As ISIS Nears Defeat – US, Russia Close to Agreement on Resolving Syrian Civil War

With ISIS nearing defeat, the U.S. and Russia are losing their common enemy in Syria and will remain in a proxy battle in which Russia backs Assad and the U.S. supports armed opposition groups.

Matthew Lee
Josh Lederman
By Matthew Lee
And Josh Lederman
This frame grab from video provided, Nov 8, 2017, by the Syrian Central Military Media, shows a tank firing on militants' positions on the Iraq-Syria border. (Syrian Central Military/AP)

WASHINGTON (AP) — The United States and Russia are nearing an agreement on Syria for how they hope to resolve the Arab country’s civil war once the Islamic State group (ISIS) is defeated, officials said Thursday. If clinched, the deal was expected to be announced by President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin in Vietnam on

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Senate Pushes New Sanctions On Russia And Iran

The sanctions are part of an amendment to the underlying Iran sanctions bill, and maintains and substantially expands sanctions against the government of Russia.

Richard Lardner | AP
By Richard Lardner | AP
Russian President Vladimir Putin walks along the Cathedral Square of the Kremlin, to take part in a holiday reception in Moscow, Monday, June 12, 2017. (Alexei Druzhinin/Sputnik)

Senate Republicans and Democrats reached agreement late Monday on a new package of sanctions on Russia amid the firestorm over Russia's meddling in the presidential election and investigations into Moscow's possible collusion with members of President Donald Trump's campaign. Top lawmakers on two committees — Banking and Foreign Relations —

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As US Airstrikes Claim More Civilian Lives, Trump Admin Accuses Syria Of Mass Executions

In making the claim, the top U.S. diplomat for the Middle East, Stu Jones, said that Syrian President Bashar Assad’s government “has sunk to a new level of depravity” with the support of Russia and Iran.

Associated Press
By Associated Press
President Donald Trump walks from the podium after speaking at Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Fla., Thursday, April 6, 2017, after the U.S. fired a barrage of cruise missiles into Syria. (AP/Alex Brandon)

The Trump administration is accusing the Syrian government carrying out mass killings of thousands of prisoners and burning the dead bodies in a large crematorium outside the capital. The State Department says about 50 detainees a day are being hanged at Saydnaya (Said-nay-ah) military prison, about 45 minutes from Damascus. It says the

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Syrian Government Formally Requests UN Investigation Into Chemical Attack

The moves comes as both Israel and the United States are claiming Syria still possess chemical weapons.

Associated Press
By Associated Press
Close up photograph of the crater that has been shown in numerous mainstream media publications that the White House alleges is proof that the source of the nerve agent attack was the Syrian government.

Syrian President Bashar Assad says the Syrian government has formally approached the United Nations, asking it to send in the experts to investigate the April 4 suspected chemical attack. Assad said in an interview with the Russian state-owned RIA Novosti news agency on Thursday that the U.N. has not sent anyone yet and blamed Western nations

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Mossad Turned French Spies Into Double Agents After Joint Syria Op

Le Monde reveals how Israeli espionage agency allegedly exploited a successful chemical weapons operation to get French counterparts to become sources; former head of French counterintelligence agency being questioned as suspect in case.

haaretz
By haaretz
Police officers guard the General Directorate for Internal Security headquarters in Levallois Perret, outside Paris, 2015. (Photo: Christophe Ena/AP)

PARIS – An internal report written by French intelligence, parts of which were published in the daily newspaper Le Monde on Sunday, reveal efforts by the Mossad to develop relationships with French spies, “to the point of crossing the line of turning them into double agents.” The audit report recommends investigating Bernard Squarcini, the head

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Syria Warns US Safe Zones Would Be Unsafe & Violate Sovereignty

The safe zones were originally reported to be part of the refugee ban executive order, but was not contained in the final draft. The reports said the order was to give the State Department and Pentagon 90 days to come up with a plan for the safe zones.​

Jason Ditz
By Jason Ditz

President Trump has not signed the expected executive order on establishing safe zones in Syria, but the White House has insisted that Trump and Saudi King Salman had agreed to the idea during a weekend phone call. Syria has not been brought into the discussion, however, and that’s not sitting well with Syria. Foreign Minister Walid al-Moallem

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