Egypt’s leadership has grown frustrated with US admonitions and criticisms of its governance record, and from Cairo’s perspective, bewildering discussions of conditions on US military aid

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi is hardly ready to ditch his country’s long-standing ties to the United States, the prospect of Russian arms and assistance could prove a useful complement to what some in Cairo consider more uncertain US support, especially as Egypt faces an ongoing terrorist insurgency in the Sinai Peninsula.

Naumkin adds th

Russia also considers Egypt an ally in its efforts to broker a political settlement in Syria

as a result of the Russian president’s visit to Cairo, the parties might agree to pool their forces in the context of a Syrian settlement.

It might be understandable for some analysts to dismiss the Moscow conference, given the diplomatic false starts over four years in a conflict that has left more than 150,000 dead, 7.6 million displaced, 3.2 million refugees, 12.2 million in need of humanitarian assistance and at least 680,000 injured, according to the United Nations.

Syrian opposition figures were not allowed to participate in the Jan. 26-29 Moscow conference as representatives of opposition parties, such as the National Coalition of Syrian Revolution and Opposition Forces (SOC), the leading umbrella group based in Turkey

The absence of the SOC and other representatives of the external opposition no doubt limited the potential impact of the conference,

Participants agreed to an 11-point list of “Moscow Principles” and a four-point “Appeal to the International Community” affirming the need to fight terrorist organizations such as the Islamic State (IS), rejecting outside interference and calling for increased humanitarian aid, while agreeing to meet again in a month’s time.

acknowledged the possibility for other organizations to play a role in future talks

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has vigorously supported the law, claiming its passage is essential in defending democracy

 “Success tempted the AKP, prompting it to revert back to its Islamism and initiate a much more ambitious narrative of building a new regional order, and even a new global order. Meanwhile, Erdogan turned into an unquestionable leader who is not limited by facts and creates his own facts, as envisioned by his Islamist ideology and extraordinary intuition. In the eyes of his hard-core supporters, he is not a mere political leader who formulates pragmatic policies. He is a total leader who redefines everything.”

Assad said: “The Russian presence in different parts of the world, including the Eastern Mediterranean and the Syrian port of Tartus, is very necessary, in order to create a sort of balance, which the world has lost after the dissolution of the Soviet Union more than 20 years ago.

Syrian president welcomed the Russian presence in his country and the region. “For us, the stronger this presence is in our region, the better it is for stability [in the region], because Russia is assuming an important role in world stability,”

Syrian nod is only a repetition of a former call made under the rule of late Syrian President Hafez al-Assad, who saw that the presence of a Russian military representation in Syria in the Mediterranean region contributes to the promotion of the idea of “the balance of terror” against Israel and the United States

The talk was, however, halted, until the last two years, when an actual need to promote Russian presence in the Mediterranean emerged in light of the reignition of the Cold War.

deployment of missile systems on the Mediterranean coast, as a sort of “symbolic deterrence.” The rumors were repeated as the NATO missile defense project was announced, which was supposed to be deployed in different countries, including Turkey and other countries bordering Russia

e US invasion of Iraq, as the US desire to change the face of the Middle East seemed free of any rational considerations. Assad made several visits to Moscow, and although this has not been publicly mentioned, Syrian diplomats and officials stressed to As-Safir that Syria expressed its desire to expand the Russian presence in the Eastern Mediterranean, particularly through Tartus, so that it turns into a military presence with limited standards

, Russia and Syria signed the biggest deal of its kind to explore oil in the Syrian waters, which covers a 2,190 square-kilometer surface area, and to achieve economic ambitions, namely extracting 2.5 billion barrels of oil and 8.5 trillion cubic feet of proven gas reserves, the oil and gas magazine said back then

is understandable, without neglecting the importance of other political and military issue

“any decision to modernize the infrastructure of the Russian Material-Technical Support Point in Tartus can only be made after a political decision is taken in this regard, in coordination with the Syrian side.” He explained that any modernization should “take into account the political and military situation in the Mediterranean region,” and therefore “it will include the promotion of all sorts of protection in the facility, including surface-to-air missiles and anti-riots weapons, and will be in coordination with the Syrian side.”

risen sharply from a few thousand … a decade ago to more than 25,000 today

The report said just two countries had drawn more than 20,000 foreign fighters: Syria and Iraq. They went to fight primarily for the Islamic State group

ited the “high number” of foreign fighters from Tunisia, Morocco, France and Russia, the increase in fighters from the Maldives, Finland and Trinidad and Tobago, and the first fighters from some countries in sub-Saharan Africa which it did not name. The groups had also found recruits from Britain and Australia.

foreign fighters who travelled to Syria and Iraq were living and working in “a veritable ‘international finishing school’ for extremists”, as was the case in Afghanistan in the 199

while governments are focusing on countering the threat from fighters returning home, the panel said it was possible that some may be traumatised by what they saw and need psychological help, and that others may be recruited by criminal networks.

The number of countries the fighters come from has also risen dramatically from a small group in the 1990s to more than 100 today — more than half the countries in the world

A military defeat of the Islamic State group in Syria and Iraq could have the unintended consequence of scattering violent foreign terrorist fighters across the world

an urgent global security problem” that needed to be tackled on many fronts and had no easy solution

With globalised travel, it said, the chance of a person from any country becoming a victim of a foreign terrorist attack was growing “particularly with attacks targeting hotels, public spaces and venues

It said the most effective policy was to prevent the radicalisation, recruitment and travel of would-be fighters.

he prayed for refugees “suffering a brutal persecution” in Iraq and Syria, as Islamic State militants took over swaths of territory in the two countries

On Sunday Francis went beyond Syria and Iraq, referring also to the worsening situation in Libya. As rival militias vie for power, the pope spoke of his hopes “that the present absurd bloodshed and all barbarous acts of violence may cease”.

The pope’s speech was preceded by a multilingual mass, which included prayers in Arabic and Chinese, attended by thousands of followers.

Syria

The Observatory, which monitors the conflict from the UK, also said jets from Syrian president Bashar al-Assad’s air forcebombed the camp on Saturday

called the crisis in Yarmouk “an affront to the humanity of all of us, a source of universal shame”.

He said Palestinian and Syrian refugees in the camp, which had previously been besieged by Assad’s forces, were already suffering from starvation and disease

Their main target was Aknaf Beit al-Maqdis, an anti-Assad militia of Syrians and Palestinians from the camp.

Reuters that Isis fighters had killed 21 people including fighters and civilians since Friday

The evacuation of the camp had been made harder as Isis snipers were shooting refugees as they tried to leave the camp.

He gave no dates

The minister said a consular presence in Syria would help Tunisia glean information on Tunisians fighting alongside Islamist militants in Iraq and Syria and who officials fear will return to carry out attacks at home.

Tunisia would also reestablish diplomatic relations with neighboring Libya

Tunisia completed a mostly peaceful transition to democracy but has struggled to clamp down on Islamist militants who have been carrying out regular attacks.

After withdrawing their envoys after the start of the uprising against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in 2011, some European Union countries have started to privately support more communication with Damascus.

Several countries including China, Indonesia and top allies Russia and Iran have envoys or charge d'affaires in Damascus

US wants Bashar al-Assad out of power, and is pushing for the transitional government called for in the Geneva communique.

President Barack Obama sought Congressional support for military action but postponed the vote - which was not certain to pass - when Syria indicated it would surrender its chemical stockpile

United States has been one of the most prominent advocates of firm action against the Syrian government, which it has accused of using chemical weapons and other atrocities.

It is backing Syria's "moderate opposition" with "non-lethal" assistance, including communications equipment, generators, and office supplies - but is also believed to be supplying light weapon

Russia is one of Mr Assad's most important international backers and has warned the US and its allies against taking one-sided action against Syria

Russia was key to Syria agreeing to give up chemical weapons, and backs the Geneva Communique. But it has repeatedly said Syria's future should be decided by Syrians and blocked anti-Assad resolutions at the UN Security Council. It continues to supply Syria with arms, including missile systems and aircraft

Britain has been a big critic of the Assad government and signed a statement in 2013 calling for a "strong international respons

supported military action but had to rule out Britain's involvement when he failed to secure the backing of parliament in August 2013.

UK, along with France, successfully lobbied for the EU's arms embargo to be lifted so as to allow further supplies to Syrian rebels

France has been among the most hawkish Western countries and was the first to stop recognising the Syrian government and deal with the main opposition coalition instead.

France up to join US military action until plans were put on hold. The president acknowledged that France could not, and would not, act on its own

China has joined Russia in blocking resolutions critical of Syria at the UN Security Council. It has criticised the prospect of strikes against Syria, insisting any military action without UN approval would be illegal.

Turkish government has been one of the most vocal critics of Syrian President Assad since early on in the uprising and signalled its willingness to join international action even without UN approval

Saudi Arabia has been a rival of the Syrian government for years. It has been particularly active in pushing for action against Mr Assad, and called for "all legal means possible" to be used to stop the bloodshed

Qatar is thought to be one of the main suppliers of weapons to Syrian rebels and says outside military intervention has become a necessity to protect the Syrian people.

ebanon there is deep division between supporters and opponents of President Assad. The country has suffered from an overspill of violence, including bomb attacks, as well as a huge flood of refugees. It has said it thinks military intervention might make the situation worse.

Jordan has also received hundreds of thousands of refugees and has called for a political solution to the conflic

Iran has been Syria's main backer in the region since well before the current conflict.

Iran has warned that any foreign intervention risks sparking a regional war.

Israel regards President Assad as an enemy, but has refrained from publicly backing military action against him. It fears its backing could alienate the Arab world,

UN chemical weapons inspectors are due to start a second day of investigations in the suburbs of Damascus

UN team came under sniper fire as they tried to visit an area west of the city

US officials said there was "little doubt" that President Bashar al-Assad's government was to blame

Russian foreign ministry spokesman Alexander Lukashevich has called on the international community to show "prudence" over the crisis and observe international law.

Attempts to bypass the Security Council, once again to create artificial groundless excuses for a military intervention in the region are fraught with new suffering in Syria and catastrophic consequences for other countries of the Middle East and North Africa

US said it was postponing a meeting on Syria with Russian diplomats, citing "ongoing consultations" about alleged use of chemical weapons in Syria

The two sides had been due to meet in The Hague on Wednesday to discuss setting up an international conference on finding a political solution to the crisis

Western powers were rushing to conclusions about who may have used chemical weapons in Syria before UN inspectors had completed their investigation

Both the Syrian government and rebels have blamed each other for last Wednesday's attacks

Medical charity Medecins Sans Frontieres said three hospitals it supported in the Damascus area had treated about 3,600 patients with "neurotoxic symptoms", of whom 355 had died

UK is making contingency plans for military action in Syri

Earlier in the day, the UN convoy came under fire from unidentified snipers and was forced to turn back before resuming its journey

In the most forceful US reaction yet, US Secretary of State John Kerry on Monday described the recent attacks in the Damascus area as a "moral obscenity

Syrian government had something to hide

What we saw in Syria last week should shock the conscience of the world. It defies any code of moralit

President Obama believes there must be accountability for those who would use the world's most heinous weapons against the world's most vulnerable peopl

Analysts believe the most likely US action would be sea-launched cruise missiles targeting Syrian military installations.

the West had not produced any proof that President Assad's forces had used chemical weapons

some Western countries that military action against the Syrian government could be taken without a UN mandate

Mr Lavrov said the use of force without Security Council backing would be "a crude violation of international law

an international military response to the suspected use of chemical weapons would be possible without the backing of the UN

The UN Security Council is divided, with Russia and China opposing military intervention and the UK and France warning that the UN could be bypassed if there was "great humanitarian need".

if the West does not intervene to support freedom and democracy in Egypt and Syria, the Middle East will face catastrophe

They went through some changes to take into account the type of fighting the Syrian army carries out against the terrorists

Assad gave no details of the weapons being supplied by Russia, the world's second-biggest arms exporter, since the start of the conflic

In fact, Moscow has always highlighted that there have been and are no embargoes on military cooperation. There are no legal limitations no us

Russia is a longstanding ally of Assad and is hosting meetings in Moscow on April 6-9 involving some of the more moderate Syrian opposition representatives and Damascus envoys.

Expectations of a breakthrough are low after a first round of consultations made little progress. Many Syrian opposition figures shunned the January consultations, saying they would appear only at meetings that led to Assad's removal from power

he al Qaeda-linked Nusra Front also said it had captured the crossing but rival rebels denied this and accused them of looting after the crossing fell into rebel hands.

Jordan closed its side of the crossing on Wednesday. A Jordanian source said on Thursday the kingdom had stepped up security and redeployed some troops to the border

The Syrian army, which accuses the staunch U.S. ally of harboring rebels on its soil, said the kingdom had deployed its troops inside the crossing after the rebels took control. Amman denies providing training and arms for the insurgents

ordan has pressured rebels in the past not to overrun the Nasib crossing so the highway could stay open to trade and traffic with Damascus

Nasib, one of Syria's last official border crossings, is now crucial for importing goods into a country hit hard by Western sanctions

 The war has split and scattered all of their families around the world. Bekandy's father is still back in Syria, her fiancé and mother are in London.

He hopes his good deeds might somehow help reunite him with his family, which is now split into three parts, spread across Europe.

His wife and six-year-old son are on the line from Athens. Their eldest daughter — just 15 — is in Germany.

Lezieh says ISIS drew that X on his house in Aleppo, marking it to show his was a Christian home. He says militants tried to recruit him, threatened to kidnap his children and bombed his new business

Now Lezieh gets by with donations from parishioners and hopes to see his family all in one place soon. He tries to smile through the tears. He has to. His daughter is calling.

take part only if the talks were to lead to the departure of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, an ally of Russia

Russia says fighting terrorism in Syria should be the top priority now and has called on the opposition to work with Assad to that end

Randa Kassis, a former SNC member who now favors talking to Damascus because of the rise of radical Islamists in Syri

focus on confidence-building measures including ensuring access for humanitarian aid

Moscow has not said which opposition figures will attend. But the line-up is likely to be similar to January, when more than 30 representatives of various groups attended, most from groups tolerated by Assad or who agree that working with Damascus is necessary to combat the rise of Islamic Stat

released 650 prisoners from at least three prisons in Damascus on March 25-27, including women, children, political prisoners and fighter

release of these people to the talks would be "just an ac

witnesses said as many as 22 were being held either for ransom or as bargaining chips.

border would remain closed indefinitely until the authorities could guarantee security there.

The chaos on the border was a blow to Syria’s government, which lost the last crossing it had still controlled along the 230-mile border. But it could also be embarrassing for Jordan, the United States and other allies involved in a covert program to train insurgents who, they insist, are relatively nationalist and moderate.

admitted in an interview that some members of army-affiliated battalions had taken part in the looting, but he insisted that they had not coordinated with Nusra.

“I admit there was chaos and looting even by members of the Free Syrian Army, but we are working on returning some of the stolen goods and equipment,”

He said that factions linked to the Free Syrian Army had seized the border crossing without Nusra fighters, who rushed in later to take credit. Antigovernment activists in the area have said that a deal was made with Nusra to remain in the background.

Nusra and Free Syrian Army groups were controlling different parts of the complex, with a Free Syrian Army group called the Southern Falcons objecting to Nusra’s efforts to seize control of the crossing and its spoils. He said a Nusra fighter told him they were holding 22 drivers, not for ransom, but as a way to put pressure on the Free Syrian Army “to let Nusra run the whole place.

The United States and the European Union have imposed economic sanctions on Russia over its role in the crisis in Ukraine.

Russia, a long-standing ally of Assad, denies sending troops and weapons to support separatists fighting government forces in east Ukraine

Assad will not attend, the president said those taking part should not lose sight of the main goal, clearly meaning restoring peace

Many Syrian opposition figures shunned the January talks, saying they would appear only at meetings that led to Assad's removal from power.

is a radical departure from current EU policy, which forces asylum seekers to apply for asylum in their first country of entry, under legislation known as the Dublin law.

We need to convince them that it is better to go legally, that there is an alternative to months of suffering

More than 3 million people are estimated to have fled the country in the past four years, and although the vast majority have remained in neighbouring countries – Lebanon, Turkey and Jordan – thousands have tried to make the perilous journey to Europe.

Most of those who survive the Mediterranean crossing – and more than 3,000 died last year – end up in Italy and Greece

42,000 Syrians ended up in Italy in 2014 alone

apply for asylum in their country of arrival. But only a tiny minority do. In practice, many migrants simply slip through the net and move, vulnerably, around Europe.

Syrians who chose to move irregularly across Europe could be reduced if people were allowed to legally travel onwards to join family or move to countries where they have language skills or work opportunities

Syrian conflict has exacerbated a refugee crisis in north Africa and the Middle East

The proposed relocation, which would start as a one-year pilot programme, would focus only on Syrians who have been recognised as refugees in Italy and Greece and would depend on an initial voluntary commitment from member states

previous attempts to reform the Dublin law have been met with fierce resistance during internal EU discussions

UK and other northern European countries have fought in both domestic and European courts to defend the right to return asylum seekers to their first country of entry

arguing that protection and accommodation conditions in Italy and Greece are inadequate

stressed the importance of states upholding the Dublin regulation

the commission is discussing with the member states on how to ensure a more balanced distribution of resettled refugees among all member states. We wil

Cochetel acknowledged that only a significant interest in building a new system would create a change in behaviour among desperate migrants

Last month Turkey become the largest country of asylum in the world

massive irregular secondary movements feeding trafficking, leading to human suffering and exploitation

Humanitarian aid will not be affected, the government official said. Syrians with passports are still allowed to cross into Syria

Turkey has kept its borders open to refugees since the start of Syria's civil war four years ago, but it has come under criticism for doing too little to keep foreign fighters crossing and joining militant groups including Islamic State

divided between government forces and insurgent groups fighting to topple President Bashar al-Assad in a conflict estimated to have killed 200,000 people

The closure of the Turkish border posts also comes after an air strike on Sunday

Western governments and media have blamed Ankara for not doing enough to prevent the flow of foreigners into Syria

more than 12,500 people have been blocked from entering Turkey and that the government has deported more than 1,150 people since January

Turkey is doing its bit [to stop the flow into Syria] and will continue to do so

Afghan forces killed 10 fighters who claimed to be part of Islamic State on Sunday

growing numbers of disgruntled Taliban fighters have joined the militant group that has seized swathes of territory in Syria and Iraq

significance is not so much a function of its intrinsic capacities in the area but of its potential to offer an alternative flagpole to which otherwise isolated insurgent splinter groups can rall

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon's latest report to the Security Council on Afghanistan said a handful of Taliban commanders had declared allegiance to Islamic State and that an increasing number were seeking funding or cooperation with Islamic State.

The radical Islamist group has declared a caliphate in the territory it controls in Syria and Iraq. A U.S.-led alliance has been targeting Islamic State with air strikes in Iraq and Syria for some six month

Militants loyal to Islamic State have also been exploiting chaos in Libya, while Boko Haram, which is seeking to carve an Islamist emirate out of northeastern Nigeria, has pledged its allegiance to Islamic State

"an alignment of circumstances that could be conducive to fostering peace talks" between the Afghan government and the Taliban. Officials said last month the Afghan Taliban has signaled it is willing to open peace talks.

continues a frank dialogue with the Taliban on humanitarian access and on human right

brutality and aggression of the Islamic State, he still whitewashes the brutality and aggression of established states Syria, Russia and Iran, and still ignores the need for grand strategy to deal with them

We must, therefore, take Iran, Russia and Syria, and the collusion between them, seriously.

potentially, an even greater threat to the “free world” than ISIS. Because they are terror sponsors and supporters, WMD in their control means WMD out of control, susceptible to being sold or given to fanatics who are willing to work for their cause

working with the Iranian, Russian and Syrian regimes to address Middle Eastern problems and fight ISIS is a sure way to alienate Middle Eastern moderates and traditional partner

Russia’s staunch support of Syria and Iran; its ruthless aggression in Ukraine; and its expansionist designs in Eastern Europe, should make containing Russia an American foreign policy priority

Instead, much of the White House plan for combating ISIS plays right into Syrian, Iranian and Russian hands, for it revolves around their plans –which include allowing Assad to stay in power, legitimizing Russian-sponsored “peace conferences” that buy Assad time and raise Putin’s stature, accommodating the Iranian nuclear program, and giving Iran the lead in the battle against ISIS and in the Levant.

the United States has been mostly passive, while Russia, Iran and its proxies, and al Qaeda-affiliated terrorists, have seized the day.

opened the door to extremist groups eager to hijack the Syrian revolt and/or defend the Syrian regime

Iran and Russia have worked stolidly to protect Assad and capitalize on the chao

While the Obama administration justified its unwillingness to give meaningful aid to Syrian rebels with fear of helping extremists within rebel ranks, that stance allowed extremism within Syria to metastasize

development so serious that it now requires a military respons

Russia provided cover for Syria in the UN, and supplied many of the very weapons Assad uses to massacre civilian

the administration has endorsed yet more Russia-sponsored “peace talks”

President Obama and Secretary Kerry have backed even further away from demands that Assad leave, while even the goal of a transitional government which characterized the previous talks has been dropped