January 2 – Saudi Arabia / Iran
Saudi Arabia executes 47 prisoners convicted for terrorism and says that Shia Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr is among them. Sheikh Nimr was a popular cleric from Saudi Arabia’s Eastern Province, who criticized the Saudi government and its repressive policies on many occasions. He was arrested several times before, but his execution sparks protests throughout the Middle East and creates diplomatic crises between Shia and Sunni governments. In Iran, a crowd of protesters raids the Saudi Arabian Embassy in Tehran and the Saudi consulate in Mashhad, destroying the offices and setting the buildings on fire. In response, Saudi Arabia severs ties with Iran.
January 12 – Turkey
A suicide bomber walks up to a tour group standing in Sultanahmet Square near the Blue Mosque in Tukey’s city of Istanbul and blows himself up, killing 12 people and injuring 15, all foreign tourists. The deadly attack happens in the area heavily guarded by Turkish security forces. The bomber is a Syrian member of the self-proclaimed Islamic (IS). In response to the bombing, the Turkish government arrests 68 suspected terrorist in raids across the country.
January 13 – Iran
Iran releases 10 US sailors who strayed into the Iranian territorial waters and were detained by the Iranian authorities a day earlier. The U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry thanks Iran for the prompt release of the sailors and uses the incident to indicate the critical role of diplomacy.
January 16 – Iran
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) announces that Iran has taken adequate steps toward implementing the nuclear deal, allowing for the United Nations to lift sanctions against it. The agreement was reached in July. Lifting sanction will release billions of dollars of Iran’s frozen assets abroad, allow Iran to sell its oil and gas to other countries, open Iran to foreign companies for investment, and will allow Iran to trade with other countries and use the global banking system. (January 16): Iran releases four Iranian-Americans from prison in exchange for seven Iranian citizens imprisoned in the United States for violation of sanction against Iran. Among the freed Americans are Jason Rezaian, a journalist for the Washington Post, who was accused of espionage, and Saeed Abedini, a Christian pastor, imprisoned for proselytizing Christianity in Iran. (January 23): Iran and China sign 17 agreements aimed at boosting trade and economic relations between the two countries. (January 25): Accompanied by a 120-strong delegation of the country’s government ministers and businessmen, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani arrives in Europe on a state visit, the first one in 16 years. The purpose of the visit is to discuss trade relations with Italy and France, such as a $24 billion deal to purchase 118 Airbus planes.
January 19 – Iraq
The United Nations releases a report that shows the continued severe impact of the conflict in Iraq on civilians. Between January 2014 and October 2015 more than 18,800 civilians were killed in systematic and widespread violence. Another 36,245 were wounded, 3.2 million displaced, and scores enslaved. The report continues that the self-proclaimed Islamic State (IS) commits systematic and widespread violence and abuses that amount to war crimes, crimes against humanity, and possibly genocide.
January 20 – Iraq
Satellite imagery confirms that Saint Elijah’s Christian Monastery, one of Iraq’s oldest churches located south of Mosul, has been destroyed by the self-proclaimed Islamic State (IS) sometime in 2014 when the group took over the city. The monastery was founded by Mar Elia, an Assyrian monk, around 595 AD. It is feared that many other cultural sites might have also been destroyed.
February 16 – Saudi Arabia / Qatar
Three countries from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) – Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Venezuela – and Russia agree to freeze oil production at the January 2016 level. Oversupply of oil has led to drop in oil prices by 70 percent since 2014. For oil producing and exporting countries, this means a significant drop in revenue, forcing them to cut spending and introduce unpopular reforms.
February 26 – Iran
Iranians are voting for 290 new members for the parliament from among more than 6,000 candidates. The Iranian MPs arrange themselves in blocs rather than political parties. They approve cabinet appointments and new legislation. The voters also chose 88 clerics for the Assembly of Experts, a clerical body that appoints the Supreme Leader. The elections are a victory for the reformists and moderates. The hardliners who opposed the nuclear deal pushed by President Hassan Rouhani lose control of the parliament.
February 27 – Syria
The partial ceasefire for Syria comes into effect. It was brokered by the United States and Russia with the Syrian government and Syria’s main rebel groups. It excludes, however, Islamic State (IS) and the Nusra Front with links to al-Qaeda. (February 29): The United Nations (UN) starts aid deliveries of food, water, medicine, and other necessities to tens of thousands of Syrians who are trapped in besieged areas.
March 7 – Turkey
The European Union (EU) and Turkey reach an agreement on how to handle mass migration of refugees to Europe. About 134,900 migrants have crossed the Mediterranean Sea to Europe so far this year. More than 400 have died making the journey. The vast majority of the migrants arrive through Turkey, which already hosts 2.6 million migrants. Under the deal migrants who arrive in Greece, but their asylum application is rejected will be sent back to Turkey. In return, for every migrant returned, the EU will resettle Syrian migrants living in Turkey. The two sides also agree to reopen Turkey’s accession negotiations as soon as possible, and to work with Turkey to improve humanitarian conditions inside Syria.
March 14 – Syria
Russian President Vladimir Putin announces that Russia has accomplished its objectives in Syria and begins withdrawing its forces from the region. Russia conducted air strikes in Syria for about six months, helping the government of President Bashar al-Assad regain some the country’s territory from Islamic State (IS) and anti-government rebels.
March 25 – Syria
The United States special forces kill a number of senior leaders of the militant organization Islamic State (IS) in Syria. They include the second-in-command Abdul Rahman Mustafa al-Qaduli, who served as a finance minister, and Tarkhan Batirashvili, a Georgian known as Omar Shishani who served as minister of war. Others include Abu Sara, whose job was to pay fighters in northern Iraq, and several IS associates who were directly involved in external plotting and training.
March 26 – Syria
Syrian government forces backed by Russian air strikes retake the ancient city of Palmyra that was seized by Islamic State (IS) in May last year. Palmyra is the UNESCO World Heritage site with ancient structures, many of them destroyed by IS, which sees them as idolatrous. The destruction is considered a war crime. But Palmyra is also a strategic place on the road between the capital, Damascus and the contested eastern city of Deir al-Zour. Its recapture is seen as a significant victory for the President Bashar al-Assad government.
April 25 – Saudi Arabia
The Saudi Arabian government approves a plan of economic reforms that would diversify the country’s economy. The Saudi Arabian economy depends on oil and its petroleum sector accounts for about 87 percent of the country’s budget revenues, 42 percent of gross domestic product (GDP), and 90 percent of export earnings. Dependence on one product, such as oil, makes a country subject to the market volatility. The recent significant drop in oil prices caused Saudi Arabia’s budget deficit of 18.8 percent of GDP in 2015. According to the reform plan, a number of shares of the state-owned petroleum giant, Aramco, will be sold, increasing revenue and outside investment. The country will also make investments in mineral mining and military production. The country plans to expand the guest worker program and include more women in the workforce.
April 26 – Syria / Iraq
The United States military officials say that after following intelligence leads about where the Islamic State (IS) stores its money across Syria and Iraq, the U.S. destroyed up to $800 million of IS cash in special air strikes. This includes $150 million that was kept in a house in Mosul in Iraq. IS’s losses of territory, oilfields, and cash have had a negative impact on its capabilities of maintaining its current fighters and recruiting new ones. The U.S. says that in February 2016 IS had about 25,000 fighters, about 10,000 less compared to the previous year.
April 27 – Iran
Four journalists in Iran receive long-term sentences in prison for “spreading propaganda against the Islamic Republic” and acting against national security. A US-based media advocacy group, the Committee to Protect Journalists, condemns the sentencing and the laws that allow harassment of journalists.
May 12 – Syria
The United Nations humanitarian adviser Jan Egeland says that the breakdown of the February ceasefire agreement between government and opposition groups in Syria makes it difficult and dangerous to reach about 4.5 million civilians in desperate need of humanitarian aid. The UN believes that there are about 400,000 people trapped in besieged areas, such as Daraya, a suburb of Damascus, the site of relentless fighting and under siege since November 2012.
May 25 – Israel
Avigdor Lieberman, the leader of Israel’s right-wing Yisrael Beiteinu (Israel Our Home) party, agrees to bring his party into Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s governing coalition. Lieberman, who served twice as foreign minister, is known for his hawkish stance towards the Palestinians. This move raises the governing coalition’s majority in the parliament to seven seats, making it easier to pass laws. The deal is opposed by former military chief Moshe Yaalon, a member of Netanyahu’s Likud party. He quits as defense minister in protest. Avigdor Lieberman is appointed as the new defense minister.
June 16 – Iraq / Syria
In its report, the United Nations Human Rights Council accuses Islamic State (IS) of genocide and multiple crimes against humanity and war crimes against the Yazidis. The Yazidis are an ethnically Kurdish religious community indigenous to northern Mesopotamia who practice an ancient religion of Yazidism. Most of the world’s Yazidis live in the Sinjar region of northern Iraq and in Syria. The UN report indicates that IS specifically targets the Yazidis and seeks to destroy the Yazidis’ way of life through killings, enslavement, sexual slavery, torture, forcible transfer, and inhuman and degrading treatment. Thousands of Yazidis are held captive and subjected to horrific treatment. The report concludes that the genocide of the Yazidis is on-going.
June 26 – Iraq
Backed by airstrikes from the U.S.-led Coalition, Iraqi forces re-capture the city of Falluja and its suburbs from the Islamic State (IS) militants and declare the city fully liberated. There are about 50,000 civilians who have been trapped in the city, with little food and water, often used as human shields by the militants. Falluja was under IS control since January 2014 and considered the second most important stronghold of the militants in Iraq, after Mosul. The Iraqi air forces target several hundreds of IS vehicles with thousands of militants fleeing the city.
June 27 – Turkey / Israel
Turkey and Israel reach a deal to normalize their relationship after the killing of 10 Turkish activists in the Palestinian territory of the Gaza Strip by Israeli soldiers 6 years ago known as the Mavi Marmara incident. Both countries agree to restore their diplomatic relations. Israel agrees to pay $20 million in compensation and allow Turkey to continue infrastructure projects in Gaza, such as residential buildings, a hospital, a power station and a desalination plant for drinking water, as well as other type of humanitarian aid to the Palestinians. Turkey, on the other hand, agrees to pass legislation that will protect Israeli troops from legal claims over the Mavi Marmara incident, and to prevent any military action or fundraising by Hamas in Turkey.
June 28 – Turkey
Three suicide bombers attack Turkey’s international airport in Istanbul during a busy travel day, killing 41 people and injuring 239. The police kill all three attackers. Istanbul’s Ataturk airport is the third busiest in Europe, serving more than 61 million travelers a year. All three attackers are from the former Soviet Union area: Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Russia’s North Caucasus region, but Turkey believes that Islamic State (IS) terrorist organization was behind planning the bombings. IS targets Turkey for its close relations with the Western governments and NATO. This is the fourth major terrorist attack in Turkey this year, crippling the country’s tourist industry.
June 30 – Turkey
The European Union re-opens accession talks with Turkey, getting ready to negotiate Chapter 33 – Financial and budgetary provisions. Membership negotiations with Turkey started in 2005 and so far out of 35 Chapters necessary to complete the accession process, 15 have been opened and one has been closed. Turkey’s membership in the EU is controversial among many EU members.
July 4 – Iraq
The so-called Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) carries out a devastating bombing attack in the Iraqi capital, Baghdad, killing 165 people and wounding more than 225. A truck filled with explosives is detonated at a busy city market, filled with people shopping for the holiday that marks the end of Ramadan. This is the worst single-bomb attack since 2007.
July 4 – Saudi Arabia
Three suicide attacks in three different cities in Saudi Arabia are blamed on the Islamic State (IS). Two of them take place outside the U.S. Consulate in the city of Jeddah wounding two security guards and outside a Shia mosque in the city of Qatif, where only the bomber was killed. The third one takes place near the Prophet’s Mosque in Medina, Islam’s second holiest site, where thousands of worshipers gathered for a prayer. Only four security guards are killed in an attempt to stop the suicide bomber.
July 11 – Syria / Iraq
HIS Jane’s 360 reports that the so-called Islamic State (IS) has been losing territory at an increasing rate since January 2015. By the end of 2015, it shrunk by 15 percent and since January 2016 – another 12 percent. Right now the IS controls about 26 370 square miles in Iraq and Syria, which corresponds to the size of the US state of West Virginia. HIS claims that in an effort to make up for these losses and to stay relevant, the group undertakes more mass casualty attacks in Syria and Iraq, as well as more attacks outside this area, such as Europe.
July 11 – Iraq
The United States is sending 560 more military personnel to Iraq to assist with fighting the so-called Islamic State (IS). This will bring the number of the US personnel in Iraq to 4,650, who mostly train and advise the Iraqi forces.
July 15 – Turkey
A faction within Turkey’s military armed forces stage a coup d’état against the government and tries to seize control of several key places in the capital, Ankara, Istanbul and other places. The group of the plotters says that the reason is an erosion of secularism, the elimination of democratic rule, a disregard for human rights under the rule of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Thousands of people respond to President Erdogan’s call to stand up against the coup and take to the streets in protests. Within hours the troops loyal to the president put down the coup, but not before 290 people die and over 1,400 are injured in violence between the two sides. The coup is followed by mass arrests. More than 6,000 people are detained, 2,800 military officers are arrested, 8,000 police officers are removed from office, 2,700 judges and 1,500 finance ministry staff are sacked, and more than 21,000 teachers are fired with their teaching certificates revoked. The government accuses Fethullah Gulen, the self-exiled Turkish Islamic preacher and the head of a popular movement Hizmet, of being the coup’s mastermind and accuses the U.S. (where he has lived since 1999) of protecting him.
July 20 – Israel
Israeli parliament passes a controversial law that will allow to impeach members of parliament who incite to violence, racism, or support armed struggle against the state. The critics say that the law is undemocratic and targets mostly the country’s Arab legislators. However, the law will require at least 90 members in the 120- member parliament to vote in favor of any impeachment. The Arab population is Israel amounts to 20 percent who are represented by 17 Arab members in the Knesset.
August 31 – Israel / Palestinian Territories
According to a non-governmental organization Peace Now, Israel has approved the construction of 463 new homes at Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank. Among those, 179 are approved retrospectively.[1] Under the international law, these settlements are illegal. Israel, however, disputes this.
September 12 – Syria
After months of negotiations, the United States and Russia broker a ceasefire agreement in Geneva for Syria between the Syrian government forces of Bashir al-Assad and the various opposition groups such as the Free Syrian Army and the hardline Islamist Ahrar al-Sham. According to the deal, if the ceasefire holds for seven days, the U.S. and Russia will join forces to conduct airstrikes against Islamic State (IS), al-Nusra Front, and other jihadist groups. The truce excludes action against these terrorist groups. The ceasefire is also designed to deliver urgently-needed humanitarian aid to civilians in places under siege, such as the city of Aleppo. (September 19): The Syrian government declares the ceasefire over, which was poorly adhered to, with Syrian military incidents of bombings and blocking convoys with humanitarian aid. The ceasefire suffered a set-back when a US-British coalition mistakenly killed at least 60 Syrian government soldiers in an airstrike aimed at IS militants.
September 14 – Israel
The United States commits a record $38 billion in military aid to Israel over 10 years, the single largest such pledge to any country in the U.S history. This amount includes $33 billion in foreign military financing funds and an unprecedented commitment of $5 billion for missile defense.[2] The previous aid, which will expire in 2018, amounted to $31 billion. This funding will allow Israel to update its fighter aircraft fleet, including the acquisition of additional F-35s and F-15s, enhance the mobility of its ground forces and strengthen its missile defense systems.
September 21 – Saudi Arabia
The United States Senate approves $1.15 billion in arms to Saudi Arabia despite an opposition in the Senate to block this controversial deal. Those in favor argued that the arms will help the Saudis fight Islamic State (IS) and al-Qaeda more effectively. The opposition to the deal led by Senators Rand Paul and Chris Murphy argued that the U.S. should not supply weapons to the country which is militarily involved in a conflict in Yemen and accused of human rights violations there. They also argued that the weapons sale to Saudi Arabia might increase an ongoing arms race in the region.[3]
September 25 – Syria
During a specially-convened meeting of the UN Security Council over Syria, Russia is accused of committing war crimes and “barbarism” in Syria by aiding the Syrian government forces in bombing the civilian targets in the rebel-held eastern part of the city of Aleppo and a humanitarian aid convoy near Aleppo. It has been reported that they used “bunker-busting bombs” on civilians in Aleppo that killed more than 200 people, including many women and children. Russia denies attacking the aid convoy last week, blaming rebels or a US drone.[4]
September 26 – Saudi Arabia
Women activists in Saudi Arabia present the government with a petition with 14,000 signatures to end the male guardianship system. Adult women in Saudi Arabia need their male guardians’ consent to work, study, travel, get married, rent an apartment, file legal claims, and even exit prison. Usually it is a father or husband, but it can be a brother or a son. There are practically very few options for women who are abused by their guardians.
More on Male Guardianship System in Saudi Arabia from Human Rights Watch. The source includes short cartoons depicting problems with the male guardianship system.
October 4 – Turkey
Almost three months after Turkey imposed the state of emergency after the failed July coup, Turkish police raids and closes down TV stations, including an opposition and pro-Kurdish channel IMC TV, and suspends more than 12,000 police officers who are accused of links to the exiled Muslim cleric Fethullah Gulen. The government accuses Gulen of being the mastermind behind the coup. The state of emergency allows the government to rule by decrees without the need of legislative approval. In the last three months, more than 81,000 people have been arrested or suspended in wide-sweeping purges.[5] Turkey’s government also declares that the current state of emergency will be extended by another three months.
October 21 – Syria
The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein speaks at a special session of the Geneva-based Human Rights Council and describes the bombardment of Syria’s war-ravaged eastern Aleppo as “crimes of historic proportions.” He compares what it used to be beautiful ancient city of Aleppo to a slaughterhouse – where children and women are deliberately bombed. He blames the international community for the failure to protect the civilians and urges the Council to act to end the bloodshed. He also says that the Syrian conflict has killed over 300,000, wounded and traumatized countless others, resulted in the abduction, summary execution or arbitrary detention of tens of thousands and displaced a half of the Syrian population.[6] (October 26): An airstrike on a school in the town of Haas in the Idlib province kills close to 40 people and injures more than 100, most of them children.[7] The United States blames either Syria or Russia of being behind the attacks; however, Russia denies these claims. Idlib province is in the hands of opposition forces.
October 28 – Saudi Arabia
For the first time since the beginning of the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHCR) in 2006, Russia is not elected as the Council’s member and is replaced by Croatia. The Human Rights Council is an inter-governmental body within the United Nations, which consists of 47 States responsible for the promotion and protection of all human rights around the globe. Saudi Arabia, on the other hand, despite criticism, is elected and will serve another 3-year term until 2019. In June 2016, Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International issued a joint statement condemning Saudi Arabia for human rights violations in its military campaign in Yemen and in its own country, with reports of jailing of the opposition, torture, discrimination, and conducting 157 executions just in 2015. As a member of the UNHCR, Saudi Arabia uses its power to block any investigations into these allegations. The two organizations called for Saudi Arabia to be suspended from UNHRC.[8]
More about the membership in UNHRC
October 31 – Lebanon
Lebanon’s parliament elects Michel Aoun, the Maronite Christian, as president after a two-year deadlock. The country’s previous president, Michel Suleiman, left office at the end of his term in May 2014. Several attempts to pick a new president have failed mainly because of the MPs’ disagreements about the civil war in neighboring Syria.
November 13 – Iraq
Iraqi government forces liberate the ancient Assyrian city of Nimrud situated about 20 miles south-east of Mosul, which Iraqi government forces are attempting to take from Islamic State (IS) militants. Nimrud was held by IS for the last two years. While under IS, the militants bulldozed Nimrud and its archaeological sites that dating back to the 13th Century BC after declaring the site and its statues blasphemous. The United Nations cultural body UNESCO declared this deliberate destruction of cultural heritage as a war crime.[9]
History of the Ancient City of Nimrud
UNESCO video: Archaeological site of Nimrud before destruction
Reuters video: IS destruction of Nimrud
November 21 – Syria
In his statement to the Security Council on Syria, Under-Secretary-General For Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator Stephen O’Brien reports that almost one million people in Syria are living under siege in places across the country. He also says that civilians are being isolated, starved, bombed and denied medical attention and humanitarian assistance in order to force them to submit or flee. In the past week, hundreds of civilians had been killed in eastern Aleppo, with air strikes purposely targeting civilians by the Syrian government. He describes conditions in eastern Aleppo as “barely survivable”.[10]
December 19 – Turkey
An off-duty Turkish police officer fatally shoots Andrei Karlov, the Russian Ambassador to Turkey, as revenge for Russia’s involvement in bombing the city of Aleppo in Syria. The assassination takes place during an opening of an art exhibition in Ankara, Turkey. Both Russia and Turkey agree that this is a provocation and will not influence their cooperation that they see important for the Middle Eastern region.
Video of the assassination of Russia’s Ambassador to Turkey
December 22 – Syria
The Syrian government gains full control of Aleppo, the largest city in Syria, after a decisive military campaign against the opposition troops that began in 2012. The government troops were supported by Russian airstrikes. The Syrian government victory is seen as a potential turning point in Syria’s civil war that has lasted for almost 6 years. Four years of siege and intense fighting in Aleppo caused severe destruction of the city, one of the UNESCO World Heritage sites. Located at the crossroads of several trade routes from the 2nd millennium B.C., Aleppo was ruled successively by the Hittites, Assyrians, Arabs, Mongols, Mamelukes and Ottomans. The city was known and admired for its 12th-century Great Mosque, 13th-century citadel, and various 17th-century madrasas, palaces, caravanserais and hammams.[11]
Video (2:48 min): Heritage of the City of Aleppo from UNESCO
Gallery of photos of Aleppo from UNESCO
Interactive photos of Aleppo before the civil war and after
December 23 – Israel / Palestinian Territories
The United Nations Security Council passes a resolution condemning Israeli settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, Palestinian territories occupied by Israel since 1967. It reaffirms that these settlements are illegal and constitute flagrant violation of international law. The resolution also demands that Israel stop such activity and fulfill its obligation as an occupying power under the Fourth Geneva Convention. The resolution passes with the support of 14 of the 15 members of the Council. The United States breaks a longstanding tradition of vetoing measures critical of Israel and abstains. The U.S. Ambassador to the UN, Samantha Power, says, “settlements undermined Israel’s security and eroded prospects for peace and stability.”[12] The resolution demonstrates an international consensus that Israel’s settlement activities undermine the chances for a two-State solution and a future peace agreement. In response, the government of Israel rejects the resolution and retaliates against members of the Security Council, including recalling its ambassadors, summoning member countries’ ambassadors, and cancelling visits and aid assistance. The resolution does not include any sanctions and is unenforceable. There are about 586,000 Jewish settlers living in the West Bank and east Jerusalem.[13]
United Nations Security Council Resolution 2334 (2016).
The full text of the Resolution and statements from the 15 Council members, as well as Israel and the Permanent Observer for the State of Palestine.
December 28 – Israel
US Secretary of State John Kerry gives a speech, which defends the Obama’s Administrations’ decision to abstain from a UN Security Council vote on a resolution that condemned Israeli settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem. He says that the recent rapid growth of settlements in the areas long considered the territory of a future Palestinian state jeopardize the two-state solution, which, he says, is “the only way to achieve a just and lasting peace between Israelis and Palestinians.” Kerry also disagrees with Israel’s argument that settlements are aimed at bolstering its security. He criticizes the Benjamin Netanyahu’s governing coalition, saying its policies are leading towards “one state.” At the same time, Secretary Kerry says that the U.S. would not join efforts to dictate peace terms at the UN Security Council and it would not recognize a Palestinian state without a negotiated agreement. He criticizes Palestinian leaders who do not do enough to stop Palestinian terrorists from carrying out attacks against Israeli civilians.[14] In response to Kerry’s speech, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accuses Kerry of bias against Israel and says his administration is looking forward to working with the incoming Trump Administration to repeal the resolution. Donald Trump has indicated that he would break with long-standing US policies toward the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.
Secretary of State John Kerry’s full speech on Israel (video: 71:30 min)
Secretary of State John Kerry’s full speech on Israel: transcript
December 29 – Syria / Turkey
Russia and Turkey mediate a new ceasefire agreement between the Syrian Government and the opposition groups. The two countries, who support different sides in the Syrian conflict, act as guarantors, while Iran acts as a signatory to this trilateral agreement. The ceasefire comes into effect on December 30. The ceasefire excludes groups designated by the UN as terrorist, such as Islamic State (IS), Jabhat Fateh al-Sham (previously known as Nusra Front), and other jihadist groups. According to the deal, both sides also agree to enter peace talks scheduled for January 15 in Kazakhstan.[15] The Assad regime will bring Russia as its ally, while Turkey will side with moderate anti-Assad rebel groups. The United States, which has led an anti-Assad international coalition to fight IS in Syria, has been sidelined by Russia and Turkey and excluded from these negotiations. The US President-elect Donald Trump says that after taking the oath of office, he will cooperate with Russia in Syria in defeating Islamic State (IS).