... noting that the country became the greatest reseller of Russian gold in 2022. 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 ...
... problems germinating in the southern borders of Turkey. This issue has become especially important for Turkey, given that it is on the eve of its presidential and parliamentary elections, which are to be held in June this year.
Interestingly, President of Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdogan is trying to solve the problem posed by Syrian Kurds by combining force with the possibility of normalizing relations with Syria. Back in December of last year, he proposed to hold a meeting between the presidents of Russia, Turkey, and Syria. According to Erdogan, this meeting should be after negotiations ...
... Ankara demanded the withdrawal of the SDF from the cities of Manbij, Tal Rifaat, and Ain al-Arab (Kobane), all located in northern Syria.
While conducting an air operation in Syria, Erdogan did not rule out normalizing relations with Damascus. However, Turkey's ground campaign, as well as continued air strikes against the Kurds, is likely to complicate communication with Syria and hinder any mutual trust forming. This will happen even if Ankara succeeds in obtaining formal permission from Russia and the Syrian government to conduct an operation against the Kurds. According ...
... the United States
" to dozens of Turkish airstrikes. In his opinion, Russia’s special military operation in Ukraine increased Turkey’s value in the eyes of both Russia and the West. Many believe that the sluggish response of both states to Turkey’s escalating war against the Syrian Kurds is explained by their desire to pull Ankara over to one side.
According to Kobane
, unless Moscow and Washington show firmness, Turkey is likely to carry out repeated threats to launch an offensive in Syria, as it did in two separate incursions ...
... entity that does not have any demographic or geographical components within the territories of the Syrian Republic? In fact, the Kurdish population in Syria does not exceed six percent. The UN Special Envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura revealed that Kurds represent only five percent of the Syrian population. Besides, Kurds live in geographical areas that are not interconnected and do not constitute a majority in their places of residence. It is the so-called “war against ISIS” that granted them ...
... the pressure Turkey puts on the United States, an ally of the Kurds.
Ankara’s main goal is ostensibly to create a buffer zone in the north of Syria to prevent the Kurds from implementing a project there.
This will allow Ankara to cut ties between Kurds in Syria and Turkey and bring Syrian refugees, mostly Sunni Arabs, back to settle in the new “safe zone.” The United States has even convinced even the Kurds that the “safe zone” is necessary. The question, however, is how deep the Turkish military will go ...
Kremlin has nothing to lose but a good opportunity to have a significant long-term gain if the Turkish operation is successfully conducted
On August 4, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan
declared in a speech
during an opening ceremony that Turkey will launch a military operation in Syria’s terrorist PKK/YPG-occupied eastern Euphrates region. After the official declaration of the upcoming operation, there occurred the question of “how will it affect the bilateral relations between Russia ...
... cooperation with Russia is a tactical phenomenon that was caused by Western partners’ inability to show solidarity on many occasions and to act against Russia.
Differences over political issues like the fate of Assad’s regime or scope of rights for Kurds may be pushed from the agenda in the mid-term, allowing bilateral cooperation on Syria to be focused on economic matters like reconstruction, trade, energy projects. These are the areas that are important for Russian plans to rebuild Syria and that Turkey can be interested in as well. Still, Turkey would like to keep supporting opposition, because, otherwise it would have to deal with Assad through Russian mediation therefore falling into more dependence on Moscow.
Conclusion
Even though one may ...
... Branch”, is about to reach its objectives. Since its commencement on January 20, the Turkish border operation has been pursuing several objectives; primary among them is clearing the Afrin region of the PYD armed groups who pose a direct threat to Turkey’s national security due to their connection to the Turkey-based terrorist organization Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK, Kurdish: Partiya Karkerên Kurdistanê).
Despite its efforts to explain to the international community the underlying motives ...
....S. support for the Syrian Kurdish polity and long-term plans to retain its own limited military presence in northern Syria are already straining relations between Ankara and Washington. Reluctance to make a compromise on the issue of PYD-led Syrian Kurds may prompt Turkey to seriously consider
military and political cooperation
with Iran in Syria and Iraq.
Yuri Barmin:
The Syrian Congress in Sochi: Too Much Too Soon
However, it is related political issues that may strain relations between the two major powers ...
