... in Europe; these talks were largely related to the very sense of retaining the alliance now that the “communist adversary"was gone. NATO started looking for new “threats,"eventually identifying a number of Middle Eastern states, such as Iran, Syria and Iraq [
13
]. As Western rhetoric about the danger of the Iranian nuclear program and the need to “deter” Iran gained pace, many observers, including those in Turkey, began to believe that nuclear weapons were still of political and ...
... last year, the Iraqi Oil Ministry renounced those deals.
Negotiations are still possible
according to Russian business media reports, but the company has not confirmed the news.
Marianna Charountaki:
The Evolution of the Peshmerga vs. the Case of Islamic State in Iraq
Iraq is important for Russia not only as an economic and trade partner, but also as a factor in influencing regional policy. Russia clearly understands that its possibilities in the country are limited, as Iran and the United States are the main foreign players with direct influence on Iraq. Saudi Arabia, which took a number of steps to reinforce its influence in the country in the past year, still lags behind.
China
, Iraq’s key economic partner, keeps ...
... tensions between Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Iran. After Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt and Bahrain
accused
Qatar (and Qatari individuals) of supporting the Moslem Brotherhood and Hamas, among other “terrorist” groups, including the Islamic State — in addition to accusing Qatar of working closely with Iran.
Saudi Arabia’s 13 demands on Qatar — with Turkey backing up Qatar — appear eerily reminiscent of Austro-Hungarian demands on Serbia in July 1914 not to support terrorist groups such as the Black Hand of that epoch. Could
conflicts in the ...
... opinion leaders and spiritual guides
[7]
. Third, Shiite political organizations that one way or another are dependent on Iran and come under the religious and political influence of Qom and Tehran.
It should be noted that the new level of mediation by Iran has become an important factor for the
increased involvement of Afghans
in the fight against the Islamic State in the territory of Syria and Iraq, as well as Afghanistan and Pakistan. Today, the Islamic Republic of Iran enjoys great prestige and has at its disposal an arsenal of tools to project its influence in neighboring regions. In recent years,...
... about U.S. and EU behavior at the time of the attempted military coup in Turkey in July 2016. As an overall rule, then, Russia retains flexibility in the region, maintaining a margin for maneuvering in both its alliances and conflicts, except for the Islamic State and al-Qaeda, against which its commitment is complete.
Russia’s close relations with Iran have had a bearing on Moscow’s ties to Israel, as well as its links to a number of Arab countries, above all in the Persian Gulf. Russia’s ability to stay close to both Iran and Israel is a testament to the degree of Moscow’s foreign ...
The alleged “existential crisis” has been linked to the populist upheaval that drove a simple majority of Britons to vote to leave the EU.
The Telegraph, The Guardian, CNN, Money, and social media say that's what we should believe, and that thet “existential crisis” exists among Brexiteers in Great Britain too.
Just ask new Tory foreign secretary and super Toff, Boris Johnson, who just last year (born in the USA, BoJo was a dual national) renounced his US citizenship...
... complicate the building of a regional security system in the coming years.
Point No. 7.
The territorial terrorist organization Islamic State (IS), which has emerged in immediate proximity to the GCC’s borders, constitutes a new threat. It’s ... ... Yemen where IS is already active that is dangerous. What’s really dangerous is that the fight against IS legitimizes the Iranian expansionism in the eyes of the international community and creates a support base for Shia “militias” in ...
... far as to say that Russian airstrikes sometimes provide air cover to certain FSA groups during joint operations against the Islamic State. The fact that Moscow never stopped reaching out to opposition groups that may or may not be loyal to the Assad ... ... likely opted to scale back its military presence before these vulnerabilities get discovered.
The changing dynamic of the Russia-Iran alliance
The survival of the Syrian government with Assad as the president is paramount to Russia in mid-term, even if the ...
Question: Who has provoked the Ukrainian crisis? Was Moscow aware of the geopolitical, economic and reputational price it would have to pay for Crimea’s reunification with Russia? Do you think it was too high in the context of Russian-Ukrainian relations? Is there a lasting solution to the Ukrainian crisis?
Sergey Lavrov:
The Ukrainian crisis was not incidental, but rather the result of systemic problems that have been accumulating in European affairs and international relations over the past...
... Iraq, in the Gulf and beyond, of its claim to leadership in the Middle East and in the Muslim world. Even more obvious was the Iranian-Saudi rivalry. Especially clear it has been manifested in Yemen.
Along with heightened Shiite-Sunni contradictions the ... ... marked by a deep split in the Sunni camp. The reason of it was a cross-border activities of an extremist organization - the Islamic State. ISIS has positioned itself as a champion of a global project - the caliphate. Its activists denounce and condemn ...