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, Hafez al-Assad. Hafez 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, 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.Sources: 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.

Background

Major pillars of foreign policy of Ba'athist Syria were formulated during the presidency of Hafez al-Assad, who is revered as al-Muqaddas () by the Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party. Hafez allied Syria closely to the Eastern Bloc and adopted an anti-Zionist, anti-American strategy in the region by strengthening the Syrian military; which he integrated into the Ba'ath party by packing its officers with Ba'athist loyalists of Alawite background.Sources:

In 1976, Hafez al-Assad ordered a military intervention in Lebanon, resulting in the Syrian occupation of the country. He also gave support to Palestinian insurgent organizations and developed an alliance with Iran after 1979. Syrian strategy during this period was based on the doctrine of "strategic parity" ("al-tawazun al-istratiji"), which involved the achievement of pan-Arab co-operation and strengthening of its military capabilities with Soviet support. After the fall of Soviet Union, Syrian government lost its primary military supplier and geo-political ally, leading to its isolation in the international arena.Sources:

Following his succession in 2000, Assad preserved many of his father's hardline foreign policies such as alliance with Iran, support to Hezbollah in Lebanon and pursuing an anti-Western agenda. Although he made attempts to integrate Syria into the regional system, events such as the assassination of Rafic Hariri and Lebanese Cedar Revolution resulted in international backlash against his government, leading to Syrian military withdrawal from Lebanon in 2005. Assad's military support to Hezbollah and Iran-backed proxies in Lebanon became the "central component of his security doctrine" and the Syrian government backed Hezbollah in the 2006 Lebanon War. Syria also revived its alliance with Soviet Union's successor state Russia and Assad has formed close alliance with Vladimir Putin, who regularly provided cover for Assad in the UN Security Council.

Relations with countries China

In 2004, Assad visited China, the first visit by a Syrian head of state since the establishment of diplomatic relations. Syria participates in the China-Arab States Cooperation Forum (CASCF), which is the primary multilateral cooperation body between China and the Arab world. Although the Arab states primarily coordinate in the CASCF through the Arab League, Syria coordinated individually between 2011 and 2023 due to the suspension of its Arab League membership. In 2022, Syria joined China's Belt and Road Initiative. In May 2023, Syria participated in a CASCF summit in Chengdu as member of Arab League for the first time since 2011.

China views counter-terrorism as a major concern to be addressed in the context of the Syrian civil war. China views some Syrian rebel groups, such as the Turkistan Islamic Party (TIP), as terrorist organizations, attributing the uptick in terror in China as partially due to the TIP, particularly via its ties to Uyghurs in China's Xinjiang province. Syria has cooperated with China regarding the issue of Uyghur militants joining Syrian rebel groups fighting the Assad government, with some sources indicating as many as 5,000 Uyghurs from Xinjiang having traveled to Syria in recent years. China has also allegedly increased direct military links to Syria's government, although more discreetly than Russia has done. Although China claims it has no military presence in Syria, there were reports of military cooperation in 2016, 2017, and 2018.

In its position as a permanent member of the UN Security Council, China vetoed ten resolutions regarding Syria between 2010 and 2020 Syria was one of 53 countries that backed the Hong Kong national security law at the United Nations in June 2020. In September 2023, Assad made a diplomatic visit to China and met with General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party Xi Jinping in Hangzhou, prior to the beginning of 19th Asian Games, where China and Syria jointly announced the establishment of a strategic partnership.

Egypt

During the Arab Spring, Syrian state media focused primarily upon Hosni Mubarak of Egypt, using the uprising against Mubarak to "demonize the pro-US axis in the region." According to political scientist Larbi Sadiki, this tactic inadvertently "facilitated the spread of chants and phrases" that called for Assad's ouster.

Following the election of Muslim Brotherhood politician Mohamed Morsi as the next Egyptian president, relations became extremely strained. The Muslim Brotherhood is a banned organization and its membership is a capital offence in Syria. Egypt severed all relations with Syria in June 2013. Diplomatic relations were restored and the embassies were reopened after the Morsi government was deposed weeks later by General Abdel Fattah el-Sisi. In July 2013, the two countries agreed to reopen the Egyptian consulate in Damascus and the Syrian consulate in Cairo.

Although Egypt has not been vocal in support for any sides of Syria's ongoing civil war, Abdel Fattah el-Sisi said in 2016 that his nation's priority is "supporting national armies", which he said included the Syrian Armed Forces. He also said regarding Egypt's stance in the conflict: "Our stance in Egypt is to respect the will of the Syrian people, and that a political solution to the Syrian crisis is the most suitable way, and to seriously deal with terrorist groups and disarm them". In late-November 2016, some Arab media outlets reported Egyptian pilots arrived in mid-November to Syria to help the Syrian government in its fight against the Islamic State and al-Nusra Front. In response, the Egyptian government officially denied having a military presence in Syria.

In February 2017, Egypt's Foreign Ministry spokesperson, Ahmed Abu Zeid, said that Egyptian foreign minister Sameh Shoukry, "during his meeting with UN Special Envoy to Syria, Staffan de Mistura, on Saturday confirmed Egypt's rejection of any military intervention that would violate Syrian sovereignty and undermine opportunities of the standing political solutions."

Egypt has also expressed great interest in rebuilding postwar Syria, with many Egyptian companies and businessmen discussing investment opportunities in Syria as well as participation in the reconstruction effort. Tarik al-Nabrawi, president of Egypt's Engineers Syndicate said that 2018 will witness a "boom and influential role for Egyptian construction companies in Syria and to open the door for other companies — in the electricity, building material, steel, aluminum, ceramics and sanitary material fields among others — to work in the Syrian market and participate in rebuilding cities and facilities that the war has destroyed." On 25 February 2018, Syrian state news reported that an Egyptian delegation composed of "members of the Islamic and Arab Assembly for supporting Resistance and Future Pioneers movement as well as a number of figures", including Jamal Zahran and Farouk Hassan, visited the Syrian consulate in Cairo to express solidarity with the Syrian government.

France

Assad condemned the November 2015 Paris attacks, but accused France of contributing to the spread of terrorism through its support for the Syrian opposition, and rejected sharing intelligence on terrorist threats with French authorities unless France altered its foreign policy on Syria.

Iran

Syria and Iran are historic and strategic allies, with Syria being regarded as Iran's "closest ally".Nada Bakri, "Iran Calls on Syria to Recognize Citizens' Demands", The New York Times, 8 August 2011 The relationship between the Iranian and Syrian governments has sometimes been described as an Axis of Resistance. Historically, the two countries shared a common animosity towards the Iraqi Ba'ath Party and Saddam Hussein, with Syria providing military aid to Iran during the Iran–Iraq War. After Hafez al-Assad's death in 2000, Bashar al-Assad continued the relationship by supporting Hezbollah and various Iranian proxies; with the alliance being described as "the central component of his security doctrine".

Following the outbreak of Syrian revolution in 2011, Iran began politically and militarily aiding the Assad government. The Guardian reported in May 2011 that the Iranian Irgc had increased its "level of technical support and personnel support" to strengthen Syrian military's "ability to deal with protesters"."Iran helping Syrian regime crack down on protesters, say diplomats", Simon Tisdall and foreign staff in Damascus The Guardian, 9 May 2011 Since the beginning of the insurgency in Syria, Iran has provided training, technical support, and combat troops to the Assad government.Iranian Strategy in Syria , Institute for the Study of War, Executive Summary + Full report, May 2013"Syria's crisis: The long road to Damascus: There are signs that the Syrian regime may become still more violent", The Economist, 11 February 2012. Estimates of the number of Iranian personnel in Syria range from hundreds to tens of thousands.Iran boosts support to Syria , telegraph, 21 February 2014 Lebanese Hezbollah fighters, backed by Iran's government, have taken direct combat roles since 2012.Iran boosts military support in Syria to bolster Assad , Reuters, 21 February 2014 From the summer of 2013, Iran and Hezbollah provided important battlefield support to Syria, allowing it to make advances against Syrian rebels. As of 2023, Iran maintains 55 military bases in Syria and 515 other military points, the majority in Aleppo and Deir Ezzor governorates and the Damascus suburbs; these are 70% of the foreign military sites in the country.

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