![UN Special Envoy to Syria Geir Pedersen Pedersen said without 'constructive international diplomacy' on Syria, it was unlikely 'any track - constitutional track or any other - will really move forward' [File: Evgenia Novozhenina/Reuters]](/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/eeba2e59065f4daab960abb3020ce138_18.jpeg?resize=570%2C380)
The declaration was meant to jump-start the deadlocked peace process for Syria after nearly 10 years of bloody conflict.
Bashar al-Assad
![Former UN Special Envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura meets with foreign ministers from Russia, Sergey Lavrov; Turkey, Mevlut Cavusoglu; and Iran, Mohammad Javad Zarif, on forming a constitutional committee in Syria [File: Denis Balibou/EPA]](/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/h_54849749.jpg?resize=570%2C380)
UN-backed talks aimed at revising the constitution involve delegations from Syrian gov’t, opposition and civil society.
![Putin’s comments on Monday came in a video call with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad ahead of a two-day international conference on refugees in Damascus [Alexey Nikolsky/Sputnik via AFP]](/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/000_8UV9BC.jpg?resize=570%2C380)
In call with al-Assad, Russian leader who sent troops to back Syrian forces suggests large areas now enjoy peace.
![President Bashar al-Assad has been named as one of several figures responsible for the 2013 and 2017 chemical attacks against civilians in Syria [File: SANA handout via Reuters]](/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/0e7eb9cb19d144d08c5101b58940e32a_18.jpeg?resize=570%2C380)
Rights groups file case seeking action against individuals for their alleged role in deadly chemical attacks.
![The US Treasury and State Department together sanctioned six Syrians on Wednesday over ties to the government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad [File: Delil Souleiman/AFP]](/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/1e2e44cb1a3e46d9b478756ef81adbe5_18.jpeg?resize=270%2C180)
Wednesday’s actions aim to cut off revenues to al-Assad’s government and force it back to the negotiating table.
![Al-Assad said new US sanctions amounted to a new stage of economic warfare against his government [SANA/Handout via Reuters]](/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/0e7eb9cb19d144d08c5101b58940e32a_18.jpeg?resize=270%2C180)
Dutch initiative is latest attempt to hold Syrian gov’t accountable amid reports it is mistreating its own citizens.
![A woman walks past a poster depicting Syria's President Bashar al-Assad. Among the 14 blacklisted on Wednesday were al-Assad's son, Hafez, a Syrian businessman [File: Yamam Al Shaar/Reuters]](/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/74ecedd29f6d4314ad09b5ed2ad52846_18.jpeg?resize=270%2C180)
US president says he mulled over assassinating the Syrian leader after a chemical attack on civilians.
![Russian Deputy Prime Minister Yuri Borisov, Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and other officials on Monday attend a meeting in Damascus, Syria [Reuters via Russian Foreign Ministry]](/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/97cc81c7dc974f0daa5b2b9de8e84f30_18.jpeg?resize=270%2C180)
President Bashar al-Assad says he wanted to boost business ties with Russia to help Damascus cope with new US sanctions.
![The UN has been striving for more than nine years to try to help find a political resolution to Syria's civil war [File: Xu Jinquan/AFP]](/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/ab96cee99cb44202a9a31302996656dc_18.jpeg?resize=270%2C180)
UN says three members of Constitutional Committee, meeting in Geneva after months, infected with coronavirus.
![Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Washington will "aggressively pursue" sanctions against other military commanders [Pablo Martinez Monsivais/Pool via Reuters]](/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/50111af89248456196bce5021ea3fc0c_18.jpeg?resize=270%2C180)
The US imposed sanctions on Bashar al-Assad’s press officer, a member of the Baath party and several military units
![Debra Tice speaks about her son, Austin Tice, the only US journalist held captive in Syria, during the unveiling of a new banner calling for his release at the Newseum in Washington, DC, in 2016 [File: Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP]](/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/1f4e43432c60435f9e1977458c816785_18.jpeg?resize=270%2C180)
Pompeo says Trump wrote to Assad, who the US wants deposed, to request help finding Austin Tice, missing since 2012.
President of war-torn Syria exits parliament hall to ‘sit down for a minute’ before returning to continue speech.
Wednesday’s sanctions imposed by the US Treasury and the US State Department seek to deprive Assad government of funds.
![Women stand as they wait their turn to cast the votes inside a polling station during the parliamentary elections in Douma [Omar Sanadiki/Reurers]](/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/32081f8ad62746ca85357e3fd9b99e6a_18.jpeg?resize=270%2C180)
Party of President Bashar al-Assad and allies win 177 seats in 250-member Parliament in vote denounced by opposition.