Syria

Economic Sanctions
Entrepreneurship

Fellows

Fellow

Michel Duclos

Conflict
Crisis Management

Fellow

Arwa Damon

Arabic
Civil Society

Fellow

Ömer Özkizilcik

Nonresident Fellow

Arabic
English

Fellow

Sinan Hatahet

Arabic
Economic Sanctions

Former fellow

Hind Kabawat

Former Nonresident Senior Fellow, Syria Project

Nonresident Fellow, Syria Project

Arabic
Civil Society

Fellow

Diana Rayes

Online Event
Thu, December 19, 2024 • 12:30 pm ET

Arabic
Civil Society

Past events

Putin loses in Syria. Is Russia in retreat?

Conflict
Europe & Eurasia
Middle East
Russia

Online Event
Tue, May 21, 2024 • 10:30 am ET

Exploring investment opportunities in northwest Syria

Conflict
Economic Sanctions
Economy & Business
Financial Regulation

Event Recap

Mar 29, 2024

Launching the Syria Strategy Project

By
JP Reppeto and Charles Johnson

On March 18, 2024, the Atlantic Council’s Syria Project, the Middle East Institute’s Syria Program, the European Institute of Peace, and Madaniya Civil Society Network launched the Syria Strategy, an intensive process of engagement with subject matter experts and policymakers in the United States, Europe, and the Middle East to develop a holistic strategy to […]

Civil Society
Conflict

Learn more about the Middle East Programs

Middle East Programs

Working with our allies and partners in Europe and the wider Middle East to protect US interests, build peace and security, and unlock the human potential of the region.

EXPLORE THE ATLANTIC COUNCIL’S MIDDLE EAST PROGRAMS

Sign up for the MENASource newsletter, highlighting pieces that follow democratic transitions and economic changes throughout the region.

Content

In the News

Oct 23, 2015

Itani on Russia and Iran’s Backing of Assad

By Faysal Itani

Rafik Hariri Center Resident Fellow Faysal Itani joins Voice of America’s Encounter to discuss the implications of increased Iranian and Russian backing of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad:

Syria

SyriaSource

Oct 23, 2015

FSA Forces Defy the Russians as Aircrafts Shell Civilians in Northern Syria

By Saleem al-Omar

Aircrafts hover over the Syrian opposition-controlled territories in northern Syria, easily visible to the naked eye. Witnesses to the missile strikes shout “God is great,” expressing their feelings of shock, fear, and anxiety.

Syria

SyriaSource

Oct 22, 2015

Without Committed Air Support, Kurdish Forces cannot go on the Offensive against ISIS

By Mecid Mohamed

Despite repeated attempts to take the towns of al-Shaddadi and al-Hool, located fifty kilometers south and forty kilometers east of Hasaka, respectively, the Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG) have been unable to advance towards either of these strategically important locations. Notwithstanding sustained air support from the international coalition to combat missions in and around Hasaka, […]

Syria

SyriaSource

Oct 22, 2015

Top News: Syrian Kurdish leaders hold talks in Moscow

By Syria Source

Leaders from Syria’s Kurdish community on Wednesday held talks in Moscow with Russia’s Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov over the conflict in Syria. Bogdanov hosted the co-chair of the Kurdish Democratic Union Party (PYD) Asya Abdullah and the head of the administration in the town of Kobani Anwar Muslim, Russia’s Foreign Ministry said in a […]

Syria

MENASource

Oct 22, 2015

MENASource Podcast: Russia’s Intervention in Syria

By Aaron Stein and Faysal Itani

For the past three and a half weeks, the Russian Air Force and a handful of military advisers have been striking rebel held positions in Syria. The bulk of the airstrikes are concentrated along the M5 highway near the cities of Homs and Hama.

Russia Syria

SyriaSource

Assad the Prop

By Frederic C. Hof

Russian President Vladimir Putin is orchestrating the performance of his life, using Syria as the stage on which he proclaims Moscow’s reemergence as the third Rome and drives a spike into what he describes as Washington’s democratization and regime change jihad. Having declared war on the Islamic State (ISIL, ISIS, or Daesh) in Syria, he […]

Syria

Emerging Defense Challenges

‘We Need a Freakin’ Budget’

By Ashish Kumar Sen

Congressman Adam Smith says cap-free defense budget needed to address global challenges The Pentagon needs a long-term budget that is free of caps if it is to address important global threats, including from Islamist militants, Russia, and China, a senior Democratic lawmaker said on Oct. 21. “We need a freakin’ budget,” Rep. Adam Smith (D-WA), […]

Iran Russia

SyriaSource

Top News: Assad meets with Putin in Moscow

By Syria Source

President Bashar al-Assad has traveled to Moscow in his first known trip abroad since war broke out in Syria in 2011, meeting his strongest ally Russian leader Vladimir Putin. The two leaders stressed that military operations in Syria, in which Moscow is the latest and most powerful addition, must lead to a political process. Turkish […]

Syria

Russian warship celebrating Navy Day, July 26, 2015

NATOSource

Russia’s Syria Strategy Poses Challenge to NATO in Mediterranean

By Sam Jones, Financial Times

Russia’s military intervention in Syria is serving as a broader announcement of Moscow’s renewed determination to hold sway in the Middle East.

NATO Russia

SyriaSource

Europe, not the United States, Pays the Price of Failure in Syria

By Bassma Kodmani

Russian President Putin has decided that Syria is part of Russia’s near abroad, no less than Ukraine it seems, a territory where some vital national interests are at stake. He has predicted the fecklessness of Western powers well. Whether he is deploying his arsenal in Syria to fight Daesh or to bolster Assad, by moving […]

Syria

Experts

Fellow

Amany Qaddour

Nonresident Fellow, Syria Project

Arabic Civil Society

Fellow

Diana Rayes

Digital Forensic Research Lab

Arabic Civil Society

Fellow

Lukas Andriukaitis

Nonresident Fellow

Disinformation Eastern Europe

Staff

Elise Baker

Senior Staff Lawyer, Strategic Litigation Project

Civil Society Extremism

Fellow

Nicholas Blanford

Arabic Conflict

Fellow

Alia Brahimi