When the US and Israel launched military action against Iran on February 28, 2026, it set in motion a chain of events that saw violence spread across the Middle East. Yet as the region found itself engulfed in conflict, Syria has experienced its most peaceful months in 15 years, and the government in Damascus appears determined to stay its course toward recovery.
Unlocking the Levant: Why the United States and Syria Must Pursue a Bilateral Trade and Investment Agreement
Apart from the brief honeymoon period between 1961 and 1963 under President John F. Kennedy and President Nazim al-Qudsi, US-Syria relations have never held such optimistic potential as they do today. Today, following the fall of Bashar al-Assad regime and the rise of a new government under President Ahmad al-Sharaa at the end of 2024, a new geopolitical window has opened.
Though it has fallen out of the headlines because of the Iran war, Syria has had a dramatically consequential summer. Hosts Alistair Taylor and Matthew Czekaj are joined by MEI Senior Fellow Charles Lister to take stock of recent developments: the dissolution of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces, Israeli strikes and the friction with Turkey they have exposed, the standoff in Sweida, as well as Damascus’s bid to turn Syria into a trade corridor between the Mediterranean and the Gulf. Is the transition consolidating or fragmenting nearly two years after the fall of the Assad regime?
MEI’s Syria Initiative seeks to provide insightful and grounded research and analysis on all things Syria in order to better inform a wide range of audiences and to help sustain and shape a more meaningful policy-oriented discussion.
The Middle East Institute, The Atlantic Council, and European Institute of Peace collaborate with subject matter experts and policymakers in the US, Europe, and the Middle East to develop a holistic strategy to sustainably forge a pathway to resolving Syria’s crisis.
This article was first published by Reuters on December 12, 2012
Assertions and opinions in this publication are solely those of the above-mentioned author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Middle East Institute, which expressly does not take positions on Middle East policy
The Middle East Institute and IRD Present:Syria: Humanitarian Impact and the U.S. Response Featuring: Robert Ford, U.S. Ambassador to SyriaMark Bartolini, Director of the Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance, USAIDAlbert Cevallos, Acting Director of Democracy, Governance, & Community Development, IRDOpening Remarks by: Arthur B. Keyes, President and CEO, IRDModerated by: Amb. Deborah Jones Thursday, November 29, 20129:00am-10:30am St.
The Middle East Institute and IRD Present:Syria: Humanitarian Impact and the U.S. Response Featuring: Robert Ford, U.S. Ambassador to SyriaMark Bartolini, Director of the Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance, USAIDAlbert Cevallos, Acting Director of Democracy, Governance, & Community Development, IRDOpening Remarks by: Arthur B. Keyes, President and CEO, IRDModerated by: Amb. Deborah Jones Thursday, November 29, 20129:00am-10:30am St.
The Middle East Institute and IRD Present:Syria: Humanitarian Impact and the U.S. Response Featuring: Robert Ford, U.S. Ambassador to SyriaMark Bartolini, Director of the Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance, USAIDAlbert Cevallos, Acting Director of Democracy, Governance, & Community Development, IRDOpening Remarks by: Arthur B. Keyes, President and CEO, IRDModerated by: Amb. Deborah Jones Thursday, November 29, 20129:00am-10:30am St.
The Middle East Institute and IRD Present:Syria: Humanitarian Impact and the U.S. Response Featuring: Robert Ford, U.S. Ambassador to SyriaMark Bartolini, Director of the Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance, USAIDAlbert Cevallos, Acting Director of Democracy, Governance, & Community Development, IRDOpening Remarks by: Arthur B. Keyes, President and CEO, IRDModerated by: Amb. Deborah Jones Thursday, November 29, 20129:00am-10:30am St.
The Middle East Institute and IRD Present:Syria: Humanitarian Impact and the U.S. Response Featuring: Robert Ford, U.S. Ambassador to SyriaMark Bartolini, Director of the Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance, USAIDAlbert Cevallos, Acting Director of Democracy, Governance, & Community Development, IRDOpening Remarks by: Arthur B. Keyes, President and CEO, IRDModerated by: Amb. Deborah Jones Thursday, November 29, 20129:00am-10:30am St.
This Opinion was first published on Reuters.com on October 11, 2012
Assertions and opinions in this policy paper are solely those of the above-mentioned author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Middle East Institute, which expressly does not take positions on Middle East policy.
Turkey and the Regional Dynamics of the Syrian Crisis
Turkey and the Regional Dynamics of the Syrian Crisis Denise Natali, Omer Taspinar, Mona Yacoubian, Gonul Tol 27 September, 2012 Podcast 31This is the second of four events in a joint lecture series by Middle East Institute’s Center for Turkish Studies and the Institute of Turkish Studies at Georgetown University.
Turkey and the Regional Dynamics of the Syrian Crisis
Turkey and the Regional Dynamics of the Syrian Crisis Denise Natali, Omer Taspinar, Mona Yacoubian, Gonul Tol 27 September, 2012 Podcast 31This is the second of four events in a joint lecture series by Middle East Institute’s Center for Turkish Studies and the Institute of Turkish Studies at Georgetown University.
Turkey and the Regional Dynamics of the Syrian Crisis
Turkey and the Regional Dynamics of the Syrian Crisis Denise Natali, Omer Taspinar, Mona Yacoubian, Gonul Tol 27 September, 2012 Podcast 31This is the second of four events in a joint lecture series by Middle East Institute’s Center for Turkish Studies and the Institute of Turkish Studies at Georgetown University.
MEI’s Syria Initiative seeks to provide insightful and grounded research and analysis on all things Syria in order to better inform a wide range of audiences and to help sustain and shape a more meaningful policy-oriented discussion. Drawing on the expertise of over a dozen renowned scholars, the Syria Program covers all aspects of Syria and its ongoing crises – from political, economic, legal, social, ethnic and religious dynamics, to conflict, insurgency and terrorism and the country’s history and possible futures.
