... Russia’s gold exports to the Emirates in 2022 totaled 75.7 tons or $4.3 billion.
Another important factor shaping the Middle East’s approach to international relations is Turkey’s foreign policy. Particularly important, is Turkey’s position on Syria prior to the presidential elections in May 2023, and the new aspects it has now acquired following the victory of incumbent President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Judging by the leadership’s recent steps, Turkey wants to maintain continuity with its ...
Syria’s return to the League of Arab States (LAS) will remain symbolic unless economic relations are restored, at least on a regional scale...
In the run-up to the May summit of the League of Arab States (LAS), regional media and experts are speculating ...
... indicator in the current difficult economic situation, but it may not be enough for Erdogan’s coalition to win the upcoming elections. Perhaps, that was the reason why the Turkish authorities were going to launch military operations against Kurdish forces in northern Syria. Another successful operation, which could have resulted in a crushing blow to the plans of a “Syrian Kurdistan,” could have strengthened the position of Erdogan and his party on the eve of the upcoming elections. In the meantime,...
... been defeated, there are still sleeper cells in the Syrian desert. According to the UN, there are between 6,000 and 10,000 ISIS terrorists in Syria and Iraq, not counting the present representatives from other organizations. Additionally, there are thousands of terrorists in Syrian prisons (including those controlled by the Syrian Democratic Forces), which are becoming breeding grounds for jihadist ideas.
Moreover, the risk of escalation between individual countries still remains. There is a U.S. military base, Al-Tanf, in ...
...
For the past year or two, the situation in Syria has retreated into the shadow of global crises, all exacerbated by the standoff between Russia and the West over Ukraine. The recent tragedy that befell Turkey and the five provinces in the neighboring Syria has once again drawn the attention of the international community not only to the loss of thousands of lives and colossal destruction but also to the extent to which these natural disasters may affect the prospects of national reconciliation in Syria and rapprochement between these two nations with a complex history of relations. While being ...
... quite dangerous, as it passes through areas in which hostilities continue.
According to UN Secretary-General António Guterres, from July 2021, when
Resolution 2585
was adopted, until June 2022 5 convoys of 14 trucks have
delivered
aid to tens of thousands of Syrians. António Guterres expressed hope that the volume of humanitarian aid delivered across the line of contact will increase.
Russia’s position on the cross-border mechanism for the supply of humanitarian aid
Moscow calls for curtailing the cross-border ...
The recent terrorist attack in Istanbul will seriously complicate the U.S. ability to support the YPG if Ankara decides to conduct a new full-scale military operation in Syria
A terrorist attack on November 13 in central Istanbul
killed
six people and injured more than 80. The tragedy took place on the busy pedestrian İstiklal Avenue, about 200 meters from the diplomatic quarter, where the Russian Consulate General ...
... The Americans alleged that Saddam had laundered funds from illegal oil sales through this bank, and it also
held
the accounts of those who financed al-Qaeda terrorist leader Osama bin Laden. The decision was made in accordance with Section 311 of the USA PATRIOT Act of 2001, passed in the wake of September 11, 2001.
But this package of sanctions was generally not too frightful for the regime stability either. Syria had extensive regional and international ties as well as plenty of tools and opportunities to avoid their negative consequences. Yet, the sanctions spiral kept unwinding.
Arab Spring and EU sanctions on Syria
And then in 2011-2012, not only the ...
...
Ankara can count on some trump cards in its game with Moscow. Maybe, as in 2018 and in 2019, it will succeed in obtaining Moscow’s favorably neutral stance. It may use such “aces up its sleeve” as re-opening an air corridor through Turkey into Syria that Turkey
closed on April 23
; or else, it may block NATO warships’ passage into the Black Sea no matter how hard NATO tries to push Turkey into revoking its prohibition under various pretexts. Finally, another trump card may be Turkey’s refusal to accede to anti-Russian sanctions.
In the current situation, a conflict with Turkey may turn out to be too costly for Moscow, while direct opposition to Turkey’s plans (primarily if Damascus insists on it) may result in Ankara changing its approaches ...
The Kremlin succeeded in making its presence in Syria stable, financially affordable and generally acceptable to the Russian public. The White House failed to do the same in Afghanistan
The U.S. intervention in Afghanistan was launched in October 2001 to be nearly two decades long. Russia’s military ...
