The UN Syria envoy Staffan de Mistura said Wednesday he was "not expecting a breakthrough" at peace talks this week but voiced hope that rival sides could build "momentum" towards a deal. "Am I expecting a breakthrough? No, I am not expecting a breakthrough," de Mistura told reporters...

The Syrian regime army and its allies took a small district on the outskirts of Aleppo from rebels on Wednesday, a war monitor and a military media unit run by Damascus ally Hezbollah said. The advance was the army's first from its lines in Aleppo city since rebels departed their enclave there...

A Syrian asylum seeker went on trial in Austria on Wednesday accused of killing 20 government soldiers fighting for President Bashar Assad near the city of Homs, a court spokesman said. Austria has jailed several people for "belonging to a terrorist organisation", a charge usually levelled...

Russia is open for dialogue with the United States on safe zones in Syria but believes that any such initiative needs to be coordinated with the Syrian government, Moscow's top diplomat said Wednesday. Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said he had briefly discussed the issue with U.S. Secretary...