from Syria
Kazakhstan has repatriated another group of its nationals who have been in Syria alongside terrorist forces. Unlike some EU countries that are reluctant to take back their nationals, Kazakhstan is making the effort to re-integrate them, but also punish those guilty of terrorism.
Facing Biden, Erdogan extends olive branch to EU
Facing a potentially hostile US administration, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan is trying to break his isolation by mending EU relations, torn by what the bloc views as his bellicose foreign policy.
France says Turkey’s ‘soothing declarations’ not good enough
France said Sunday (22 November) it expects Turkey to de-escalate international tension with actions instead of words ahead of an EU decision on possible further sanctions against Ankara.
Fearing Turkish role, France wants international supervision in Nagorno-Karabakh
France wants international supervision to implement a ceasefire in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict amid concerns in Paris that Russia and Turkey could strike a deal to cut out Western powers from future peace talks, the presidency said on Thursday (19 November).
Israel strikes widely in Syria, sending signal of aggressive post-Trump posture
Israel launched air raids against what it called a wide range of Syrian and Iranian targets in Syria, sending a signal that it will pursue its policy of striking across the border despite US President Donald Trump’s election defeat.
A Biden administration is bad news for Turkey’s Erdogan
Donald Trump’s lackadaisical approach to Turkey's President Recep Erdoğan gave him an opening for an aggressive and revisionist set of policies that pushed the boundaries of Turkey’s relations with America and Europe, writes Henri J Barkey.
Death toll rises in Karabakh clash despite calls for calm
Fierce fighting raged between Azerbaijani and Armenian forces on Monday, sparking bellicose rhetoric from regional power Turkey despite international pleas for a halt in fighting between the long-time enemies.
Erdogan vows to keep border open, compares Greece’s response to the Nazis
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said Wednesday (11 March) he would keep Turkey's border open for refugees until the EU had met all his demands, while comparing Greece's response to the crisis to the Nazis.
Fact check: Is this a refugee crisis?
For many, the dramatic events at the Greek-Turkish border resemble the 2015 refugee crisis, when more than a million refugees, mostly from Syria, crossed into Europe across the Mediterranean or overland. But is this really so? EURACTIV takes a closer...
‘Millions’ of migrants will soon head to Europe: Erdogan
"Millions" of migrants and refugees will soon head towards Europe, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan warned Monday (2 March), as he maintained pressure on Western countries over the Syrian conflict.
Turkey says will not stop Syrian refugees reaching Europe after troops killed
Turkey will no longer stop Syrian refugees from reaching Europe, a senior Turkish official said, as Ankara responded on Friday (28 February) to the killing of 33 Turkish soldiers in an air strike by Syrian government forces in Syria's northwestern Idlib region.
Syrian forces seize most of Aleppo province, on eve of Turkey-Russia talks
Syrian government forces made significant advances on Sunday (16 February) in the country’s northwestern Aleppo province, seizing most of the rebel-held region, state media said, a day before a new round of talks between Turkey and Russia on the escalation in the area.
Turkey hits back after Syrian shells kill Turkish troops
Turkey said on Monday (2 February) its military hit dozens of Syrian government targets after eight Turkish military personnel were killed by shelling in Idlib in northwest Syria, where fighting threatens to test ties between Ankara and Moscow.
Will Brexit see European division at the UN Security Council?
In a recent UN Security Council vote on extending cross-border aid to Syria, Britain aligned with the United States and abstained in a rare split with its European partners that could herald others to come after Brexit.
US kills top Iranian commander Soleimani in air strike
The United States killed Iranian Major-General Qassem Soleimani, head of the elite Quds Force and architect of Iran’s spreading military influence in the Middle East, in an air strike on Friday (3 December) at Baghdad airport, the Pentagon and Iran...
Turkey mulls sending allied Syrian fighters to Libya
Turkey is considering sending allied Syrian fighters to Libya as part of its planned military support for the embattled government in Tripoli, four senior Turkish sources said on Monday (30 December), with one adding that Ankara was leaning toward the idea.
Turkey says it will send most IS detainees to their home countries by year-end
Turkey will have repatriated most of its Islamic State detainees to their home countries by the end of the year, Interior Minister Süleyman Soylu said on Tuesday (19 November), a week after Turkish authorities began the repatriation programme.
Despite ‘wonderful’ meeting, Trump and Erdogan fail to resolve conflicts
US President Donald Trump on Wednesday (13 November) pushed Turkish President Tayyip Erdoğan to walk away from the purchase of a Russian missile defence system, calling it a “very serious challenge” to bilateral ties, even though he described a meeting between the two leaders as “wonderful.”
Turkey starts ‘sending home’ detained foreign fighters
Turkey said on Monday (11 November) it had deported two captives from Islamic State, a German and an American, starting a programme to repatriate detainees that has caused friction with its NATO allies since it launched an offensive in northern Syria.
Germany decries Iran’s move to speed up nuclear work, urges return to accord
Iran's announcement that it has developed advanced machines to speed up uranium enrichment jeopardises a 2015 accord with world powers, Germany's foreign minister said on Monday (4 November), urging Tehran to return to the pact.
US House recognises Armenian genocide, backs Turkey sanctions
The US House of Representatives voted overwhelmingly on Tuesday (29 October) to recognise the mass killings of Armenians a century ago as a genocide, a symbolic but historic vote instantly denounced by Turkey.
Erdogan thanks Orban for ‘support at the international stage’
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán met in Baku on Tuesday (15 October), on the fringes of the Turkic Council, a group of countries speaking the same family of languages, which Hungary wants to join.