Former Scotland Yard detective Charles Shoebridge explains why claims of chlorine attacks in Syria should be treated with caution. The alleged use of chlorine as a weapon in Syria is back in the news in the US and UK, with fresh incidents reported and US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson taking the opportunity within the last few days to condemn Syrian President Bashar Assad over the issue. [...]

MOSCOW (Sputnik) – Washington confirmed its commitment to take back the heavy weapons it had supplied to Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) in Syria but did not set a time frame for the process, a US official told Turkish media following a high-level meeting in Ankara. [...]

As Kurdish fighters look to the US to help in the fight against Turkish troops in Manbij, some are accusing Washington of double standards after it did nothing to protect Afrin from “Turkish occupation.” “With the coalition, especially the US forces, we saw some double standards,” a Kurdish military officer by the name of Khalil told RT’s Ruptly agency. [...]

As Ankara and Syrian rebels it backs oppose Kurdish-led opposition forces fighting against Daesh terrorists with the US military support in the country, media reports emerged that US servicemen came under fire from a group of Turkey-backed rebels. [...]

The US is working to create alternative government systems on Syrian territory which goes against its promises to respect the country’s territorial integrity, Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has said. Responding to a question posed by RT’s Caleb Maupin at Friday's briefing at UN Headquarters in New York, Lavrov commented on America's role in the crisis in northern Syria, [...]

The US must withdraw its troops from Syria’s northern Manbij region and put an end to its support for Kurdish militia in the area, Turkey’s Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu demanded Saturday. Cavusoglu told reporters on Saturday that the US needs to immediately withdraw from the region near the city [...]

Foreign forces need the Afrin offensive launched by the Turks to enflame a new round of war in the region, Syrian official Heifi Mustafa told Sputnik. For his part, Turkish academic Samir Salehah argues that Ankara's Operation Olive Branch falls within the framework of Article 51 of the UN Charter as a self-defense operation. [...]

Kurdish officials in Afrin have urged Damascus to send troops to protect Syria’s sovereignty from the “Turkish occupier.” Ankara insists it will return the enclave to its “original owner” after its “liberation” from “terrorists.” The self-administrated, Kurdish-held enclave in the northern Syria issued a plea for help to the Syrian government on Thursday, reiterating its commitme [...]

While Secretary of Defense James Mattis recommends Ankara not to take reports of the creation of a "border force" in northern Syria to heart, Washington sees its Kurdish allies as a tool which will allow it to remain relevant in Syria, ex-CIA officer and Canada-based Syrian political observer told Sputnik. [...]

If Washington wants to avoid direct confrontation with Turkey in northern Syria, it “should stop supporting terrorists,” the country's deputy prime minister told Turkish TV channel, A Haber. “Those who support the terrorist organization will become a target in this battle,” Bekir Bozdag said. [...]

The US' determination to maintain its presence in Syria is primarily about crude and pipelines, not security issues, geopolitical analyst Phil Butler told Sputnik. Meanwhile, it appears that the Turks may undermine the US' plans. Following the defeat of Daesh (ISIS/ISIL), Washington continues its proxy war in Syria, Phil Butler, a geopolitical analyst and author of "Putin's Praetorians: Confession [...]

There is nothing to be gained from carrying out the bidding of the US in Syria, and right now Turkey and the Kurds alike are learning this the hard way, independent political analyst Dan Glazebrook told RT. Turkey officially launched a military operation against Kurdish-held enclaves in Syria called operation ‘Olive Branch’ on Saturday, comprising airstrikes and a ground offensive. [...]

US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson pointed the finger at Syrian President Bashar Assad for the reported chemical incident in East Ghouta, while ultimately blaming Russia for it, regardless of who actually committed the attack. [...]

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) - US President Donald Trump does not have the authority to keep military forces in Syria after Daesh is defeated, Ranking Member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee Ben Cardin said in a statement on Thursday in reaction to a speech given by Secretary of State Rex Tillerson. [...]

The Turkish president has called US-backed Syrian Border Force using Kurdish fighters a “terrorist army,” vowing to “drown” it before it’s complete. He also added that military preparations against Kurdish-held Afrin are ready. [...]

Two Russian Syria-embedded journalists have put together a damning firsthand report on the true purpose of the secrecy-laden US military mission at At-Tanf, southern Syria. The Pentagon was forced to go into full public relations mode late last month amid fresh allegations by the Russian General Staff that US instructors were providing training assistance for some 350 ex-Daesh (ISIS) militant [...]

The US-led coalition says it is helping to create a thousands-strong “Border Security Force” in Syria using Kurdish SDF militias. Washington's support, branded “unacceptable” by Ankara, is further straining bilateral ties. [...]

The CIA has been coordinating weapon deliveries on the Turkey-Syria border, German journalist Jurgen Todenhofer, who recently spoke with a Jabhat al-Nusra commander, told RT. He added that the US knows that the weapons it delivers to rebels end up with terrorists. [...]

The Pentagon said it is “concerned” about weapons falling into terrorists’ hands after Moscow said the drones used in the attacks on Russian bases in Syria could have only been supplied by a “technologically advanced state.” [...]

Baroness Cox, a member of the House of Lords, shared her views on the future of Syria, highlighting Russia’s success in “expelling” terrorist groups from the country and giving the Syrian people the right to choose their own future. At the same time in a revealing interview to Sputnik she expressed her concerns (and hopes) with UK policy in Syria. [...]

The tough US rhetoric towards Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and Russia can be explained by Washington's deep dissatisfaction over its failure in Syria, Guy Mettan, a Swiss politician and president of the Swiss Press Club, told Radio Sputnik, suggesting that the US is trying to hijack Moscow's diplomatic success. [...]

Russian General Staff Chief Army General Valery Gerasimov said that there was movement of militants from the US base in Syria’s At-Tanf, which is currently fully blocked by the Syrian army. “In At-Tanf the area is blocked by the Syrian troops … The most important thing is that we witness movement of militants from there,” Gerasimov said. [...]