Assad's Syrian regime at the hands of rebel forces this weekend will have deep ramifications across the globe.

Russia and Iran are no longer the major players in Syria. But if the rebel groups in Syria cannot build a transitional government of unity and stability, other actors will move in quickly to fill the void. It will be critical that Syrians – both those returning and those who never left – rebuild their new Syrian state on their own terms.

Russia has conducted major air strikes on rebels in Syria after insurgents led by the Islamist Hayat Tahrir al-Sham group swept into Aleppo in what is the biggest challenge to its ally President Bashar al-Assad in years.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, alongside his Iranian and Turkish counterparts, has urged for an "immediate end" to the ongoing fighting in Syria, as opposition forces, led by the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) group,

The foreign ministers of Turkey, Iran, and Russia will meet in Doha on Saturday to discuss a lightning rebel advance in Syria, a Turkish diplomatic source said on Friday. Syrian rebels have made their biggest battlefield gains since the civil war began 13 years ago,

Assad, launched the Astana process along with Turkey — which supports some of the rebel factions — in the Kazakh capital, Astana, in 2017. Their goal was to find a political solution to the civil war.

Turkey's foreign minister will meet with his Russian and Iranian counterparts in Doha on Saturday to try to find a solution to the renewed fighting in Syria and avoid chaos on its doorstep. The three countries have been partners since 2017 in the Astana process seeking to end the civil war in Syria.

Islamist rebels in Syria are heading towards the central city of Homs as they seize more territory from government forces. They have already taken the cities of Aleppo and Hama since launching their surprise offensive earlier this week.