EghtesadOnline: Israel’s concern that Iran and its Lebanese proxy Hezbollah are working to entrench themselves militarily in Syria will dominate Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s talks Wednesday with President Vladimir Putin in Russia.

EghtesadOnline: Russia is hoping that the “breakthrough” Syrian ceasefire deal it brokered this week will align the U.S. with President Vladimir Putin’s plans for the war-torn country.

EghtesadOnline: The Shi'ite populations of two pro-Syrian government towns are to be evacuated in exchange for the evacuation of Sunni rebels and their families from two opposition-held towns in a mediated deal between the warring sides, a pro-government source and the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.

EghtesadOnline: The landmark deal last week between Secretary of State John Kerry and his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov is, in many ways, a major breakthrough. It may well save lives. Against the backdrop of what has been the worst war of the 21st century, that’s a prize worth seizing.

EghtesadOnline: The Aleppo Media Center, an activist collective, said 45 people were killed Saturday, just hours after the new U.S.-Russian agreement was reached to try and end the violence in Syria. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said 30 people were killed in Aleppo province and another 39 were killed by airstrikes in neighboring Idlib province.

EghtesadOnline: The United States and Russia reached a breakthrough deal early on Saturday to try to restore peace in Syria, but air strikes hours later on a busy market place that killed and injured dozens added to rebels' doubts that any ceasefire could hold.

EghtesadOnline: The United States and Russia hailed a breakthrough deal on Saturday to put Syria's peace process back on track, including a nationwide truce effective from sundown on Monday, improved humanitarian aid access and joint military targeting of banned Islamist groups.

EghtesadOnline: The United States and Russia have not reached a ceasefire deal for Syria, the U.S. State Department said on Wednesday, saying it could not confirm Moscow's announcement that the U.S. and Russian foreign ministers would meet in Geneva on Thursday.