International Affairs

Iraqi Kurdish member of parliament Shirwan Mirza told Newsweek that, if the U.S. doesn't "change its attitude" soon, "then we are obliged to look for another friend in this area."

Michael McFaul said President Donald Trump has "personalized" and "privatized" U.S. foreign policy at great cost to the country.

"I am not completely convinced that it was a bad idea to get them out of harm's way," John Cornyn said of U.S. troops in Syria.

Newsweek has learned of a tentative U.S. plan to send about 30 tanks along with personnel to guard oil fields in eastern Syria as troops pulled out from other parts of the country.

Syrian Democratic Forces commander Mazloum Kobane appeared to corroborate President Donald Trump's account of their call.

The Russian Defense Ministry released a new map following the country's deal with Turkey to pause military operations and facilitate the withdrawal of Kurdish-led forces from northeastern Syria.

A deal agreed between Russia and Turkey on Tuesday handed Kurdish-led forces a 150-hour ultimatum to withdraw from an 18-mile zone along the Turkish border.

James Franklin Jeffrey told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Tuesday that the government does not know exactly how many Islamic State militants have been freed.

Striking images obtained by Newsweek tell the story of what life is like for some children in a stretch of Syria once again ravaged by conflict due to a Turkey-backed attack on Kurdish-led forces.

Samuel Ramani of Oxford University describes an "increasingly tripolar system in the Middle East" with "the U.S as a security guarantor," China "emerging as a major economic powerhouse" and Russia "de-escalating tensions."

The deal would maintain gains by a Turkish-led operation and allow joint Russian and Syrian military patrols to facilitate the removal of Kurdish-led forces elsewhere along the border.

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad said allying with Kurdish-led forces was "a constitutional duty" and "a national duty."

Putin will welcome dozens of African leaders to the Black Sea resort of Sochi on Wednesday for the start of a two-day event.

Officials believed it would be politically damaging for Trump to befriend the authoritarian, euroskeptic, anti-immigration and anti-free press leader.

"We're in trouble," Steve Schmidt said in a Monday interview. "You see America in retreat, literally."

Danish freelance journalist Thea Pedersen told Newsweek she was the first journalist to access the heavily-restricted site since the Turkish-led operation and described the atmosphere as "tense."

Journalist Thea Pedersen, who documented the alleged white phosphorous burn victims at hospitals in northeastern Syria, described to Newsweek graphic scenes of discolored, dead skin that, despite decades of experience, doctors said they "had never seen before."

Mevlut Cavusoglu said Turkish forces agreed to a five-day pause to operations to allow Syrian Democratic Forces to withdraw and that Turkey stood ready to resume the invasion.

The withdrawal of American troops allowed Turkey to launch its long-planned invasion of northeastern Syria earlier this month.

Russia fired nuclear-capable missiles across the continent for its Thunder 2019 drills, and just a day later the U.S. commenced its own Global Thunder exercises as it secretly sent bombers to Europe.

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad called for "the withdrawal of all Turkish, American and other illegal forces from all Syrian territories."

Mevlut Cavusoglu said Turkey expects its allies to support the country's invasion of northeastern Syria, but that it is willing to stand up to threats and condemnation if necessary.

Dozens of nations see the deaths of a million and a half Armenians and hundreds of thousands of Greeks and Assyrians under the Ottomans as a genocide, the U.S. might have too, an NSC official told Newsweek.

Trump whipped up a crowd of supporters in Dallas on Thursday by claiming credit for the five-day "ceasefire" in northeastern Syria.

Vice President Mike Pence announced a "ceasefire," but both Turkey and Kurdish-led forces rejected this.

Newsweek has learned that President Trump was given alternative Syria withdrawal plans involving UN peacemakers and diplomatic pressure, but opted instead for a speedy exit.

President Donald Trump said the United States is "7,000 miles away" from Syria, and regional countries had an as big, or even bigger stake in fighting ISIS—but Turkey not quite as much.

A top adviser to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad said Turkey's incursion did not constitute "a military operation, but an invasion and aggression against the sovereignty of the Syrian Arab Republic."

American troops hastily retreated from positions in northeastern Syria this week as Turkey pushed its operation against Kurdish-led militias there.

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammed Javad Zarif said "the attack on Iran was a sophisticated, state-sponsored action."