While Damascus residents hope for quieter and more peaceful times after the fall of Eastern Ghouta, they remain fearful about the future of their country. With the United States (US) supporting the Kurds in the north-east, Turkey supporting the opposition in Idlib in the north, and Russia and Iran supporting the regime, Syria continues to be a geopolitical powder keg.

The situation continues to be volatile, leaving the world and especially Syria and its neighbours on edge, fearing for the last scraps of stability they have. Once again, the recent air strike by the US, UK and France has had few tangible results, and many suggest they should have focused their efforts on trying to overthrow the regime instead.

With HTS on one side and the regime on the other, the FSA seems to be facing an untenable situation in Idlib, unless Turkey stages a full-scale intervention there as well. The endgame is still not clear. What is clear is that the FSA’s original hopes of deposing al-Assad are all but dead.

It looks increasingly likely that Eastern Ghouta will eventually fall, as Aleppo did. However, the rebel groups may have an interest in delaying the inevitable in hopes of gaining a more favourable exit deal. In the meantime, the displacement and death of civilians continues unabated.

Assad will happily take more freebies from the EU. For the regime, reconstruction is to serve, first and foremost, its own consolidation as well as ensure the permanenceof social and demographic shifts and strengthen the loyalty of its citizens. A view espoused by the Assad regime and echoed in international aid meetings warns that Europe will lose out to Moscow and Tehran unless European nations help in the reconstruction of Syria.