Analysis Israel fears Turkey’s Syria ambitions and doubts Trump will stop them Israeli officials remain skeptical of Turkish and Syrian denials over Ankara’s military ambitions in Syria, warning that a deeper Turkish foothold could threaten Israel’s security and strain its ties with Washington. By Ben Caspit In Tel Aviv, reporting on national security, Israeli politics, defense
Turkey signals restraint as war of words with Israel escalates over Syria The Turkish president’s top communications aide says Ankara will not be drawn into the Israeli government's “games” as Washington pushes a Turkey-Israel-Syria deconfliction mechanism. Turkey
Syria’s FM pays Pakistan first visit in 19 years amid new regional alignments Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shibani is paying his office's first visit to Pakistan in nearly two decades after Islamabad, Ankara and Riyadh signed a joint defense pact. Syria
Turkey looks to expand Syria energy footprint into oil, gas Turkish Energy Minister Alparslan Bayraktar said state oil giant TPAO and private companies are ready to explore for oil and gas onshore and offshore in Syria. Turkey
Syria announces capture of senior ISIS official near Manbij: What to know By Jared Szuba In Washington, DC, reporting on defense, national security, military
What we know about Israeli strikes on Syrian air base tied to Turkey By Adam Lucente In New York City, reporting on regional news, militancy, climate change
Turkish defense chief warns Syrian rebels against ‘provocation’ As the Turkish president eyes a meeting with his Syrian counterpart, the Turkish defense chief warns Ankara-backed armed groups against “provocations” amid ongoing Syrian protests against the Damascus-Ankara thaw. Turkey
Erdogan presses for 'concrete steps' in Syria during call with Putin President Erdogan tells his Russian counterpart Putin that the Syrian government needs to be "constructive" for "concrete results" in Syria. Turkey
The Takeaway: Regional embrace of Syria's Assad puts US in tight spot Plus, the US responds to Itamar Ben-Gvir's controversial holy site visit, and President Joe Biden names ambassadors to Jordan and Oman. Syria
Syrian opposition-controlled areas protest Ankara-Damascus rapprochement Syrians are speaking out against a potential Turkish-Syrian rapprochement, with opposition-held areas holding vigils and protests across Aleppo and Idlib governorates. Syria
Israeli strikes on Syria put Damascus airport briefly out of service, kill two The Syrian government said on Monday that a string of Israeli strikes hit Damascus International Airport putting its service to a halt for nearly seven hours. Syria
Turkish, Syrian FMs could meet soon as diplomatic thaw gains steam The top Turkish diplomat said Saturday that he could meet with his Syrian counterpart in mid-January. Turkey
Turkey, Syrian government may cooperate on the ground Turkey is considering cooperating with the Syrian government in rebel-held Syrian territories after the first high-level talks between Turkey and the Syrian government in Moscow this week. Turkey
Turkish, Syrian defense chiefs hold landmark meeting in Russia The defense ministers' meeting in Moscow was the first official engagement between Damascus and Ankara in more than a decade. Turkey
Water crisis worsens in Syria's Idlib as support dries up The "Goal" organization, which has been active in Syria since 2012, has stopped pumping water in villages and towns as support for it ends Syria
Turkey's Erdogan seeking a meeting with Assad and Putin In a reversal, Erdogan wants Russia to set-up a three-way meeting with Bashar Al-Assad, ten years after Ankara calling for his removal from power Turkey
US, Russia stall Turkey's ground operation, but Kurdish gains under threat The Russian and US policies of appeasing Turkey have averted a new Turkish ground operation in Syria for now, but they both lay the ground for a gradual undoing of Kurdish gains in the north. Turkey
Jihadists accuse HTS of conspiring with Syrian government to kill IS leader Jihadis opposed to Hayat Tahrir al-Sham in northern Syria accuse it of sending fighters from Idlib to Daraa, in the south of the country, to aid the Russians and government forces in eradicating Islamic State cells and their leader in the province. By Ahmed Read Jamus
