External actors and some domestic parties are believed to be working behind the scenes towards a settlement. Why now?

Six years ago, they were issuing threats. Today, it is all smiles and handshakes. Ankara and Cairo disagree on some things, but they are increasingly finding common ground on others.

If Trump's idea is implemented, it would all but certainly further undermine regional stability and US interests in the Middle East

A US envoy wants the institutions of western Libya to accommodate the son of an eastern warlord as Libyan president. Is this another doomed effort to unite the feuding factions, or could it work?

Syrian military intervention in Lebanon is nowhere near a priority as Damascus grapples with enormous economic, social, and political obligations at home

Border security and cooperation with Washington

The two states are working closer now than they have for decades, with Hezbollah a common problem. But Syria's army entering Lebanon is not the answer.

Having the Syrian army fight the militant group will not solve Lebanon's problem—it would very likely make it worse

Ankara believes Trump's idea to deploy Syrian forces to disarm the Lebanese militant group would further inflame a volatile situation

Tom Barrack travelled to Erbil to meet representatives from Iraq and Syria to discuss Kurdish-American cooperation and the need to tackle pro-Iranian militias