Prospects for Syria in 2020

Subject

Prospects for Syria in 2020.

Significance

US policy shifts have benefited Damascus, Moscow and Ankara at the expense of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), and undermined Washington’s influence. The government of President Bashar al-Assad now faces no serious military threat. Although it is recovering territory, it cannot govern it effectively, and discontent among its Alawi base is rising. Idlib remains contested. Some 11 million Syrians are refugees or internally displaced.