Vladimir Putin’s decision to withdraw his forces from Syria puts Russia in a powerful position as negotiations on the future of the war-torn country get under way, writes Mark Galeotti

Nina L Khrushcheva says the Russian president has an unlikely bedfellow in Donald Trump, whose bullying style from the stump is similar to his own

Thousands of Sunni Muslims fled a Syrian coastal town today, a day after reports circulated that dozens of people, including children, had been killed by pro-government gunmen in the area, activists said.

Russia is sending two planes to Lebanon to evacuate its citizens from Syria, the government said today.

It is a characteristic of despots whose time as a supreme leader, unquestioned and all-powerful, nears an inevitable and bloody end that they grow ever more careless of the welfare of the people they once imagined loyal, happy citizens of their autocracy.

The head of a prominent Syrian opposition group has strongly criticised Russia’s position on the country’s conflict during a visit to Moscow.

Syria was hit by a third lethal car bombing as UN teams readied for a government-led humanitarian mission and to work to launch a monitoring operation to end a year of bloodshed.

Syrian security forces have fired live rounds and tear gas at thousands of people marching in a Damascus funeral procession that turned into a protest, killing at least one person, activists said.