Russia's intervention on 30 September 2015 won it a warm water port on the Mediterranean, but the political solution that was meant to follow the fighting has not yet materialised
While the potential presence of Houthis in Syria is most likely only symbolic, its implications could be significant. Israel might use this as a justification to ramp up attacks across the region.
Even though it would be good for the region and efforts toward resetting ties have regional and international backing, major challenges and even non-starters are blocking the path to rapprochement
The suspended fair remains a symbol of the global prestige Syria enjoyed in its not-so-distant past. Al Majalla recalls some of its most memorable moments.
The Syrian president knows that war between Israel and Hezbollah will send diplomats hurriedly calling Damascus. After more than a decade in the diplomatic naughty corner, this is his moment
War sent oil firms running while the loss of territorial control in the oil- and gas-rich north-east left the Kurds with the hydrocarbons and Damascus reliant on Iran. Will the good times roll again?
The interception of more than a dozen unmanned aerial vehicles in recent months has shown that smuggling has a highly effective new toy, while the Jordanians have a new security headache
A fascinating first-hand account from a former ambassador of the conversation about the Shebaa Farms that uncovered the lie that Hezbollah uses to justify its continued 'resistance' against Israel
This bureaucratic sham is meant to make the Assad regime look credible but instead just demonstrates its sclerosis. Little wonder most Syrians don't bother.
Despite the war's unpopularity, Trump seems determined to press on until he can claim a decisive victory, whether by diplomacy, force, or a combination of the two
A Democrat-majority Congress will clip his wings at home, but he will have far more freedom to act on foreign affairs, given the powers he still retains as commander-in-chief
French novelist Philippe Jaenada's novel 'The Unknown Woman of Quai de Javel' wins big, while the Prix Renaudot goes to François-Henri Désérable for his novel about an unlikely wine expert