... is impossible to predict.
B) The second scenario is more constructive, but also allows a temporary division of Syria. Russia and the United States could hold a major international conference with the participation of representatives from Russia, the USA, Turkey, the Arab League and Iran. They must both commit themselves to guarantee the territorial integrity of Syria. However, the complete withdrawal of foreign troops and unification should occur after the political transformation. It should be based ...
“Sanction paradox”: restrictions against allies are more effective than restrictions against rivals. So far, this paradox is working with respect to Turkey
The US withdrawal of military support for the Syrian Kurds and the subsequent operation of the Turkish army have exacerbated relations between Ankara and Washington. As one of the deterrence measures, the US authorities imposed sanctions against ...
Media fail to recognize that the area between Ras Al Ain and Tal Abyad is almost entirely Arab and try to prove that a demographic change is taking place
US President Donald Trump took several decisions on the Syria conflict recently, which triggered political and media pressure on him. Most criticism either attempted to score political and media points against Trump or stemmed from motives that have nothing to do with Syria. The Syria crisis embodied a good opportunity for Trump opponents to unleash...
... US’s Kurdish allies certainly invited the Turks to intervene on a larger scale than before. That presented Moscow with the unpalatable possibility of a direct collision between its allies in Ankara and Damascus. Russia is unlikely to have endorsed Turkey’s invasion, which threatened its system of regional balance.
Russia owes its success in Syria so far to its ability to stay in touch with all relevant players in the region. This includes clear antagonists such as Israel and Iran, and Iran and ...
Why Russia and Turkey Need Each Other in Syria
“Turkey is our close partner, our ally,” said Presidential Spokesperson and Turkologist Dmitry Peskov on the eve of the meeting in the town of Zhukovsky near Moscow. On August 27, President of the Russian Federation ...
It is becoming increasingly more difficult for Moscow to retain its position as an honest, if not completely independent, broker
On February 14, the leaders of Russia, Turkey and Iran will meet in Sochi to discuss Syria and hold separate bilateral meetings. Recently, new developments have emerged that could prove dangerous if each state pursues its own hidden agenda. The three states depend on the Astana format for ...
... Presence in Southeast Europe and Russia’s New Strategy
The United States is pushing forward only those decisions that assure their influence on the pan-European processes as well as strengthen their positions in the global confrontation. Russia, China, Turkey, and Saudi Arabia, which are accumulating more and more influence in the region, taken separately, are not so powerful. In any case, they are simply not able to offer any alternative to the “European choice”. However, they have never even planned ...
... Euro-Atlantic region is not entirely correct, since over recent years, the economic, political and ideological influence of other important actors in the region, including new ones, has grown significantly. These actors are primarily China, but also Turkey and several Middle Eastern states.
The presence of many actors with diverging interests in the fragmented post-conflict Balkan space demonstrates that the situation in the region would be more properly assessed not as part of the "Russia–West" ...
... hand, as we have already mentioned above, it makes sense to the radical Islamists and jihadists, which number in the tens of thousands in Idlib (Gen. [retired] Amos Yadlin, Director of Israel’s Institute of National Security Studies and former Head of ... ... are depressed and anxious. The same author describes the fact that the United States, United Kingdom, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Turkey financed, armed and trained the militants, including the Islamist radicals associated with Al-Qaeda, as a “dirty secret” ...
... they do come to power, they become less interested in the matter or use it as a trump card in their bargaining with Brussels on other issues that are of greater importance for them.
In Ankara, the “Russian card” emerges from the sleeve each time Turkey has a problem with the United States and its other NATO allies. A possible strategic partnership with Moscow is put forward as a possible alternative to Turkey’s Atlantic orientation. However, there are no reasons to expect Ankara to make a strategic ...