... the fight against the terrorist threat.
In all three major areas outside government control, the engagement lines are getting more and more impermeable. Any movement across these lines could risk uncontrolled clashes with the major powers involved (Turkey, Russia, the USA or Iran) that would likely require some new political trade-offs or a complex series of partial deals. Therefore, in this precarious equilibrium on the ground, any of the acting players, including Damascus itself, could act as ...
Is Turkey’s Matrak Worth Playing?
In the spring of 2020, the forces of Libya’s Government of National Accord (GNA) succeeded in pushing Khalifa Haftar’s Libyan National Army (LNA) [
1
] back from the country’s capital, seizing control of Tarhuna ...
... Syrian economy, the fall in world oil prices and new U.S. sanctions against Damascus, possible scenarios for the development of the military-political situation, and the positions of the main external actors in the Syrian conflict, including Russia, Turkey, Iran, the U.S., and the European Union.
The event was attended by over fifty experts, journalists, diplomats and officials from Italy and other European countries. The discussion was moderated by Valeria Talbot, Senior Research Fellow and Co-Head ...
... cannot find a political solution to the conflict, Libya will remain a country divided into two parts for a very long time
On June 15, 2020, Turkish Minister of Foreign Affairs Mevlut Cavusoglu
stated
there are no disagreements between Russia and Turkey on the fundamental principles of the Libyan settlement. Moscow and Ankara are continuing negotiations at the technical level to develop a mechanism for establishing a ceasefire and start the process of political settlement of the Libyan conflict....
... mandate is limited to two years, ending in December 2017 [
7
]. The continuation of such recognition without limits and controls will impede any progress for reconciliation efforts in Libya.
Moreover, the GNA used its UN recognition to formally invite Turkey into the Libyan conflict, taking foreign interference in Libya to a whole new level compared to previous interventions, in clear violation of the UNSC’s own resolutions. The implementation of the security cooperation agreement signed between ...
... has been strongly supported by the United States and some other countries that made Saudi leadership a bit desperate towards insolating Qatar.
Saudi leadership has never expected such kind of Qatari backing from the international community, especially Turkey, which immediately filled this vacuum and came very close with Qatar during the Gulf Crisis.
Saudi Arabia also failed to worsen relations between the USA and Qatar, which is one of the major setbacks for Mohammad bin Salman. Over the past three ...
...
The Resolution of the Cyprus Conflict: A Catalyst for East Mediterranean Security and Cooperation
For a crude geopolitician, Cyprus has long been a strategic location, à la Gibraltar or Diego Garcia, situated in the Eastern Mediterranean, close to Turkey but not far from Syria, Lebanon, and Israel. For hundreds of years, great powers have coveted the island. Settled by Greeks in the second millennium BC, the population has remained mainly Greek by language, culture, religion, and blood, despite ...
... connectivity initiatives proposed by Lissovolik. In pursuit of the latter, it’s only natural for Russia to expand its economic influence beyond the borders of its “Near Abroad” with both developed and developing economies alike such as Germany, Turkey, Iran, South Korea, and Japan. Pakistan fits into this strategic paradigm by being a nearby country “beyond the Near Abroad” just like the aforementioned five, among others. Although its economy isn’t yet as impressive as them, it has enormous ...
... breath, it is unlikely that the EU will move from words to some decisive action against Israel, like imposing sanctions. Moreover, the United States will not allow this.
Zach Battat:
Is Israel Taking Advantage of a Longtime Strategic Partner for Russia?
Turkey, as expected, harshly criticized Netanyahu's intentions. Ankara warned that the country would always stand by the brotherly Palestinian people.
The Church expressed its utmost concern. On May 7, the Patriarchs and Heads of the Holy Land Churches ...
... problems. At the same time, it has become apparent that domestic driving forces increasingly trump extra-regional influences such as the geopolitical rivalry between Russia and the US, between Western states (France, Italy, Germany, Greece), including Turkey, as is happening in Libya, between the regional powers themselves (Saudi Arabia, Iran, the UAE, Qatar) in Yemen, or between all of them in Syria.
The pandemic has affected Libya, Syria and Yemen to a lesser degree than the US and West European ...
