'Suffering of Syrians Is Horrendous': UK Baroness Cox on Her Trip to Aleppo, Damascus

RT spoke with Baroness Caroline Cox, a member of the UK Parliament’s House Of Lords, who has just returned from Damascus in Syria, where she met with President Assad – a move which has earned her a lot of criticism from her colleagues.

Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad: Exclusive Interview | NBC Nightly News

What It's Like to Live under ISIS? Syrian Truck Drivers Reveal to RT

Truck drivers travel all around Syria to bring fresh produce to markets in Damascus. RT’s Lizzie Phealn has more.

Islamic State Fights Syrian Rebels and 'Moves Closer to Central Damascus'

THE TELEGRAPH: Isil militants and Islamist rebels are fighting in Asali, part of the capital's southern Qadam district

Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (Isil) battled Syrian rebel forces in a Damascus neighbourhood on Monday, bringing the extremists closer than ever to the centre of the capital, a monitoring group said.

Isil militants fought street battles against Islamist rebels in Asali, part of the capital's southern Qadam district, after seizing two streets there over the weekend, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.

"This is the closest Isil has ever been to the heart of Damascus," Observatory head Rami Abdel Rahman said. » | AFP | Monday, August 31, 2015

Saudi-backed Radicals behind Damascus Chemical Attack - Russian Sources

The August chemical weapons attack in the Syrian capital's suburbs was done by a Saudi Arabian black operations team, Russian diplomatic sources have told a Russian news agency.

Syrians No Longer Trust Neighbours As 'Religious Mosaic' Breaks Up

BBC: Syria's government troops are stepping up their offensive against rebel forces in Damascus, according to the BBC's Middle East editor, Jeremy Bowen.

It comes as a Syrian minister hails a US-Russia deal on Syria's chemical weapons as a "victory" that averts war.

The agreement states Syria must provide full details of its stockpile within a week - with the chemical arsenal eliminated by mid-2014.

Jeremy Bowen has been to meet Christians who fled their homes in Maaloula, some of whom say they were attacked by rebels "with local accents".

He says many Syrians no longer trust their old neighbours and that "the religious mosaic of different sects is breaking up". Watch BBC video » | Sunday, September 15, 2013

Syria Crisis: UN to Confirm Sarin Gas Used in Damascus

BBC: There is "convincing evidence" that sarin gas was used in a rocket attack in the Syrian capital, Damascus, last month, a UN report is to confirm.

Text seen in a photograph of the front page of the report - to be released later - does not apportion blame.

US allegations that the government was responsible led to threats of military action and then a US-Russia deal for Syria to make safe its chemical arms.

World powers will now try to hammer out a UN Security Council resolution. » | Monday, September 16, 2013

Syria: West Vows to Increase Backing for Rebels

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Britain, France and the United States agreed to strengthen the Syrian opposition and increase pressure on President Bashar al-Assad to respect a deal to give up his chemical weapons arsenal to avoid military action.

But Russia warned that talks between the three powers in Paris on a “strong” United Nations resolution on Syria could wreck peace efforts.

Britain, France and the US agreed that Assad would face “serious consequences” if he fails to comply with a UN resolution setting out a timetable for the handover of Syria’s chemical weapons to international control, French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said at a joint press conference.

John Kerry, the US secretary of state, said the allies were committed to keeping up the pressure on Assad following a deal between the US and Russia on the handover of Syrian chemical weapons reached in Geneva on Saturday.

"If the Assad regime believes that this is not enforceable and we are not serious, they will play games...The military option is still on the table,” he said. » | Henry Samuel, Paris | Monday, September 16, 2013

Syrie : Paris menace Damas »

Assad Supporters – Syria (2011)

A rare look at Assad's side of the Syrian story

Recruited by Al-Qaeda: Foreign Fighters in Damascus Jail Tell Their Stories

Rebels, foreign Jihadists and government troops have been condemned by a UN report - which found them all guilty of war crimes - including civilian massacres and indiscriminate shelling. Meanwhile, international mercenaries and militants continue to flood the country... convinced they're carrying out the will of God. But what forces men to such extremes? RT's Maria Finoshina has been investigating.

Charlie Rose’s Full Interview with Bashar al-Assad

CBS News’s Charlie Rose sat down with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad over the weekend.

Charlie Rose Interviews Syria's Bashar Al-Assad in Damascus

Bashar Assad tells Charlie Rose U.S. should "expect every action" in response to Syria strikes Charlie Rose interviewed Syria's president Bashar al-Assad in Damascus on Sunday.

Bashar al-Assad: US Will Pay Price for Syria Strike

BBC: Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has warned that the US would "pay the price" for any strike against Syria.

He told US broadcaster PBS that strikes would increase instability and lead to the spread of terrorism in the region.

He said there was "no evidence" that government forces had used chemical weapons against their own people.

Meanwhile, US Secretary of State John Kerry has once again warned that taking no action against Mr Assad's regime is riskier than launching strikes.

When asked at a news conference whether there was anything Mr Assad could do to avoid military action, Mr Kerry replied that he could hand over his entire stockpile of chemical weapons within the next week.

However, US officials later clarified that Mr Kerry was making a "rhetorical argument" rather than a serious offer.

Mr Kerry has been lobbying hard for military action against Syria during talks with EU and Arab foreign ministers in Europe.

The US Congress is due to debate whether to authorise intervention in Syria. Watch BBC video » | Monday, September 09, 2013

John Kerry and Bashar al-Assad Dined in Damascus

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Photographs showing John Kerry, the US secretary of state, dining in splendour with President Bashar al-Assad have emerged, as Mr Kerry likened the Syrian ruler to Hitler.

Mr Kerry visited Damascus in February 2009, when he was chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

He said in a press conference during the visit: "President Barack Obama's administration considers Syria a key player in Washington's efforts to revive the stalled Middle East peace process.

"Syria is an essential player in bringing peace and stability to the region."

Mr Kerry met with Mr Assad at least six times, and on one occasion – seen in the photographs – dining with the two men's wives at the Naranj restaurant in central Damascus.

The restaurant, in the heart of Damascus's Old Town, is on a marble paved avenue named Straight Street, which was built by the Romans and mentioned in the Bible. » | Harriet Alexander | Tuesday, September 03, 2013

Jeremy Bowen: 'Tension in Damascus'

BBC: In Syria itself, President Bashar al-Assad has insisted that his country will defend itself in the face of what he called "any aggression".

In the capital, Damascus, there is deep unease among many residents about what the coming days will bring.

The BBC's Middle East Editor Jeremy Bowen is one of the few international journalists in Damascus, from where he sent this report. Watch BBC video » | Thursday, August 29, 2013

Syria Crisis: What Is in Damascus Letter to UK?

BBC: The Speaker of the Syrian Parliament has written to Commons Speaker John Bercow inviting a parliamentary delegation to the Syrian capital to check the UN's conclusions.

The letter added that Syria will sue those responsible in British courts if the UK attacks - which it said would be an "aggressive and unprovoked act of war".

A parliamentary vote on the UK's response to a chemical attack near Damascus currently hangs in the balance, after the opposition demanded "compelling evidence" of Syria's guilt.

The BBC's Rajesh Mirchandani takes a closer look at the letter with BBC Arabic correspondent Nahed Abuzeid. Watch BBC video » | Thursday, August 29, 2013

Syria Crisis: People in Damascus 'Are Nervous'

BBC: The UK has put a suggested resolution to the five permanent members of the UN Security Council "authorising all necessary measures to protect civilians" in Syria.

It calls for military action against what Britain has termed Syria's "unacceptable" use of chemical weapons.

Syrians continue to go about their daily lives, but as Jeremy Bowen reports from the capital Damascus, people "are nervous about what the next few days will bring". Watch BBC video » | Wednesday, August 28, 2013

Netanyahu: Israel Will Hit Hard If Syrian Threat Detected

THE TIMES OF ISRAEL: Following second security cabinet meeting in two days, prime minister parries Syrian warning that it’ll strike Israel if US attacks

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday warned Syrian President Bashar Assad that Israel would respond forcefully if any attempt to harm the country is detected.

“The State of Israel is ready for any scenario. We are not part of the civil war in Syria but if we identify any attempt whatsoever to harm us, we will respond and we will respond in strength,” Netanyahu said after a meeting with his security advisers, his second in as many days.

The prime minister’s pointed remarks were the latest in a string of saber-rattling statements issued by Jerusalem and Damascus, with both sides threatening military action if they were struck.

Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Moallem said in a press conference earlier on Tuesday that Syria would fight back in case of a US strike, and Khalaf Muftah, a senior Baath Party official, said Monday that Damascus would consider Israel “behind the [Western] aggression and [it] will therefore come under fire.”

“We have strategic weapons and we’re capable of responding,” Muftah said. “Normally the strategic weapons are aimed at Israel.” » | Times of Israel Staff | Tuesday, August 27, 2013

UN Inspectors Visit Syria Attack Site

Team visits field hospitals near Damascus despite being "deliberately shot at multiple times by unidentified snipers".

Assad Warns Failure Awaits US Military Intervention in Syria

THE GUARDIAN: President says chemical weapons allegations are politically motivated and all US wars since Vietnam have ended badly

Syrian president Bashar al-Assad has dismissed as politically motivated western allegations that he used chemical weapons and warned Washington that any US military intervention would fail, in an interview published in a Russian newspaper on Monday.

"Failure awaits the United States as in all previous wars it has unleashed, starting with Vietnam and up to the present day," he told the Izvestia daily when asked what would happen if Washington decided to strike or invade Syria.

Assad said Syrian government forces had been close to where rebel forces say chemical weapons were used last week during the country's more than two-year-old civil war.

"Would any state use chemical or any other weapons of mass destruction in a place where its own forces are concentrated? That would go against elementary logic," Assad told Izvestia, a pro-Kremlin newspaper.

Russia has been Assad's most important international ally throughout the civil war, supplying his troops with arms and resisting pressure at the UN for tighter sanctions on Damascus.

Asked about the arms deliveries, Assad said: "I want to say that all contracts that have been concluded with Russia are being fulfilled." » | Reuters in Moscow | Monday, August 26, 2013