Foreign policy of the Bashar al-Assad administration
Syrian foreign policy during the presidency of Bashar al-Assad is based on continuity from the Cold War-era policies of his father and predecessor, Hafiz al-Assad. Hafiz al-Assad was a strong supporter of Soviet Union and aligned Ba'athist Syria closely with the Eastern Bloc. During this period, Syria adopted a strong anti-Zionist posture in the region, based on its military doctrine of gaining "strategic parity" and forming joint Arab initiatives.
After coming to power in 2000, Assad maintained his father's foreign policies such as alliance with Iran, support to Hezbollah and pursuing an anti-Zionist agenda. During the first decade of his rule, Assad focused on integrating Syria into the regional system, by balancing relations with neighbouring countries and preventing the blowback of Iraq War. Assad's military support to Hezbollah and Iran-backed militant groups has been described as the "central component of his security doctrine". Syria is also a prominent ally of Russia and its president Vladimir Putin.
Following its crackdown on protests in 2011, Syria became globally isolated and numerous sanctions were imposed by the European Union, the United States, the Arab League, and others. From the early stages of the conflict in Syria, major Western countries such as the US, France, and the United Kingdom, as well as rival powers in the region allied with the US such as Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Qatar have provided political, military, and logistic support to the Syrian opposition and its associated rebel groups in Syria. On the other hand, the Syrian government is politically and militarily supported by Iran, Russia, and Lebanon's Hezbollah. Since September 2015, Russia, at the request of the Assad government,[1] has waged an intensive air campaign against anti-government forces in Syria.
As of 2023, the Syrian civil war has resulted in over 600,000 deaths and millions of forced displacements; triggering the largest refugee crisis in the world.[2] The military activities of Syria, Iran, and Russia during the war have been criticized by the US and its allies, as well as several journalists and human rights organizations.