Is Turkey’s shift on Assad beginning of the end of Syria’s war?

Turkish deputy prime minister says "we just have to work with what we have"; no sectarian divide in Aleppo; the Syrian Kurdish fault line.

Lebanon

How Washington, Riyadh can work together to counter terrorism

It would behoove Washington and Riyadh to take steps to reassure each other in the fight against terrorism.

Saudi Arabia

US strike rekindles debate over Trump plans for Libya

Barack Obama made a show of battling the Islamic State in conjunction with Tripoli's UN-backed unity government. Will the new president drop the GNA for an anti-Islamist strongman?

Libya

After Paris — a Moscow conference on Mideast peace?

Palestinians are now developing a follow-up strategy to the Paris II conference, and are hoping for a Moscow conference in the near future.

Palestine

US pastor in Turkish jail while Gulen dominates talks

Turkey’s prime minister has asked the US president-elect to hand over exiled cleric Fethullah Gulen in the interest of furthering US-Turkey relations even as Ankara continues to hold American pastor Andrew Brunson on terror charges.

Turkey

Confusion over US presence at Astana Syria talks

A Russian invitation to the Trump transition team to send a representative to Syria peace talks in the Kazakh capital Astana Jan. 23 has caused confusion and revealed limited interactions between the incoming and outgoing US administrations.

Syria

Trump's UN nominee reassures advocates of Iran deal, two-state solution

South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley offered a measured counterpoint to Donald Trump's inflamed rhetoric during her confirmation hearing Jan. 18.

Palestine

US backs Turkish offensive with airstrikes around al-Bab

After repeated appeals from Turkey for the United States to help Turkish troops and their rebel proxies to capture al-Bab, US airstrikes are resuming in a move that could help diffuse growing tensions between the NATO allies.

Syria

Why Ankara’s honeymoon with Trump may be short-lived

By blasting the Obama administration over Gulen and the Syrian Kurds, the Turkish government is signaling to the incoming Trump administration its demands for improved ties.

Syria

What the world is telling Palestinians, Israelis and Trump

European diplomats believe the international attendance at the second Paris conference reflects broad support for a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Palestine

Rouhani: Nuclear deal renegotiation 'meaningless'

Following the death of Ayatollah Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, Iranian hard-liners found a new target to attack: Ali Akbar Nategh-Nuri. Meanwhile, President Rouhani dismisses a renegotiation of the nuclear deal, a point brought up by figures close to President-elect Trump, as “meaningless.”

United States

For Israel, more unknowns than knowns with Trump

The Israeli right and defense establishment have found it hard to determine with any certainty what direction US President-elect Donald Trump will take on policy.

Palestine