Syria and Turkey

How US Envoy to Syria Tom Barrack plays key role in creating a new Syria, Levant region - analysis

Barack plays a key role as US ambassador to Turkey, Special Envoy to Syria, and one of the key figures in American policy in the Levant, while also keeping constant dialogues with Gulf state actors.

|BySETH J. FRANTZMAN
US special envoy for Syria Tom Barrack attends a press conference with Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad Hassan al-Shibani and Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi, in Damascus, Syria September 16, 2025.
Members of the Kurdish forces hold a portrait of Turkish Defense Minister Yasar Guler which reads "Shame on the killers of innocents in the Sheikh Maqsud neighborhood" during a protest in the Kurdish-controlled northeastern city of Qamishli on January 13, 2026.

How Turkey’s dangerous course in the Middle East fuels massacres - opinion

Ankara has created, sustained, and directed a well-established network of Islamist proxies.

|ByVEYSI DAG
Armored personnel carriers stand outside a compound of the Syrian army's new 80th Division in northwest Syria, June 3, 2025.

Syrian army starts training in Turkey, while Ankara gains influence over Damascus gov't - analysis

Forty-nine Syrians have begun training in Turkey, as part of a new program that will allow Syrian troops to use Turkish military barracks and academies.

|BySETH J. FRANTZMAN
Shanty houses painted in primary colours are pictured crowding the deep gullies and steep cliffs in Altindag, a suburb on the slopes outside central Ankara.

Turkish charity shop worker allegedly sexually abusing Syrian refugees - BBC

The charity shop owner claimed it was physically impossible that he had committed sexual assault, as he only had one testicle and only four women had accused him.

|ByDANIELLE GREYMAN-KENNARD

UN raises concerns over Syria aid route from Turkey, cites 'unacceptable issues'

Syria gave its approval on Thursday for the UN to use Bab al-Hawa for another six months, but with several conditions.

JULY 15, 2023ByREUTERS
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad meets with United Nations (UN) relief chief Martin Griffiths in Damascus, Syria in this handout picture obtained by Reuters on March 21, 2023

Turkey's democratic decline: Why jailed opposition head 'retired' from politics - analysis

Many opposition politicians and critical journalists have been jailed in Turkey, meaning politics is far from free. 

JUNE 1, 2023BySETH J. FRANTZMAN
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan addresses his supporters following his victory in the second round of the presidential election at the Presidential Palace in Ankara, Turkey May 29, 2023.

Turkey's Erdogan faces struggle to meet Syrian refugee promise

Erdogan has said he aims to ensure the return of one million refugees within a year to the opposition-held areas.

MAY 31, 2023ByREUTERS
The son of a Syrian refugee Mohammed al-Kashif stands at the entrance of a tent, where Mohammed lives with his family on a public park ground, after his house collapsed due to the deadly earthquake, in Adiyaman, Turkey February 15, 2023.

Turkish, Syrian foreign ministers' meeting looms ahead of elections

The discontent in Turkey over the nearly 4 million Syrian refugees has been a source of domestic pressure on Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.

MAY 8, 2023ByKRISTINA JOVANOVSKI/THE MEDIA LINE
TURKEY’S PRESIDENT Recep Tayyip Erdogan speaks to journalists at the G20 summit in Bali, Indonesia, earlier this month.

Four Turkish troops wounded in attacks in Syria, Ankara says

Turkey has carried out several cross-border military incursions into northern Syria in recent years and has dozens of bases there.

APRIL 16, 2023ByREUTERS
A TURKISH soldier waves a flag on Mount Barsaya, northeast of Afrin, Syria, in January 2018

Turkey escalates against US-Kurdish alliance in Syria with drone strike

The Turkish drone strike in Iraq shows the lengths Ankara will go to strike Kurdish anti-ISIS fighters.

APRIL 9, 2023BySETH J. FRANTZMAN
Turkey's President Tayyip Erdogan attends a meeting with Russia's President Vladimir Putin (not pictured) on the sidelines of the 6th summit of the Conference on Interaction and Confidence-building Measures in Asia (CICA), in Astana, Kazakhstan, October 13, 2022.

Dutch seismologist who 'predicted' Turkey earthquake foresees more quakes

In a tweet on Monday, he predicted "stronger seismic activity in the coming days," with a link to a YouTube video.

MARCH 28, 2023ByMAARIV ONLINE, JERUSALEM POST STAFF
A view shows semi collapsed buildings in the aftermath of a deadly earthquake in Hatay, Turkey February 15, 2023.

6,600 foreigners, mostly Syrians, killed in Turkey’s earthquakes - analysis

The number 6,600 likely means that other missing Syrians will also be added to this number, perhaps as many as 10,000 eventually.

MARCH 13, 2023BySETH J. FRANTZMAN
An aerial view shows collapsed and damaged buildings after an earthquake in Hatay, Turkey February 7, 2023.

Israeli experts: $10b. needed to reinforce buildings before next big earthquake

The Israeli government needs to plan to strengthen 800,000 buildings and critical infrastructure before it’s too late, experts warn.

MARCH 5, 2023ByMAYA MARGIT/THE MEDIA LINE
A view of a street damaged by the earthquake, in the rebel-held town of Harem, in Idlib governorate, Syria, February 14, 2023.

Turkey earthquake tragedy is a reminder of what's important - opinion

Despite the rapid, substantial global humanitarian response from many countries, it just wasn't possible to help everyone, quickly enough.

MARCH 2, 2023ByRABBI ABRAHAM COOPER/THE MEDIA LINE, REV. JOHNNIE MOORE/THE MEDIA LINE
A person reacts while sitting on the rubble of a collapsed building, in the aftermath of an earthquake, in Kahramanmaras, Turkey, February 9, 2023