... detrimental to early supporters because it led to an increase in foreign boots on the ground: the 2015 JCPOA agreement allowed Russia to increase presence in Syria and send forces to Khmeimim, and Western presence increased in the campaign to terminate ISIS.
How to prevent the next phase
Today, ISIS is gone. They have lost all of their territorial strongholds, and the ability to call themselves an “Islamic State.” According to Dr. Kepel, this is the end of Phase Three, the “aufhebung” phase. They have lost their territory,...
... the global conjuncture and previous trends
Transformational processes in the Arab world in the beginning of the 2010s led Russia and Turkey to an understanding of the need to form new foreign policy approaches towards the Middle East. This article ... ... ambitious. For this reason, the authors propose focusing on the following four main issues: terrorism, nuclear weapons, the Syrian crisis and the security architecture in the Middle East.
At the beginning of 2010, Russia and Turkey had different views ...
... the U.S. military downed a Syrian aircraft that was purportedly threatening U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Force militias, which Washington says were fighting the Islamic State. For its part, Damascus
claims
that its fighter jet was likewise attacking Islamic State forces
8
.
Can the U.S. and Europeans find ways to better coordinate their strategy with Russia, Syria and Iran — and seek out a rapprochement between Saudi Arabia and Iran? Can Turkey and other states help mediate the Syrian conflict while ultimately bringing the Syrians, Iranians and Saudis into a peace accord?
How should the U.S., Russia, and ...
... the country, close to the border with Jordan and Iraqi. Who will take the territories that are currently being liberated from Islamic State? Who will capture such strategic and economically important areas such as Raqqa, Deir ez-Zor, Mayadin and Al-Bukamal? Will it be the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), which enjoy military support from the United States and whose core is comprised of Kurdish combat detachments? Or will it be the government troops and the pro-Iranian Shiite militia forces, which maintain contacts with Russia?
The incident involving the Syrian aircraft fits into the complex context of the rivalry that is currently observed in ...
The central issue of Wednesday's meetings in Moscow was whether Russia would give in. An immediate change of policy was obviously not on the cards since it is not in Putin's nature to make sudden concessions under pressure. But will he gradually and incrementally pull the rug from under the Syrian president?
According to Russian experts in Moscow, there are multiple reasons why the Kremlin will not. They range from concerns about future chaos in Syria in the aftermath of regime change to the damage that would be inflicted on Russia's reputation ...
... Russia about $892 million (58 billion rubles), while UK’s
IHS Jane’s
think tank
estimated
it at the level between $2.3–$4 million daily.
Russian airliner was downed over the Sinai Peninsula on October 31, 2015 killing all 224 passengers and crew. Islamic State took responsibility for the attack. Many view it as a consequence of the Russia’s air campaign in Syria, hence, adding it to the overall costs of the military involvement in the conflict. Thus, this logic implies that by going into Syria and starting its bombing campaign Russia increased chances to be hit by the terrorist attacks at home and elsewhere....
... moderate rebels from terrorists. Failure to do so will start the ‘game’ all over again. Reports about Syrian or/and Russian jets bombing moderate rebels will never end while Moscow will keep blaming the U.S. for inability to control opposition ... ... exploit this situation in their favor. As of now, there are only two organizations that everyone agrees to view as terrorists in Syria: the
Islamic State of Iraq and the Greater Syria (ISIS)
and Jabhat Fateh ash-Sham (former Jabhat an-Nusra).
REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque ...
Russia’s recent use of an Iranian air base to bomb targets across Syria marks a striking new development in the history of Russian-Iranian relations. Throughout the nineteenth and much of the ... ... 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 ...
To a casual observer, it may seem surprising. Russian speakers form one of the largest groups among Islamic State’s (ISIS) foreign fighters. For over 10 months, Russia has been actively involved in the conflict in Syria. The Russian North Caucasus remains a region of perennial instability. A Kiev-based Crimean Tartar group has vowed to take direct action against what it calls the Russian occupation of the peninsula. Yet, so far, Russia seems to have been spared ...
... direction.
The Task Force is supported by, and draws on, independent analytical work by the European Leadership Network (ELN), the Russian International Affairs Council (RIAC), the Polish Institute of International Affairs (PISM), and the International Strategic ... ... the four think tanks supporting the work of the Task Force, available at www.europeanleadershipnetwork.org.
2
. Acronym for Islamic State in Iraq and Al-Sham, also referred to as IS or Daesh.
3
. Report of the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Syrian Arab Republic, OHCHR, 11 February 2016, http://www.ohchr.org/Documents/HRBodies/HRCouncil/ CoISyria/A-HRC-31-68.pdf, accessed ...