Foreign policy of the Bashar al-Assad administration
![]() | This article includes a list of general references, but it lacks sufficient corresponding inline citations. (August 2023) |
| ||
---|---|---|
Media gallery |
||
Syrian foreign policy during the presidency of Bashar al-Assad is based on continuity from the Cold War-era policies of his father and predecessor, Hafiz al-Assad. Hafiz al-Assad was a strong supporter of Soviet Union and aligned Ba'athist Syria closely with the Eastern Bloc. During this period, Syria adopted a strong anti-Zionist posture in the region, based on its military doctrine of gaining "strategic parity" and forming joint Arab initiatives.
After coming to power in 2000, Assad maintained his father's foreign policies such as alliance with Iran, support to Hezbollah and pursuing an anti-Zionist agenda. During the first decade of his rule, Assad focused on integrating Syria into the regional system, by balancing relations with neighbouring countries and preventing the blowback of Iraq War. Assad's military support to Hezbollah and Iran-backed militant groups has been described as the "central component of his security doctrine". Syria is also a prominent ally of Russia and its president Vladimir Putin.
Following its crackdown on protests in 2011, Syria became globally isolated and numerous sanctions were imposed by the European Union, the United States, the Arab League, and others. From the early stages of the conflict in Syria, major Western countries such as the US, France, and the United Kingdom, as well as rival powers in the region allied with the US such as Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Qatar have provided political, military, and logistic support to the Syrian opposition and its associated rebel groups in Syria. On the other hand, the Syrian government is politically and militarily supported by Iran, Russia, and Lebanon's Hezbollah. Since September 2015, Russia, at the request of the Assad government,[1] has waged an intensive air campaign against anti-government forces in Syria.
As of 2023, the Syrian civil war has resulted in over 600,000 deaths and millions of forced displacements; triggering the largest refugee crisis in the world.[2] The military activities of Syria, Iran, and Russia during the war have been criticized by the US and its allies, as well as several journalists and human rights organizations.
Background
[edit]![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/c1/Vladimir_Putin_visited_Khmeimim_Air_Base_in_Syria_%282017-12-11%29_41.jpg/260px-Vladimir_Putin_visited_Khmeimim_Air_Base_in_Syria_%282017-12-11%29_41.jpg)
Major pillars of foreign policy of Ba'athist Syria were formulated during the presidency of Hafiz al-Assad, who is revered as al-Muqaddas (Arabic: المقدس, lit. 'the Sanctified') by the Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party. Hafiz allied Syria closely to the Eastern Bloc and adopted an anti-Zionist, anti-American strategy in the region by strengthening Syrian military; which he integrated into the Ba'ath party by packing its officers with Ba'athist loyalists of Alawite background.[3]
In 1976, Hafiz al-Assad ordered a military intervention in Lebanon, resulting in the Syrian occupation of the country. He also gave support to Palestinian insurgent organizations and developed an alliance with Iran after 1979.[4] Syrian strategy during this period was based on the doctrine of "strategic parity" ("al-tawazun al-istratiji"), which involved the achievement of pan-Arab co-operation and strengthening of its military capabilities with Soviet support. After the fall of Soviet Union, Syrian government lost its primary military supplier and geo-political ally, leading to its isolation in the international arena.[5]
Following his succession in 2000, Assad preserved many of his father's hardline foreign policies such as alliance with Iran, support to Hezbollah in Lebanon and pursuing an anti-Western agenda. Although he made attempts to integrate Syria into the regional system, events such as the assassination of Rafic Hariri and Lebanese Cedar Revolution resulted in international backlash against his government, leading to Syrian military withdrawal from Lebanon in 2005. Assad's military support to Hezbollah and Iran-backed proxies in Lebanon became the "central component of his security doctrine" and the Syrian government backed Hezbollah in the 2006 Lebanon War. Syria also revived its alliance with Soviet Union's successor state Russia and Assad has formed close alliance with Vladimir Putin, who regularly provides cover for Assad in the UN Security Council.[6][7]
Relations with countries
[edit]China
[edit]In 2004, Assad visited China, the first visit by a Syrian head of state since the establishment of diplomatic relations.[8] Syria participates in the China-Arab States Cooperation Forum (CASCF), which is the primary multilateral cooperation body between China and the Arab world. Although the Arab states primarily coordinate in the CASCF through the Arab League, Syria coordinated individually between 2011 and 2023 due to the suspension of its Arab League membership.[9] In 2022, Syria joined China's Belt and Road Initiative.[10] In May 2023, Syria participated in a CASCF summit in Chengdu as member of Arab League for the first time since 2011.[11]
China views counter-terrorism as a major concern to be addressed in the context of the Syrian civil war. China views some Syrian rebel groups, such as the Turkistan Islamic Party (TIP), as terrorist organizations, attributing the uptick in terror in China as partially due to the TIP, particularly via its ties to Uyghurs in China's Xinjiang province.[12] Syria has cooperated with China regarding the issue of Uyghur militants joining Syrian rebel groups fighting the Assad government, with some sources indicating as many as 5,000 Uyghurs from Xinjiang having traveled to Syria in recent years.[13][14] China has also allegedly increased direct military links to Syria's government, although more discreetly than Russia has done.[15] Although China claims it has no military presence in Syria, there were reports of military cooperation in 2016, 2017, and 2018.[16]
In its position as a permanent member of the UN Security Council, China vetoed ten resolutions regarding Syria between 2010 and 2020[17] Syria was one of 53 countries that backed the Hong Kong national security law at the United Nations in June 2020.[18] In September 2023, Assad made a diplomatic visit to China and met with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Hangzhou, prior to the beginning of 19th Asian Games, where China and Syria jointly announced the establishment of a strategic partnership.[19][20][21]
Egypt
[edit]During the Arab Spring, Syrian state media focused primarily upon Hosni Mubarak of Egypt, using the uprising against Mubarak to "demonize the pro-US axis in the region." According to political scientist Larbi Sadiki, this tactic inadvertently "facilitated the spread of chants and phrases" that called for Assad's ouster.[22]
Following the election of Muslim Brotherhood politician Mohamed Morsi as the next Egyptian president, relations became extremely strained. The Muslim Brotherhood is a banned organization and its membership is a capital offence in Syria. Egypt severed all relations with Syria in June 2013.[citation needed] Diplomatic relations were restored and the embassies were reopened after the Morsi government was deposed weeks later by General Abdel Fattah el-Sisi. In July 2013, the two countries agreed to reopen the Egyptian consulate in Damascus and the Syrian consulate in Cairo.[23]
Although Egypt has not been vocal in support for any sides of Syria's ongoing civil war, Abdel Fattah el-Sisi said in 2016 that his nation's priority is "supporting national armies", which he said included the Syrian Armed Forces.[24] He also said regarding Egypt's stance in the conflict: "Our stance in Egypt is to respect the will of the Syrian people, and that a political solution to the Syrian crisis is the most suitable way, and to seriously deal with terrorist groups and disarm them".[24] In late-November 2016, some Arab media outlets reported Egyptian pilots arrived in mid-November to Syria to help the Syrian government in its fight against the Islamic State and al-Nusra Front. In response, the Egyptian government officially denied having a military presence in Syria.[25]
In February 2017, Egypt's Foreign Ministry spokesperson, Ahmed Abu Zeid, said that Egyptian foreign minister Sameh Shoukry, "during his meeting with UN Special Envoy to Syria, Staffan de Mistura, on Saturday confirmed Egypt's rejection of any military intervention that would violate Syrian sovereignty and undermine opportunities of the standing political solutions."[26]
Egypt has also expressed great interest in rebuilding postwar Syria, with many Egyptian companies and businessmen discussing investment opportunities in Syria as well as participation in the reconstruction effort. Tarik al-Nabrawi, president of Egypt's Engineers Syndicate said that 2018 will witness a "boom and influential role for Egyptian construction companies in Syria and to open the door for other companies — in the electricity, building material, steel, aluminum, ceramics and sanitary material fields among others — to work in the Syrian market and participate in rebuilding cities and facilities that the war has destroyed."[27] On 25 February 2018, Syrian state news reported that an Egyptian delegation composed of "members of the Islamic and Arab Assembly for supporting Resistance and Future Pioneers movement as well as a number of figures", including Jamal Zahran and Farouk Hassan, visited the Syrian consulate in Cairo to express solidarity with the Syrian government.[28][better source needed]
France
[edit]Assad condemned the November 2015 Paris attacks, but accused France of contributing to the spread of terrorism through its support for the Syrian opposition, and rejected sharing intelligence on terrorist threats with French authorities unless France altered its foreign policy on Syria.[29][30]
Iran
[edit]Syria and Iran are historic and strategic allies, with Syria being regarded as Iran's "closest ally".[31] The relationship between the Iranian and Syrian governments has sometimes been described as an Axis of Resistance.[32] Historically, the two countries shared a common animosity towards the Iraqi Ba'ath Party and Saddam Hussein, with Syria providing military aid to Iran during the Iran–Iraq War. After Hafiz al-Assad's death in 2000, Bashar al-Assad continued the relationship by supporting Hezbollah and various Iranian proxies; with the alliance being described as "the central component of his security doctrine".[33][34]
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/e6/AssadRaisi2023_%28cropped%29.jpg/220px-AssadRaisi2023_%28cropped%29.jpg)
Following the outbreak of Syrian revolution in 2011, Iran began politically and militarily aiding the Assad government. The Guardian reported in May 2011 that the Iranian Irgc had increased its "level of technical support and personnel support" to strengthen Syrian military's "ability to deal with protesters".[35] Since the beginning of the insurgency in Syria, Iran has provided training, technical support, and combat troops to the Assad government.[36][37] Estimates of the number of Iranian personnel in Syria range from hundreds to tens of thousands.[38][39][40] Lebanese Hezbollah fighters, backed by Iran's government, have taken direct combat roles since 2012.[38][41] From the summer of 2013, Iran and Hezbollah provided important battlefield support to Syria, allowing it to make advances against Syrian rebels.[41] As of 2023, Iran maintains 55 military bases in Syria and 515 other military points, the majority in Aleppo and Deir Ezzor governorates and the Damascus suburbs; these are 70% of the foreign military sites in the country.[42]
Iraq
[edit]Syria was a prominent adversary of Ba'athist Iraq during the Cold War. Syria supported Iran in the Iran–Iraq War and joined the American-led coalition against Iraq during the Gulf War.[43] However by 1997, Syrian president Hafiz al-Assad began reestablishing relations with Iraqi president Saddam Hussein.[44] The ascendance of Bashar in 2000 boosted this process,[45] and Syria ignored the sanctions against Iraq, helping Iraq to illegally import oil.[46]
Bashar al-Assad opposed the American-led invasion of Iraq in 2003.[45] He sheltered Iraqi Ba'athists and allowed volunteers through Syria to fight the Americans.[46] Syrian pressure for reviewing the de-Ba'athification policy and support for insurgents was despised by the new Iraqi government.[47] As a result, the American-installed government in Iraq suspended oil supplies to Syria.[44] In 2004, The U.S. commander of the coalition forces in Iraq, George W. Casey Jr., accused Syria of hosting Iraqi insurgent leaders who were co-ordinating the anti-American insurgency from their bases in Syria.[48]
Izzat Ibrahim al-Douri, former Vice Chairman of the Revolutionary Command Council of Ba'athist Iraq, had close relations with Ba'athist Syria. Despite the historical differences between the two Ba'ath factions, al-Douri had reportedly urged Saddam to open oil pipelines with Syria, building a financial relationship with the Assad family. After the American invasion of Iraq in 2003, al-Douri reportedly fled to Damascus, from where he organized anti-American militant groups and co-ordinated major combat operations during the Iraqi insurgency.[49][50] In 2009, General David Petraeus, who was at the time heading the U.S. Central Command, stated that al-Douri was residing in Syria.[51]
In 2006, Syria recognized the post-invasion Iraqi government and resumed ties.[47] However relations still remained poor until 2011, when American troops withdrew from Iraq and the Syrian revolution erupted, during which hundreds of thousands of protestors took to the streets; demanding the overthrowal of Assad regime.[52] Both governments alongside Iran formed a tripartite regional alliance as both Iran and Maliki government in Iraq were critical of the potential rise of Saudi influence in Syria, a Sunni-majority country.[53] Unlike most of the Arab League countries, Iraq rejected calls for al-Assad to step down.[53]
Lebanon
[edit]![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/f3/Cedar_Revolution_Demonstrators.jpg/220px-Cedar_Revolution_Demonstrators.jpg)
During his early years, Assad attempted to deepen Syria's control over Lebanese politics by various means. In 2004, he sought the extension of the Presidency of his ally Emile Lahoud, triggering a political crisis. Lebanese Prime Minister Rafic Hariri who opposed Assad's plans was assassinated in 14 March 2005, triggering international backlash. Syrian intelligence was widely blamed for orchestrating the killing of Hariri.[54]
On 5 March 2005, Assad announced that Syrian forces would begin its withdrawal from Lebanon in his address to the Syrian parliament.[55] Syria completed its full withdrawal from Lebanon on 30 April 2005.[56] Assad argued that Syria's gradual withdrawal of troops from Lebanon was a result of the assassination of Lebanese Prime Minister Rafic Hariri.[57] According to testimony submitted to the Special Tribunal for Lebanon, when talking to Rafic Hariri at the Presidential Palace in Damascus in August 2004, Assad allegedly said to him, "I will break Lebanon over your [Hariri's] head and over Walid Jumblatt's head" if Émile Lahoud was not allowed to remain in office despite Hariri's objections; that incident was thought to be linked to Hariri's subsequent assassination.[58] In early 2015, journalist and ad hoc Lebanese-Syrian intermediary Ali Hamade stated before the Special Tribunal for Lebanon that Rafic Hariri's attempts to reduce tensions with Syria were considered a "mockery" by Assad.[59]
Assad's position was considered by some to have been weakened by the withdrawal of Syrian troops from Lebanon following the Cedar Revolution in 2005. There has also been pressure from the U.S. concerning claims that Syria is linked to terrorist networks, exacerbated by Syrian condemnation of the assassination of Hezbollah military leader, Imad Mughniyah, in Damascus in 2008. Interior Minister Bassam Abdul-Majeed stated that "Syria, which condemns this cowardly terrorist act, expresses condolences to the martyr family and to the Lebanese people."[60]
In May 2015, Lebanese politician Michel Samaha was sentenced to 4+1⁄2 years in jail for his role in a terrorist bomb plot that he claimed Assad was aware of.[61]
North Korea
[edit]North Korea is alleged to have aided Syria in developing and enhancing a ballistic missiles programme.[62][63] They also reportedly helped Syria develop a suspected nuclear reactor in the Deir ez-Zor Governorate. U.S. officials claimed the reactor was probably "not intended for peaceful purposes", but American senior intelligence officials doubted it was meant for the production of nuclear weapons.[64] The supposed nuclear reactor was destroyed by the Israeli Air Force in 2007 during Operation Orchard.[65] Following the airstrike, Syria wrote a letter to Secretary-General of the UN Ban Ki-moon calling the incursion a "breach of airspace of the Syrian Arab Republic" and "not the first time Israel has violated" Syrian airspace.[66]
While hosting an 8 March 2015 delegation from North Korea led by North Korean Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Sin Hong Chol, Assad stated that Syria and North Korea were being "targeted" because they are "among those few countries which enjoy real independence".[67]
Asaad Al-Zoubi, head of the Syrian opposition's High Negotiations Committee delegation, accused North Korea of having sent army units to fight on behalf of Assad during the Syrian civil war.[68]
Russia
[edit]![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/f5/Vladimir_Putin_and_Bashar_al-Assad_%282021-09-13%29_1.jpg/220px-Vladimir_Putin_and_Bashar_al-Assad_%282021-09-13%29_1.jpg)
Assad also revived his government's strategic alliance with Soviet Union's successor state Russia, with firm backing from Vladimir Putin, who regularly provides cover for Assad in the UN Security Council.[69][70]
In September 2015, Russia, at the invitation of the Assad government,[1] launched its military intervention in the Syrian civil war due to "the extensive support that foreign states were providing to the Syrian opposition,"[71] and as well as to prevent the collapse of Syrian government.[71][72]
According to Amnesty International, "Russian and Syrian government forces appear to have deliberately and systematically targeted hospitals and other medical facilities."[73] Academic political scientist Laura Neack wrote that "the Assad regime and its Russian ally used scorched-earth tactics of siege and bombardment to clear opposition-held cities and neighborhoods."[74] According to Anna Borshchevskaya, a senior fellow at The Washington Institute, "Moscow’s air campaign ran in tandem with that of the Syrian regime in terms of terrorizing and demoralizing the general population and anti-Assad opposition."[75]
Assad further solidified his regime's alliance with Vladimir Putin by granting Russia permanent access to its Soviet-era naval base in Tartus, the only major Russian naval base in the Mediterranean.[69][70] During his visit to Moscow in March 2023, Assad officially declared his support of Russian military programs that might involve the establishment of additional military bases and deployment of more Russian troops in Syria. Assad also maintained his backing of Russian invasion of Ukraine, describing Ukrainian regions captured by Russia as "historically Russian territories".[76][77]
Saudi Arabia
[edit]Four months after Assad succeeded his father as Syrian president, he visited Saudi Arabia in October 2000 and met King Fahd,[78] however the 2005 assassination of Lebanese Prime Minister Rafic Hariri, an ally of Saudi Arabia, adversely affected relations.[79][80] The Israel-Lebanon war in 2006 further damaged relations due to Syria's overt support to Hezbollah.[81]
In a start of rapprochement between the two countries, Saudi Arabia appointed an ambassador to Syria, Abdullah Al Eifan, on 25 August 2009.[80] Assad visited Riyadh in September 2009,[82] and in October, King Abdullah visited Assad in Damascus.[83] Syria appointed a new ambassador, Mahdi Dakhlallah, to Saudi Arabia the same month,[84] restoring diplomatic relations.[citation needed] By January 2010, Assad had visited Saudi Arabia three times.[85]
The Syrian civil war, which began in 2011, damaged relations between the two countries,[79] due to Saudi Arabia sending funds and weapons to antigovernment rebel forces.[86] King Abdullah was the first Arab leader to condemn the Assad government in August 2011.[87][88] As a result, Saudi Arabia withdrew its delegation from the Arab League's peacekeeping mission in Syria on 22 January 2012[89] and closed its embassy in Damascus in February, expelling the Syrian ambassador.[90][91]
Saudi Arabia was involved in the CIA–led Timber Sycamore covert operation to train and arm Syrian rebels seeking to overthrow the Syrian government.[92] Since the summer of 2013, Saudi Arabia has emerged as the main group to finance and arm the rebels.[93] A classified US State Department cable signed by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton reported that Saudi donors were a major support for Sunni militant forces globally, and some American officials worried that the Syrian rebels being supported had ties to Al Qaeda.[92] In October 2014, U.S. Vice President Joe Biden stated that Turkey, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates had "poured hundreds of millions of dollars and tens of thousands of tons of weapons into anyone who would fight against Al-Assad, except that the people who were being supplied were al-Nusra Front, and al Qaeda, and the extremist elements of jihadis coming from other parts of the world."[94] In 2015, Assad's main regional opponents, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Turkey, were openly backing the Army of Conquest, an umbrella rebel group that reportedly included the al-Qaeda linked al-Nusra Front and another Salafi coalition known as Ahrar al-Sham.[95][96][97] In a February 2015 interview with BBC's Jeremy Bowen, Assad asserted that ISIL and al-Qaeda's extremist ideology is derived from Wahhabism, a movement within Sunni Islam, that is globally propagated by the Saudi monarchical government.[98]
In August 2017, the Syrian opposition was informed by the Saudi foreign minister that the Kingdom was disengaging from them.[99] Subsequently, Saudi Arabia has taken a more conciliatory stance towards the Syrian government.[100] On 9 May 2023, Saudi Arabia decided to resume work of its diplomatic mission in Syria, which had been suspended since November 2011.[101] On the same day, Syria has decided to resume the work of its diplomatic mission in Saudi Arabia.[102] On 10 May 2023, Syrian state media reported that Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz had invited Assad to the 2023 Arab League summit in Jeddah on 19 May.[103] On the sidelines of the summit, Assad met with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, and they discussed improving bilateral relations and developments in the Arab arena.[104]
Turkey
[edit]Historically, Turkey has been described as a "bitter foe" of Syria,[105] however initially under the presidency of Bashar al-Assad, relations between Syria and Turkey significantly improved. The first ever visit to Turkey by a Syrian head of state was made by Assad to Ankara in January 2004,[106] and in late 2004, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan flew to Damascus to sign a free trade agreement with Syria.[105] In 2008, Turkey played a mediating role between Syria and Israel in an attempt to solve their dispute over control of the Golan Heights, but these talks were abandoned after four rounds, which included a visit by Assad to Erdoğan in Bodrum, Turkey in August 2008.[107] In September 2009, Syria and Turkey formed a joint "senior strategic cooperation council."[108] The following month, the two governments signed an agreement to remove cross-border visa restrictions and pledged to build "a common future."[108]
Since the start of the Syrian civil war, relations greatly deteriorated between the two nations; with Turkey's declared intent to "cultivate a favorable relationship with whatever government would take the place of Assad."[109] Turkey trained defectors of the Syrian Army on its territory, and a group of those trained announced the birth of the Free Syrian Army (FSA), under the supervision of Turkish intelligence.[110] Beginning in 2012, Turkey, in coordination with the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), Saudi Arabia, and Qatar sent military and logistic support to Syrian rebels seeking to topple the Syrian government.[111][112] Turkey's involvement in the Syrian civil war gradually evolved into border clashes in 2012,[113] and direct military interventions in 2016–17,[114][115][116] in 2018,[117] in 2019, 2020, and in 2022,[118] resulting in the Turkish occupation of northern Syria since August 2016.[119][120][121]
United Kingdom
[edit]In October 2001, British Prime Minister Tony Blair made a state visit to Syria, hosting a joint press conference with Assad. During the conference, Assad condemned the recent United States invasion of Afghanistan, which the United Kingdom had participated in, stating that "[w]e cannot accept what we see every day on our television screens - the killing of innocent civilians. There are hundreds dying every day." Assad also praised Palestinian militant groups as "freedom fighters" and criticised Israel and the Western world during the conference. British officials subsequently described Assad's political views as being more conciliatory in private, claiming that he criticized the September 11 attacks and accepted the legitimacy of the State of Israel.[122]
In 2003, the British Syrian Society, an association set up to promote Syria–United Kingdom relations, was established in London by Assad's father-in-law Fawaz Akhras.[123]
United States
[edit]![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a9/Ted_Kaufman_with_al-Assad.jpg/220px-Ted_Kaufman_with_al-Assad.jpg)
The United States added Syria to its first list of "State Sponsors of Terrorism" in 1979, over its funding of Palestinian and other insurgent factions in the region. Syria is the only country from the original 1979 list to remain continuously on the list to the present day, in large part due to its support to Hezbollah.[124] During the first decade of his rule, Assad sought the removal of Syria from the list by improving ties with the US and Western countries in general.[33] Initially, Assad co-operated with the Bush administration's "war on terror" efforts, and the Syrian intelligence shared information with the CIA. However, Syria changed tune following the invasion of Iraq.[54]
Assad met with US scientists and policy leaders during a science diplomacy visit in 2009, and he expressed interest in building research universities and using science and technology to promote innovation and economic growth.[125]
In response to Executive Order 13769 which mandated refugees from Syria be indefinitely suspended from being able to resettle in the US, Assad appeared to defend the measure, stating "It's against the terrorists that would infiltrate some of the immigrants to the West... I think the aim of Trump is to prevent those people from coming," adding that it was "not against the Syrian people".[126]
Arab–Israeli conflict
[edit]The U.S., the EU, the March 14 Alliance, and France accuse Assad of providing support to militant groups active against Israel and opposition political groups. The latter category would include most political parties other than Hezbollah, Hamas, and the Islamic Jihad Movement in Palestine.[127]
In a speech about the 2006 Lebanon War in August 2006, Assad said that Hezbollah had "hoisted the banner of victory", hailing its actions as a "successful resistance."[128] In April 2008, Assad told a Qatari newspaper that Syria and Israel had been discussing a peace treaty for a year. This was confirmed in May 2008, by a spokesman for Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert. As well as the treaty, the future of the Golan Heights was being discussed. Assad was quoted in The Guardian as telling the Qatari paper:
... there would be no direct negotiations with Israel until a new U.S. president takes office. The U.S. was the only party qualified to sponsor any direct talks, [Assad] told the paper, but added that the Bush administration "does not have the vision or will for the peace process. It does not have anything."[129]
According to leaked American cables, Assad called Hamas an "uninvited guest" and said "If you want me to be effective and active, I have to have a relationship with all parties. Hamas is Muslim Brotherhood, but we have to deal with the reality of their presence," comparing Hamas to the Syrian Muslim Brotherhood which was crushed by his father, Hafiz al-Assad. He also said Hamas would disappear if peace was brought to the Middle East.[130][131][132] However in 2022, Hamas and Assad reconciled and resumed ties.[133]
In his interviews, Assad has indicated that the peace treaty that he envisions may not be the same as Camp David Accords, where there is a legal border crossing and open trade. In a 2006 interview with Charlie Rose, Assad said: "There is a big difference between talking about a peace treaty and peace. A peace treaty is like a permanent ceasefire. There's no war, maybe you have an embassy, but you actually won't have trade, you won't have normal relations because people will not be sympathetic to this relation as long as they are sympathetic with the Palestinians: half a million who live in Syria and half a million in Lebanon and another few millions in other Arab countries."[57] During the visit of Pope John Paul II to Syria in 2001, Assad requested an apology to Muslims for the Crusades and criticised Israeli treatment of Palestinians, stating that "territories in Lebanon, the Golan and Palestine have been occupied by those who killed the principle of equality when they claimed that God created a people distinguished above all other peoples".[134] He also compared the suffering of Palestinians at the hands of the Israelis to the suffering endured by Jesus in Judea, and said that "they tried to kill the principles of all religions with the same mentality in which they betrayed Jesus Christ and the same way they tried to betray and kill the Prophet Muhammad".[135][136][137][138] Responding to accusations that his comment was antisemitic, Assad said that "We in Syria reject the term antisemitism. ... Semites are a race and [Syrians] not only belong to this race, but are its core. Judaism, on the other hand, is a religion which can be attributed to all races."[139] He also stated that "I was talking about Israelis, not Jews. ... When I say Israel carries out killings, it's the reality: Israel tortures Palestinians. I didn't speak about Jews," and criticised Western media outlets for misinterpreting his comments.[140]
Outlining his objectives in a 2009 interview to Al-Khaleej newspaper, Assad stated that "peace agreement" is simply "a piece of paper you sign. This does not mean trade and normal relations, or borders, or otherwise."[141] Furthermore, he asserted that returning Golan Heights to Syria was a pre-condition to entering any peace deal. In an interview given to Italian newspaper La Repubblica in May 2010, Assad described the proposed "peace treaty" as a "truce", rather than a comprehensive peace, so long as the Palestinian crisis remained unsettled.[142][143] In February 2011, Assad backed an initiative to restore ten synagogues in Syria, which had a Jewish community numbering 30,000 in 1947, but only 200 Jews by 2011.[144]
Allegations of state-sponsored terrorism
[edit]According to journalist Peter R. Neumann, during the Iraq War, "in the years that preceded the uprising, Assad and his intelligence services took the view that jihad could be nurtured and manipulated to serve the Syrian government's aims".[145] Iraqi leaders such as former national security advisor Mowaffak al-Rubaie and former Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki have accused Assad of harbouring and supporting jihadist insurgents in Iraq.[146][147] US Army General David Petraeus would claim: "Bashar al-Asad was well aware that his brother-in-law 'Asif Shawqat, Director of Syrian Military Intelligence, had detailed knowledge of the activities of [al-Qaeda in Iraq] facilitator Abu Ghadiya, who was using Syrian territory to bring foreign fighters and suicide bombers into Iraq", with later cables adding that Petraeus thought that "in time, these fighters will turn on their Syrian hosts and begin conducting attacks against Bashar al-Assad's regime itself".[148] Allegations of Syrian government support to Iraqi insurgents have been denied by Assad,[147][149] former Syrian Vice President and opposition activist Abdul Halim Khaddam,[150] and human rights activist Razan Zaitouneh.[151]
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5d/Syrian_civil_war_01_08_2015.png/250px-Syrian_civil_war_01_08_2015.png)
During the ongoing Syrian civil war, the Syrian opposition and some analysts have accused President Bashar al-Assad and the Syrian government of strategically releasing Islamist prisoners during the start of the Syrian crisis in an attempt to strengthen jihadist factions over other rebels.[152][145][153] The Syrian opposition have also accused Assad of having intelligence operatives within the ranks of ISIS,[154] and even directing ISIS attacks.[155][156] However, "despite repeated announcements by opposition figures", there exists "no solid evidence ... that the jihadists as a whole are controlled by the [Syrian] regime.[145]
Several Western government officials have accused Assad of being in partnership with ISIS.[157][158][159] Western officials stated in 2015 that the Syrian government and ISIS jointly ran a gas plant in Tabqah using intermediates to supply electricity to both government and ISIS-held areas.[160] A report in 2015 suggested that ISIL kept gas flowing to Assad regime-controlled power stations. Furthermore, ISIL allowed grain to pass from Rojava to government-controlled areas at the cost of a 25% levy.[161] ISIL defectors interviewed by academics in 2015 and 2016 reported being "disillusioned by... upsetting alliances that included the sale of wheat stores and oil to Assad."[162][163] A businessman operating in both government and ISIL-controlled territory has claimed that "out of necessity" the Assad government has "had dealings with ISIS."[164] The Wall Street Journal, citing documents captured from ISIS oil boss Abu Sayyaf (who was killed in a May 2015 raid by US forces), that "Abu Sayyaf's boss requested guidance on establishing investment relationships with businessmen linked to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad."[165][163] In 2017, US and European officials said that oil sales to the Syrian government were ISIL's largest source of revenue.[166][167]
An unpublished IHS Jane's Terrorism and Insurgency Center database analysis showed that only 6% of Syrian government forces attacks were targeted at ISIL from January to November 2014, while in the same period only 13% of all ISIL attacks targeted government forces.[168] Academics who interviewed ISIL defectors in 2015–16 said their interviewees "observed regime forces strangely giving up territory to ISIS without much of a fight, and even leaving their weapons for ISIS rather than destroying them."[162] In May 2015, Mario Abou Zeid of the Carnegie Middle East Center claimed that the recent Hezbollah offensive "has exposed the reality of the ISIL in Qalamoun; that it is operated by the Syrian regime's intelligence", after ISIS in the region engaged in probing attacks against FSA units at the outset of the fighting.[169] Aymenn Jawad Al-Tamimi had disputed such assertions in 2014, arguing that "ISIS has a record of fighting the regime on multiple fronts", many rebel factions have engaged in oil sales to the Syrian regime because it is "now largely dependent on Iraqi oil imports via Lebanese and Egyptian third-party intermediaries", and while "the regime is focusing its airstrikes [on areas] where it has some real expectations of advancing" claims that it "has not hit ISIS strongholds" are "untrue". He concluded: "Attempting to prove an ISIS-regime conspiracy without any conclusive evidence is unhelpful, because it draws attention away from the real reasons why ISIS grew and gained such prominence: namely, rebel groups tolerated ISIS."[170] Similarly, Max Abrahms and John Glaser stated in the Los Angeles Times in December 2017 that "The evidence of Assad sponsoring Islamic State... was about as strong as for Saddam Hussein sponsoring Al Qaeda."[171] According to an April 2017 IHS Markit report, ISIS fought Syrian government forces more than any other opponent between 1 April 2016 and 31 March 2017: "43 percent of all Islamic State fighting in Syria was directed against President Assad's forces, 17 against the U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and the remaining 40 percent involved fighting rival Sunni opposition groups".[172]
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/53/Syrian_civil_war_01_11_2018.png/250px-Syrian_civil_war_01_11_2018.png)
In 2015, the al-Nusra Front, al-Qaeda's Syrian affiliate,[173] issued a bounty worth millions of dollars for the killing of Assad.[174] In the course of the conflict, ISIS has repeatedly massacred pro-government Alawite civilians and executed captured Syrian Alawite soldiers,[175][176] with most Alawites supporting Bashar al-Assad, himself an Alawite. ISIS, al-Nusra Front and affiliated jihadist groups reportedly took the lead in an offensive on Alawite villages in Latakia Governorate of Syria in August 2013.[175][177]
See also
[edit]- Foreign relations of Syria
- List of international presidential trips made by Bashar al-Assad
- Presidency of Hafiz al-Assad
References
[edit]- ^ a b Nguyen, Quoc Tan Trung (1 July 2019). "Rethinking the Legality of Intervention by Invitation: Toward Neutrality". Journal of Conflict and Security Law. 24 (2): 201–238. doi:10.1093/jcsl/krz004. ISSN 1467-7954.
Recently, the invitation extended by Assad's government on behalf of the Syrian state to the Russians was unequivocally deemed to be lawful.
- ^ Sources:
- "Conflict in Syria". Council on Foreign Relations. 28 August 2023.
- "Conflict in Syria". SOHR. 15 March 2023. Archived from the original on 5 July 2023.
- ^ Sources:
- Ker-Lindsay, James (27 April 2023). "Is Syria No Longer a Pariah State?". World Politics Review. Archived from the original on 2 June 2023.
Syria as a Pariah State in International Relations.. One of the most interesting examples in the modern international system is Syria. For over half a century, it's been a repressive dictatorship seen as a destabilizing actor in the broader Middle East... In addition to aligning with the Soviet Union and taking a fiercely anti-American position, he took an uncompromisingly hardline stance on Israel—especially after Egypt became the first Arab state to make peace with the Jewish state.
- Lundius, Jan (21 August 2019). "The Syrian Tragedy". Global Issues. Archived from the original on 5 October 2021.
- Pipes, Daniel (1996). Syria: Beyond the Peace Process. Washington DC, USA: Washington Institute for Near East Policy. pp. 1–17. ISBN 0-944029-64-7.
Close relations with Soviet Union were a key element throughout Assad's rule... the two states became ideologically close when Ba'ath Party took power in March 1963.
- Burkley, Shane (2022). No pasarán! Antifascist Dispatches from a World in Crisis. Edinburgh, UK: AK Press. ISBN 978-1-84935-482-0. LCCN 2022935894.
The Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party came to power in 1963 through a military coup. It was founded on an ideology incorporating elements of Arab nationalism and Arab socialism, both witnessing popular resurgence in the wave of decolonization...Hafez al-Assad came to power in 1970 in an internal coup.. Under his rule, Syria became a totalitarian police state based on the tripartite control of the Ba'ath Party, security apparatus, and military, yet power was centralized in the presidency. Hafez al-Assad titled himself as "the Eternal Leader" or "the Sanctified One." His portrait and statues decorated buildings and the main squares of cities and towns. Hafez al-Assad rose from modest origins to the state personified. From schools to national events, carefully choreographed spectacles of public worship were used to reinforce the cult of the president and enforce the conformity and submission of the populace, without ever needing to win over individuals' private thoughts or convictions.
- Ker-Lindsay, James (27 April 2023). "Is Syria No Longer a Pariah State?". World Politics Review. Archived from the original on 2 June 2023.
- ^ Ker-Lindsay, James (27 April 2023). "Is Syria No Longer a Pariah State?". World Politics Review. Archived from the original on 2 June 2023.
To this end, Damascus began supporting militant Palestinian groups—a step that saw Syria become the first country to be designated as a state sponsor of terrorism by the U.S state Department; a status it still retains. Additionally, it sent troops into Lebanon during the country's Civil War, eventually becoming an occupying power. And it also built close ties to revolutionary Iran, facilitating Tehran's efforts to undermine Israel and assist militant groups such as Hezbollah and Hamas. Syria under Hafez al-Assad came to be regarded as one of the most repressive, dangerous, and destabilizing states in the Arab world.
- ^ Sources:
- Jouejati, Murhaf (2009). "10: The Making of Syria's Strategic Culture". In Johnson, Jeannie L.; Kartchner, Kerry M.; Larsen, Jeffrey A. (eds.). Strategic culture and Weapons of Mass Destruction. New York, NY: Palgrave Macmillan. pp. 157–169. ISBN 978-1-349-37694-0.
- Khalidi, Ahmed S.; Agha, Hussein (2019). "The Syrian Doctrine of Strategic Parity". In Kipper, Judith; Saunders, Harold H. (eds.). The Middle East In Global Perspective. New York, NY: Routledge. ISBN 978-0-367-29388-8.
- Ker-Lindsay, James (27 April 2023). "Is Syria No Longer a Pariah State?". World Politics Review. Archived from the original on 2 June 2023.
- Pipes, Daniel (1996). Syria: Beyond the Peace Process. Washington DC, USA: Washington Institute for Near East Policy. pp. 7–8. ISBN 0-944029-64-7.
- ^ Ker-Lindsay, James (27 April 2023). "Is Syria No Longer a Pariah State?". World Politics Review. Archived from the original on 2 June 2023.
In addition to maintaining strict control over domestic politics, he kept up the country's hardline foreign policy. Syria opposed the continued existence of Israel, and helped militant Islamic fighters travel to Iraq to join the anti-American Insurgency following the U.S. invasion in 2003.
- ^ Lundius, Jan (21 August 2019). "The Syrian Tragedy". Global Issues. Archived from the original on 5 October 2021.
the most powerful ally of Bashar al-Assad, Syria´s current president, is Russia that with full military force on 30 September 2015 interfered in Syria´s internal conflicts... since 1971 the Soviet Union/Russia has an agreement with the Syrian Government to maintain a naval base in Tartus, actually its only naval facility in the Mediterranean region and Russia´s only remaining, military installation outside the former Soviet Union. Furthermore, in close-by Latakia Russia has established its biggest "signals intelligence base" outside Russian territory. Apart from safeguarding its military bases Russia´s support to the Assad regime may be considered as a move to recast Russia as a decisive player in the region, reviving its image as a major rival to the USA in the management of global affairs.
- ^ Cash, Joe (21 September 2023). "Syria's Assad in China, seeks exit from diplomatic isolation". Reuters.
- ^ Murphy, Dawn C. (2022). China's rise in the Global South : the Middle East, Africa, and Beijing's alternative world order. Stanford, California: Stanford University Press. pp. 56–58. ISBN 978-1-5036-3060-4. OCLC 1249712936.
- ^ "Syria joins China's Belt and Road Initiative - Al-Monitor: Independent, trusted coverage of the Middle East". Al-Monitor. 12 January 2022.
- ^ "Syria participates in Arab-Chinese Cooperation Forum in Chengdu, China". SANA. 29 May 2023.
- ^ Murphy, Dawn C. (2022). China's rise in the Global South : the Middle East, Africa, and Beijing's alternative world order. Stanford, California: Stanford University Press. pp. 118–119. ISBN 978-1-5036-3060-4. OCLC 1249712936.
- ^ Blanchard, Ben (20 August 2018). "China envoy says no accurate figure on Uighurs fighting in Syria". Reuters. Retrieved 27 February 2021.
- ^ Shih, Gerry (23 December 2017). "AP Exclusive: Uighurs fighting in Syria take aim at China". AP News. Retrieved 27 February 2021.
- ^ Pauley, Logan; Marks, Jesse (20 August 2018). "Is China Increasing Its Military Presence in Syria?". The Diplomat. Retrieved 27 February 2021.
- ^ Murphy, Dawn C. (2022). China's rise in the Global South : the Middle East, Africa, and Beijing's alternative world order. Stanford, California: Stanford University Press. p. 120. ISBN 978-1-5036-3060-4. OCLC 1249712936.
- ^ Murphy, Dawn C. (2022). China's rise in the Global South : the Middle East, Africa, and Beijing's alternative world order. Stanford, California: Stanford University Press. p. 207. ISBN 978-1-5036-3060-4. OCLC 1249712936.
- ^ Lawler, Dave (2 July 2020). "The 53 countries supporting China's crackdown on Hong Kong". Axios. Retrieved 3 July 2020.
- ^ "China's Xi hails 'strategic partnership' with Syria in Bashar al-Assad visit". France24. 22 September 2023. Archived from the original on 23 September 2023.
- ^ Moritsugu, Ken (22 September 2023). "Leaders of Syria and China announce strategic partnership as part of Asian Games diplomacy". Associated Press. Archived from the original on 22 September 2023.
- ^ "China's Xi Jinping meets Syria's Bashar al Assad and announces strategic partnership". Sky News. 22 September 2023. Archived from the original on 23 September 2023.
- ^ Sadiki 2014, p. 147.
- ^ "Egypt and Syria to keep consulate relations: FM spokesperson – Politics – Egypt – Ahram Online". english.ahram.org.eg. Retrieved 18 January 2016.
- ^ a b "Egypt's Sisi expresses support for Syria's military". al-Jazeera. 23 November 2016.
- ^ "Egypt denies military presence in Syria". The Seattle Times. The Associated Press. 27 November 2016.
- ^ "Egypt reaffirms support for political solution to crisis in Syria". SANA. 17 February 2018.
- ^ "Egypt Eyes Broad Participation in Syria's Reconstruction". Asharq al-Awsat. 8 January 2018.
- ^ "Egyptian delegation visits Syrian consulate to announce solidarity with Syria". SANA. 25 February 2018.
- ^ "France suffers from savage terror as Syrian people have been: Assad". Xinhua News Agency. 14 November 2015. Archived from the original on 17 November 2015.
- ^ Irish, John (17 November 2015). "Syria's Assad says no intelligence sharing with France unless change in policy". Reuters. Retrieved 3 January 2016.
- ^ Nada Bakri, "Iran Calls on Syria to Recognize Citizens' Demands", The New York Times, 8 August 2011
- ^ Goodarzi, Jubin M. (January 2013). "Syria and Iran: Alliance Cooperation in a Changing Regional Environment" (PDF). Middle East Studies. 4 (2): 31–59. Retrieved 6 August 2013.
- ^ a b Ker-Lindsay, James (27 April 2023). "Is Syria No Longer a Pariah State?". World Politics Review. Archived from the original on 2 June 2023.
- ^ Lundius, Jan (21 August 2019). "The Syrian Tragedy". Global Issues. Archived from the original on 5 October 2021.
When Hafez al-Assad died in 2000, Bashar assumed power, surprising everyone by making Syria's "link with Hezbollah – and its patrons in Teheran – the central component of his security doctrine", while he continued his father´s outspoken critic of the United States, Israel, Saudi Arabia, and Turkey.
- ^ "Iran helping Syrian regime crack down on protesters, say diplomats", Simon Tisdall and foreign staff in Damascus The Guardian, 9 May 2011
- ^ Iranian Strategy in Syria Archived 1 February 2016 at the Wayback Machine, Institute for the Study of War, Executive Summary + Full report, May 2013
- ^ "Syria's crisis: The long road to Damascus: There are signs that the Syrian regime may become still more violent", The Economist, 11 February 2012.
- ^ a b Iran boosts support to Syria Archived 11 July 2018 at the Wayback Machine, telegraph, 21 February 2014
- ^ Goodarzi, Jubin (August 2013). "Iran and Syria at the Crossroads: The Fall of the Tehran-Damascus Axis?" (PDF). Viewpoints. Wilson Center. Archived (PDF) from the original on 22 October 2015. Retrieved 24 June 2015.
- ^ "Israel at UN: Iran has more than 80,000 fighters in Syria". The Times of Israel.
- ^ a b Iran boosts military support in Syria to bolster Assad Archived 22 October 2015 at the Wayback Machine, Reuters, 21 February 2014
- ^ "Syria has 830 foreign military sites. 70% belong to Iran". Al Majalla. 19 August 2023. Retrieved 21 August 2023.
- ^ Hinnebusch & Ehteshami 2002, p. 149.
- ^ a b Mansour & Thompson 2020, p. 118.
- ^ a b Mansour & Thompson 2020, p. 117.
- ^ a b Harris 2012, p. 267.
- ^ a b Mansour & Thompson 2020, p. 119.
- ^ Thomas E. Ricks (17 December 2004). "General: Iraqi Insurgents Directed From Syria". The Washington Post. Retrieved 3 August 2010.
A top Army general said yesterday that the Iraqi insurgency was being run in part by former senior Iraqi Baath Party officials operating in Syria who call themselves the "New Regional Command."
These men, from the former governing party of deposed president Saddam Hussein, are "operating out of Syria with impunity and providing direction and financing for the insurgency," said Gen. George W. Casey Jr., the U.S. commander in Iraq. "That needs to stop," Casey said at a Pentagon briefing - ^ Nance, Malcolm (18 December 2014), The Terrorists of Iraq: Inside the Strategy and Tactics of the Iraq
- ^ "An Intelligence Vet Explains ISIS, Yemen, and "the Dick Cheney of Iraq"". 22 April 2015. Archived from the original on 28 December 2015. Retrieved 6 November 2016.
- ^ "US giving security support to Yemen: Petraeus". Al Arabiya. 13 December 2009. Archived from the original on 8 August 2014. Retrieved 30 April 2016.
- ^ Mansour & Thompson 2020, p. 121.
- ^ a b Mansour & Thompson 2020, p. 122.
- ^ a b "Syria: Between oppression and freedom". Ifimes. Archived from the original on 10 April 2022.
- ^ "Assad announces Lebanon troop withdrawal". www.theguardian.com. 5 March 2005. Retrieved 13 May 2020.
- ^ "Retrait syrien total fin avril au plus tar" (in French). Archived from the original on 16 June 2021. Retrieved 14 June 2023.
- ^ a b "An hour with Syrian president Bashar al-Assad". Charlie Rose. 27 March 2006. Archived from the original on 28 January 2011. Retrieved 5 February 2011.
- ^ Bergman, Ronen (10 February 2015). "The Hezbollah Connection". The New York Times. Retrieved 15 February 2015.
- ^ Knutsen, Elise (14 April 2015). "Assad considered Hariri's conciliation a mockery". The Daily Star. Retrieved 20 April 2015.
- ^ "Bomb kills top Hezbollah leader". BBC News. 13 February 2008. Retrieved 26 April 2010.
- ^ "Assad knew about Samaha plot, video indicates". The Daily Star. 14 May 2015. Retrieved 15 May 2015.
- ^ "Report: Iran, North Korea Helping Syria Resume Building Missiles". Retrieved 18 November 2014.
- ^ "North Korea violating sanctions, according to UN report". The Telegraph. 3 July 2012. Archived from the original on 11 January 2022. Retrieved 6 October 2012.
- ^ Henry, Ed. "White House: Syria reactor not for 'peaceful' purposes". CNN. Archived from the original on 10 April 2017. Retrieved 4 November 2016.
- ^ Ryall, Julian (6 June 2013). "Syria: North Korean military 'advising Assad regime'". The Telegraph. Archived from the original on 11 January 2022. Retrieved 2 August 2013.
- ^ "Syria complains to U.N. about Israeli airstrike". CNN. Archived from the original on 12 May 2016. Retrieved 4 November 2016.
- ^ "Assad: Syria, North Korea Targeted Over 'Real Independence'". Voice of America. 8 March 2015. Retrieved 8 March 2015.
- ^ Yusuf, Mohamed Sheikh (27 March 2016). "N. Korean army units fighting for Syria regime: al-Zubi". UPI News. Archived from the original on 5 December 2021.
- ^ a b Ker-Lindsay, James (27 April 2023). "Is Syria No Longer a Pariah State?". World Politics Review. Archived from the original on 2 June 2023.
- ^ a b Lundius, Jan (21 August 2019). "The Syrian Tragedy". Global Issues. Archived from the original on 5 October 2021.
- ^ a b Nguyen, Quoc Tan Trung (1 July 2019). "Rethinking the Legality of Intervention by Invitation: Toward Neutrality". Journal of Conflict and Security Law. 24 (2): 201–238. doi:10.1093/jcsl/krz004. ISSN 1467-7954.
- ^ Petkova, Mariya (1 October 2020). "What has Russia gained from five years of fighting in Syria?". Al Jazeera. Archived from the original on 1 October 2020.
- ^ "Syrian and Russian forces targeting hospitals as a strategy of war". Amnesty International. 3 March 2016. Archived from the original on 21 September 2021.
- ^ Neack, Laura (2023). "8:Human Security". National, International, and Human Security: Protection Against Violence (3rd ed.). Rowman & Littlefield Publishers. p. 172. ISBN 9781538168028.
- ^ Borshchevskaya, Anna (2022). "6: The Military Campaign". Putin's War in Syria. London, UK: I. B. Tauris. pp. 76, 77. ISBN 978-0-7556-3463-7.
- ^ Faulconbridge, Guy; Davis, Caleb (16 March 2023). "Syria's Assad would like more Russian bases and troops". Reuters. Archived from the original on 20 March 2023.
- ^ "Assad meets Putin in Moscow as Syrians mark 12 years since anti-regime uprising". France24. 15 March 2023. Archived from the original on 30 April 2023.
- ^ "On President Assad's visit to Saudi Arabia". Arabic News. 9 October 2000.
- ^ a b Benedetta Berti; Yoel Guzansky (October 2012). "The Syrian Crisis and the Saudi-Iranian Rivalry". Foreign Policy Research Institute. Archived from the original on 20 May 2013. Retrieved 1 October 2023.
- ^ a b Alex Sorin (7 July 2009). "Saudi Arabia appoints ambassador to Syria". The Jerusalem Post. AP. Retrieved 3 January 2014.
- ^ Phil Sands (10 July 2009). "New chapter for Syria-Saudi relations". The National.
- ^ "Syrian president appoints ambassador to Saudi Arabia". BBC Monitoring International Reports. Al-Quds Al-Arabi. 30 September 2009. Retrieved 13 August 2013.
- ^ Andrew Lee Butters (8 October 2009). "A Rapprochement Between Syria and Saudi Arabia". Time. Archived from the original on 11 October 2009. Retrieved 11 August 2013.
- ^ "Dr. Mahdi Dakhlallah is Syria's ambassador to Saudi". SNS. 1 October 2009. Archived from the original on 11 December 2013. Retrieved 13 August 2013.
- ^ Bassel Oudat (21–27 January 2010). "Testing the waters". Al Ahram Weekly. No. 982. Archived from the original on 27 March 2013. Retrieved 1 October 2023.
- ^ Bröning, Michael (17 December 2012). "Time to Back the Syrian National Coalition". Foreign Affairs. Retrieved 11 August 2013.
- ^ Joshua Jacobs (12 April 2012). "The danger that Saudi Arabia will turn Syria into an Islamist hotbed". The Christian Science Monitor. Washington, D.C. Retrieved 12 August 2013.
- ^ Saab, Bilal Y. (31 August 2011). "How Saudi Arabia can contain Iran – and other benefits from Syria's turmoil". The Christian Science Monitor. Washington DC. Retrieved 30 August 2013.
- ^ "Chronology: January 16, 2012 – April 15, 2012". The Middle East Journal. 66 (3): 493–538. Summer 2012. doi:10.3751/66.3.2. JSTOR 23256658.
- ^ Yoe Goldman (15 March 2013). "Saudi Arabia, Italy and Holland close embassies in Syria". The Times of Israel. Retrieved 11 August 2013.
- ^ "Saudi Arabia shuts embassy in Syria, withdraws staff as deaths mount". Al Arabiya. AFP. 14 March 2012. Retrieved 12 August 2013.
- ^ a b Mazzetti, Mark; Apuzzo, Matt (23 January 2016). "U.S. Relies Heavily on Saudi Money to Support Syrian Rebels". The New York Times.
- ^ Mariam Karouny (31 May 2013). "Saudi edges Qatar to control Syrian rebel support". Reuters.
- ^ "Joe Biden Is the Only Honest Man in Washington". Foreign Policy. 7 October 2014.
- ^ Kim Sengupta (12 May 2015). "Turkey and Saudi Arabia alarm the West by backing Islamist extremists the Americans had bombed in Syria". The Independent.
- ^ "Gulf allies and 'Army of Conquest' Archived 19 September 2015 at the Wayback Machine". Al-Ahram Weekly. 28 May 2015.
- ^ "'Army of Conquest' rebel alliance pressures Syria regime Archived 4 March 2016 at the Wayback Machine". Yahoo News. 28 April 2015.
- ^ "Syria conflict: BBC exclusive interview with President Bashar al-Assad" with Jeremy Bowen (9 February 2015)
- ^ "Victory for Assad looks increasingly likely as world loses interest in Syria". The Guardian. 31 August 2017.
- ^ Aboufadel, Leith (7 November 2018). "Syria and Saudi Arabia to potentially reconcile after UAE reopens Damascus embassy". Al-Masdar News. Archived from the original on 28 September 2021.
- ^ "Saudi Arabia says work at diplomatic mission in Syria to resume". Arab News. 9 May 2023.
- ^ "Saudi Arabia, Syria agree to restore diplomatic ties". Digital Journal. 9 May 2023. Retrieved 10 May 2023.
- ^ "Saudi King invites Syria's Assad to attend Arab League summit -Syrian state media". Reuters. 10 May 2023. Retrieved 13 May 2023.
- ^ "Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince meets Syria's al-Assad in Jeddah". Al Arabiya. 19 May 2023. Retrieved 23 May 2023.
- ^ a b Morris, Chris (2005). "Introduction". The New Turkey. London: Granta Books. pp. 1–10. ISBN 1-86207-865-3.
- ^ "Warm welcome for Assad's Turkey trip". BBC. 6 January 2004.
- ^ "Syria's Assad meets Erdogan for peace talks". Reuters. 5 August 2008.
- ^ a b Arsu, Sebnem (14 October 2009). "Turkey and Syria Signal Improved Relations". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331.
- ^ Epatko, Larisa (15 November 2012). "Syria and Turkey: A Complex Relationship". PBS NewsHour. Retrieved 15 November 2012.
- ^ Manna, Haytham (22 June 2012). "Syria's opposition has been led astray by violence". The Guardian. London.
Turkey trained army dissidents on its territory, and a group of them announced the birth of the Free Syrian Army under the supervision of Turkish military intelligence.
- ^ Schmitt, Eric (21 June 2012). "C.I.A. Said to Aid in Steering Arms to Syrian Opposition". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331.
- ^ "Exclusive: Obama authorizes secret U.S. support for Syrian rebels". Reuters. 1 August 2012.
- ^ Mackey, Robert. "Syria News". The New York Times. Retrieved 2 August 2012.
- ^ "Turkey Launches Fresh Incursion into Syria". The Wall Street Journal. 3 September 2016. Retrieved 3 September 2016.
- ^ "Turkey Strikes Islamic State And Kurds in Syria". Sky News. 23 August 2016.
- ^ "Turkey sends tanks into northern Syria". BBC. 24 August 2016.
- ^ "Turkey shells Syria's Afrin region, minister says operation has begun". Reuters. 19 January 2018. Retrieved 19 January 2018.
- ^ McKernan, Bethan (9 October 2019). "Turkey launches military operation in northern Syria". The Guardian.
- ^ Sydow, Christoph (14 October 2017). "Syrien: Willkommen in der türkischen Besatzungszone" [Syria: Welcome to the Turkish occupation zone]. Spiegel Online. Retrieved 2 January 2018.
- ^ Sirwan Kajjo (2 March 2017). "Skirmishes Mar Fight Against IS in Northern Syria". Voice of America.
Turkish occupation "is an existential threat to the Assad government's ability to reclaim the entirety of its territory, which is a key argument that regime loyalists make in their support of Bashar al-Assad's government," Heras said.
- ^ Robert Fisk (29 March 2017). "In northern Syria, defeated Isis fighters leave behind only scorched earth, trenches – and a crucifixion stand". The Independent.
You can't mistake the front line between the Syrian army and Turkey's occupation force east of Aleppo.
- ^ "Blair gets a public lecture on the harsh realities of the Middle East". The Guardian. 1 November 2001.
- ^ Booth, Robert (15 March 2012). "Assad's father-in-law: the man at the heart of UK-Syrian relations". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077.
- ^ Hersh, Seymour M. (20 July 2003). "The Syrian Bet". The New Yorker. ISSN 0028-792X.
- ^ Turekian, Vaughan (22 September 2014). "Beginnings". Science & Diplomacy. 3 (3).
- ^ Angus McDowall (16 February 2017). "Assad says Trump travel ban targets terrorists, not Syria's people". Reuters.
- ^ "Assad sets conference conditions". BBC News. 1 October 2007. Retrieved 26 April 2010.
- ^ Rogers, Paul (11 October 2006). "Lebanon: the war after the war". openDemocracy. Retrieved 3 August 2010.
- ^ Walker, Peter; News Agencies (21 May 2008). "Olmert confirms peace talks with Syria". The Guardian. London. Archived from the original on 21 May 2008. Retrieved 21 May 2008.
Israel and Syria are holding indirect peace talks, with Turkey acting as a mediator...
- ^ Roee Nahmias (30 November 2010). "Assad: Iran won't attack Israel with nukes". Ynetnews. Retrieved 12 December 2010.
- ^ Meris Lutz (2 December 2010). "Syria's Assad seems to suggest backing for Hamas negotiable, leaked cables say". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 12 December 2010.
- ^ King, Esther (2 November 2016). "Assad denies responsibility for Syrian war". Politico. Retrieved 21 December 2016.
The Syrian president maintained he was fighting to preserve his country and criticized the West for intervening. "Good government or bad, it's not your mission" to change it, he said.
- ^ "Experts Weigh in on Regional Impact of Syria-Hamas Rapprochement". VOA. 20 October 2022. Retrieved 14 October 2023.
- ^ "Assad greets pope in Syria". Deseret News. Associated Press. 6 May 2001.
"Territories in Lebanon, the Golan and Palestine have been occupied by those who killed the principle of equality when they claimed that God created a people distinguished above all other peoples," the Syrian leader said.
- ^ "Syria and Judaism: The disappearance of the Jews". The Economist. 10 May 2001. Retrieved 1 June 2011.
The pope's pilgrimage in the steps of St Paul was widely seen as a success, even if it did not elicit an apology to the Muslim world for the medieval crusades. Syria's president, Bashar Assad, basked in international praise for his religious tolerance. But, notably, this tolerance was not extended to Judaism. Welcoming John Paul, Assad compared the suffering of the Palestinians to that of Jesus Christ. The Jews, he said, "tried to kill the principles of all religions with the same mentality in which they betrayed Jesus Christ and the same way they tried to betray and kill the Prophet Muhammad." The pope was taken on a detour to the town of Quneitra, flattened by the Israelis in their partial withdrawal from the Golan Heights, and called upon to bless the president's vision of a Christian-Islamic alliance to vanquish the common threat of colonising Jews.
- ^ "Polish experience shaped Pope's Jewish relations". CBC News. April 2005. Retrieved 7 May 2011.
The decision to beatify Pius IX, the pope who kidnapped a Jewish child in Bologna and who put Rome's Jews back in their ghetto, was one question mark. John Paul's silence in 2001 when Syrian President Bashar al-Assad said Jews had killed Christ and tried to kill Mohammad was another.
- ^ "Pope appeals for Mideast peace". Damascus: CNN. 5 May 2001. Archived from the original on 29 May 2011. Retrieved 7 May 2011.
- ^ Congressional Record: Proceedings and Debates of the 107th Congress, First Session. Government Printing Office. May 2001. p. 7912. ISBN 9780160729669. Retrieved 7 May 2011.
- ^ "Scharon plant den Krieg" [Sharon is planning the war]. Der Spiegel (in German). 9 July 2001. Retrieved 23 June 2011.
Was soll denn das? Wir Araber sind doch selbst Semiten, als Nachfahren von Sem, einem der drei Söhne Noahs. Kein Mensch sollte gegen irgendeine Rasse eingestellt sein, gegen die Menschheit oder Teile von ihr. Wir in Syrien lehnen den Begriff Antisemitismus ab, weil dieser Begriff diskriminierend ist. Semiten sind eine Rasse, wir gehören nicht nur zu dieser Rasse, sondern sind ihr Kern. Das Judentum dagegen ist eine Religion, die allen Rassen zuzuordnen ist.
- ^ "Syrian's Assad defends Jewish comment". CNN. 27 June 2001.
- ^ Badran, Tony (9 April 2009). "Bashar Assad the peacemaker? Think again". Now Lebanon. Archived from the original on 13 January 2010.
- ^ Bonanni, Andrea; Buren, Alix (24 May 2010). "Assad: "I see a new Middle EastSyria ready to negotiate on the Golan"". La Repubblica. Archived from the original on 13 July 2010.
- ^ "Syriana". FDD.org. 22 June 2010. Archived from the original on 17 December 2021.
- ^ Derhally, Massoud A. (7 February 2011). "Jews in Damascus Restore Synagogues as Syria Tries to Foster Secular Image". Bloomberg. Retrieved 8 May 2011.
The project, which began in December, will be completed this month as part of a plan to restore 10 synagogues with the backing of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and funding from Syrian Jews.
- ^ a b c Neumann, Peter (3 April 2014). "LRB · Peter Neumann · Suspects into Collaborators: Assad and the Jihadists". London Review of Books. 36 (7).
- ^ "Iraq asked Syria's Assad to stop aiding 'jihadists': Former official". 20 October 2015.
- ^ a b "Maliki blames Syria for attacks, Assad denies claim". 4 October 2009.
- ^ Joscelyn, Thomas (24 July 2012). "Slain Syrian official supported al Qaeda in Iraq". The Long War Journal. Retrieved 3 February 2016.
- ^ "Bashar al-Asad, place and date not given entitled "Bashar al-Asad Interview in German news magazine Der Spiegel". 29 August 2009.
[Spiegel] The American government accuses you of smoothing the way for the insurgents through Syria to Iraq. [Al-Asad] It also accused Saddam of having weapons of mass destruction. But seriously: if someone asks the Americans whether they are successful in sealing the border with Mexico they say it is very difficult. We say to the Americans in no uncertain terms that it is impossible to completely control the border with Iraq. Yet we also tell them that the basis for the chaos must be sought in the war. It is not fair to make a mistake oneself and then blame others for it.
- ^ Dickey, Christopher (5 January 2006). "'Mafia State'". Newsweek. p. 3. Archived from the original on 11 January 2006.
Second, as far as the Baath Party was concerned, there were no communications or contacts between the Baath Party of Iraq and the Baath Party in Damascus. There were open relations between the two governments for economic reasons, but not at the political or at the Baath level in any way. The issue of border crossing? Look, I'm outside Syria now. I'm in conflict with the present regime. But I can assure you no insurgent crossed the border from Syria to Iraq by the decision or with the knowledge of any [part of the] Syrian government. There were some border crossings for sure. We have a Syrian law that any Arab passport holder can get into Syria without a visa. Maybe there were some Arab nationals who got into Syria and illegally crossed the border to Iraq. During the war, there were a lot of Syrians who went into Iraq for jihad. Some thousands. But what happened with them? They came back, and they said they were deceived by the very bad treatment they received from the people of Saddam Hussein.
- ^ Joe, Pace (14 September 2005). "Razan Zeitouneh Interviewed by Joe Pace: Syria's Preemptive War against Infiltrators into Iraq". Syria Comment.
Do you have a sense as to how the regime was supporting the infiltrators in the beginning? I don't have a clear sense. We all knew that whoever wanted to go was welcome and sometimes the authorities would help them. Everyone was talking about it; it was normal. Then after a short period, it suddenly became extremely dangerous. You would hear stories about accidents and forced disappearances, as in people would set out for Iraq and they would never make it, which of course means that they were arrested before they reached the border. Then the campaign of arrests began.
- ^ Speakwell Cordall, Simon (21 June 2014). "How Syria's Assad Helped Forge ISIS". Newsweek.
- ^ Salloum, Raniah (10 October 2013). "From Jail to Jihad: Former Prisoners Fight in Syrian Insurgency – International". Spiegel. Retrieved 29 October 2018.
- ^ "Has Assad infiltrated rebel forces inside Syria?". Channel Four News. 24 April 2014. Retrieved 8 March 2015.
- ^ Bar'el, Zvi (3 June 2015). "Assad's cooperation with ISIS could push U.S. into Syria conflict". Haaretz. Retrieved 4 June 2015.
Salim Idris, defense minister in the rebels' provisional government, said approximately 180 Syrian Army officers are currently serving with ISIS and coordinating the group's military operations with the army.
- ^ Barnard, Anne (2 June 2015). "Assad's Forces May Be Aiding New ISIS Surge". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 16 April 2023. Retrieved 5 June 2015.
- ^ U.S. Embassy Syria [@USEmbassySyria] (1 June 2015). "Reports indicate that the regime is making air-strikes in support of #ISIL's advance on #Aleppo, aiding extremists against Syrian population" (Tweet). Retrieved 2 June 2015 – via Twitter.
- ^ Hullah, Henry (29 August 2014). "New leader of the Free Syrian Army: We warned the Americans about ISIS". CNN. Retrieved 8 March 2015.
- ^ "French leader calls Assad a 'jihadist ally'". Al Jazeera. 28 August 2014. Retrieved 8 March 2015.
- ^ Blair, David (7 March 2015). "Oil middleman between Syria and Isil is new target for EU sanctions". The Daily Telegraph. London. Retrieved 9 March 2015.
- ^ Philps, Alan (25 June 2015). "Rebels are close to Raqqa – but what happens next?". The National. Abu Dhabi, UAE. Retrieved 20 August 2015.
- ^ a b Speckhard, Anne; Yayla, Ahmet S. (2017). "The ISIS Emni: Origins and Inner Workings of ISIS's Intelligence Apparatus". Perspectives on Terrorism. 11 (1). Terrorism Research Institute: 2–16. ISSN 2334-3745. JSTOR 26297733. Retrieved 22 September 2023.
- ^ a b "ISIS's Revenues include Sales of Oil to the al-Assad Regime – Icsve". Icsve. 27 April 2016. Retrieved 22 September 2023.
- ^ Baker, Aryn (26 February 2015). "Why Bashar Assad Won't Fight ISIS". Time. Retrieved 7 March 2015.
- ^ Faucon, Benoit; Coker, Margaret (24 April 2016). "The Rise and Deadly Fall of Islamic State's Oil Tycoon". WSJ. Retrieved 22 September 2023.
- ^ Solomon, Feliz (20 January 2017). "Oil and Gas Sales to Assad Are Now ISIS' Largest Source of Funds". Fortune. Retrieved 24 September 2020.
- ^ Faucon, Benoit; Omran, Ahmed Al (19 January 2017). "Islamic State Steps Up Oil and Gas Sales to Assad Regime". WSJ. Retrieved 24 September 2020.
- ^ Vinograd, Cassandra; Omar, Ammar Cheikh (11 December 2014). "Syria, ISIS Have Been 'Ignoring' Each Other on Battlefield, Data Suggests". NBC. Retrieved 9 March 2015.
- ^ Abou Zeid, Mario (11 May 2015). "Assad's Last Battle". Yahoo News Maktoob. Archived from the original on 18 May 2015. Retrieved 11 May 2015.
- ^ Al-Tamimi, Aymenn Jawad (11 February 2014). "The Assad Regime and Jihadis: Collaborators and Allies?". Middle East Forum. Retrieved 8 March 2015.
- ^ Abrahms, Max; Glaser, John (10 December 2017). "The pundits were wrong about Assad and the Islamic State. As usual, they're not willing to admit it". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 11 January 2018.
- ^ "Study Shows Islamic State's Primary Opponent in Syria Is Government Forces, IHS Markit Says". IHS Markit. 19 April 2017.
- ^ "Gulf allies and 'Army of Conquest". Al-Ahram Weekly. 28 May 2015. Archived from the original on 19 September 2015. Retrieved 30 June 2015.
- ^ "Bounty For Bashar Assad? Al Qaeda Nusra Front Offers $3.4M For Syrian President, $2.3M For Hezbollah's Hassan Nasrallah, Leader Says". International Business Times. 13 October 2015.
- ^ a b "Syrian rebels accused of sectarian murders". The Daily Telegraph. 11 August 2013. Archived from the original on 11 January 2022.
Hundreds of Alawite civilians have been killed, kidnapped or have disappeared during a rebel offensive on President Bashar al-Assad's heartland province of Latakia, local residents have reported.
- ^ "Syria's Assad thinks he is winning. He could be wrong". The Washington Post. 9 September 2014.
- ^ "Syria: Executions, Hostage Taking by Rebels". Human Rights Watch. 10 October 2013.
Bibliography
[edit]- Harris, William W. (2012). Lebanon: A History, 600–2011. Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780190217839.
- Hinnebusch, Raymond; Ehteshami, Anoushiravan (2002). The Foreign Policies of Middle East States. Lynne Rienner Publishers. ISBN 9781588260208.
- Mansour, Imad; Thompson, William R. (2020). Shocks and Rivalries in the Middle East and North Africa. Georgetown University Press. ISBN 9781626167681.
- Sadiki, Larbi (2014). Routledge Handbook of the Arab Spring: Rethinking Democratization. Routledge. ISBN 978-0-415-52391-2.