Bashar al Assad

Turkey and Russia will hold two-day talks on Syria and Libya, the Turkish Foreign Ministry has an-nounced, amid ongoing ceasefires in both theaters.

Syrian president Bashar al Assad says a deadly toxic gas attack widely blamed on his forces is a “100% fabrication”.
Speaking in his first interview since the incident, Mr Assad said he gave “no order to make any attack” in the rebel-held town of Khan Sheikhoun and claimed “even if we had (chemical weapons) we wouldn’t use them.”

Citing Russian intelligence, President Vladimir Putin warned that an incident similar to the alleged chemical attack in the Idlib area was imminent, possibly targeting a Damascus suburb. Mr. Putin said the goal was to discredit Syrian President Bashar al Assad.

Foreign ministers from the Group of Seven major industrialized nations meet on Monday for an annual gathering, with Europe and Japan seeking clarity from the United States on an array of issues, especially Syria, Reuters reports.

Turkish hospitals have treated over 300 civilians from Aleppo, the Turkish Prime Ministry said on Dec. 30.        

According to former U.S. Ambassador to Croatia Peter Galbraith, the civil war in Syria is "over" - and it is now time "to stop the fighting."

US President elect Donald Trump said that his administration’s top priority in Syria would be to defeat the Islamic State (IS) in an interview to newspaper Wall Street Journal.

According to the Human Rights Watch (HRW), 30,000 civilians have fled the war to escape fighting between ISIS jihadists and other rebels in Syria over the past two days. HRW estimates that most of the civilians have left the surrounding regions in Aleppo on the borders with Turkey, where heavy clashes are in progress between ISIS terrorists and other rebel groups.

The first photos of the devastation the ISIS/Daesh Islamist terrorists left behind at the ancient site of Palmyra have emerged, following the recapturing of the city by the Syrian Army of Bashar al Assad, Sunday. A Syrian military source said the whole city had been liberated from the terrorists, including the residential areas and the ancient city.

Moscow would lose a lot if it destroyed its friendship with Ankara, Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan has said following recent violations of Turkey's airspace close to the border with Syria by Russian combat aircraft.