Episode Notes:

As the Syrian civil war nears its 10th year, regional efforts to re-establish relations with the Assad regime have gained pace, even as violence continues on the ground in Syria.

Earlier this month, President Bashar al Assad had a phone call with King Abdullah of Jordan and then, earlier this week, with the crown prince of the United Arab Emirates. At the same time, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan of Turkey has threatened further military operations against Kurdish forces in Syria. On Wednesday an improvised explosive device destroyed a military bus in Damascus.

Here to discuss the recent developments in Syria is Elizabeth Tsurkov. Elizabeth is a non-resident fellow at the New Lines Institute for Strategy and Policy. She is also a doctoral candidate in the politics department at Princeton University, where her research focuses on the Syrian civil war.

[ 01:07 ] Normalization

[ 05:17 ] Erdoğan’s threats

[ 09:01 ] Idlib

[ 11:33 ] Damascus bombing