The United Nations refugee chief says some 200,000 refugees have returned to Syria from neighboring countries since the government of Bashar Assad was overthrown last month

European Union foreign ministers on Monday agreed to begin lifting sanctions on Syria, while insisting that the measures should be reimposed if they see any abuses by the country's new rulers.

Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov said on Monday that the Kurdish issue in Syria is “purely” an internal matter and the decision must be made by Syrians.

The UN refugee agency says 200,000 Syrians have already returned home since the fall of Bashar Assad. But Western sanctions still in place are an "obstacle" to the return of millions of refugees.

The United Nations Special Envoy for Syria Geir Pedersen urged all parties involved to maintain a credible and effective political transition process in Syria while speaking at a press briefing in Damascus Wednesday.

On the heels of the Israeli-Egyptian war in 1973, the situation in the Israel-Syria sector became increasingly unstable in March 1974 as clashes intensified.

Syria’s new administration leader Ahmed al-Sharaa met in Damascus on Saturday with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, Filippo Grandi. The state news agency SANA said the meeting was also attended by Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad Al-Shaibani, without giving details about the content of their talks.

Syria's de facto leader Ahmed al-Sharaa said on Thursday his country is ready to welcome UN forces into the UN established buffer zone with Israel.

GENEVA (Reuters) - United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk arrived in Syria's capital, Damascus, on Tuesday for the first ever visit of the global body's rights chief to the country.

The rebel offensive benefited from careful preparation and the support of Turkey, which occupies territory in Syria’s north and provided the only safe access route to Idlib, where HTS was based. Even so,

Assad’s final ouster appeared abrupt, it had its roots in Syria’s 2011 antigovernment protests, and Syrians will now face many of the same problems that beset other Arab countries after their Arab Spring revolutions.

Syria's defence minister said Wednesday that Damascus was open to talks with Kurdish-led forces on their integration into the national army but stood ready to use force should negotiations fail."The door to negotiation with the (Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces) is currently open,