China on Russia’s intervention in Syria. OSW Commentary Number 193|19.01.2016

China has reacted positively to Russia’s military intervention in Syria. The Chinese government perceives it as an element of the global fight against terrorism, and has emphasised the fact that Russia was acting in response to a request by the Syrian government. At the same time, Beijing has argued that the Syrian conflict cannot be resolved by military means and that a political compromise is necessary.

Germany’s engagement in the resolution of the Syrian conflict. OSW COMMENTARY NUMBER 194/25.01.2016

German Tornado Recce aircraft have been engaged in reconnaissance operations over Syria since January 2016. In December 2015 the German government and parliament decided that up to 1,200 Bundeswehr soldiers would take part in the international coalition fighting Islamic State in Syria. This decision marks a new chapter in Germany’s activity in the Middle East. The increasing destabilisation of the southern neighbourhood and the consequences this has for the EU and Germany have forced the German government to increase its level of engagement in the region. Even though Germany is a third-rate player in the Middle Eastern game, it is nonetheless ever more engaged politically and wants to be viewed as a neutral mediator between the competing actors in the region. It has also allocated more funds on regional development co-operation and humanitarian aid. Germany, whose attention has been directed towards Europe’s eastern neighbourhood, is currently turning its attention to the South. The Middle East (and Africa) is taking on increasing significance in German foreign and security policy. This may affect NATO’s eastern flank and the EU’s eastern neighbourhood since part of Germany’s instruments and funds may be redirected to the South.

Professor David Huntington with FE Church painting "Syria by the Sea"

Huntington was a respected scholar of American painter Frederick Edwin Church

Palestine under the Moslems : a description of Syria and the Holy Land from A.D. 650 to 1500.

Includes index.

Egypt and Syria under the Circassian sultans, 1382-1468 A.D. : systematic notes to Ibn Taghrî Birdî's chronicles of Egypt /

Mode of access: Internet.

Syria : fragile mosaic of power /

Includes index.

Ancient architecture in Syria.

Sect. A. Southern Syria.--Sect. B. Northern Syria.

Bottle

Glass, Islamic, Umayyad; 7 59/64 in.x 3 1/4 in.; lass, bluish; blown, applied blue decoration

Qur'an page in Kufic script

Manuscript, Islamic, Abbasid; 4 1/64 in.x 6 47/64 in.; ink, opaque watercolor, and gold on parchment