... “letter and spirit” of the NPT and do not contradict globally shared norms of international law. They only clarify that the security assurances given to the States Parties to the NWFZ treaties will not be valid in case of any misuse of the relevant provisions ... ... nonproliferation regime and a key agenda point for the upcoming 10th NPT Review Conference is the issue of establishment of a Middle East zone free of nuclear and all other WMD and their means of delivery (WMDFZ). The resolution on the Middle East, adopted ...
... territory to the north of the M-4 road by using the anti-Assad militants under its control. In doing so, Turkey wants to ensure the security of its borders and gain more room for the relocation of Syrian refugees. This time, temporary agreements between the ... ... development, which are vital for the majority of the people.
Syria has sustained the biggest losses of all the conflicts in the Middle East. From 2011 through 2018, GDP fell by almost two thirds from $55 billion to $22 billion a year. This means that recovery ...
... stunned the international community at first, were provided with so many explanations later that they came to be seen as perfectly logical and even as the only possible outcome of undercover processes or events that had not been taken into account.
The Middle East broke all records for surprise events in 2019. The unexpected changes of government in Algeria and Sudan, mass protests in Lebanon and Iraq, the sensational election outcome in Tunisia, the never-ending election process in Israel, a new escalation ...
... with Turkey and Iran, oil price arrangements with Saudi Arabia and newly revived military ties with Egypt. It is again a player of some consequence in Libya, a power to which many Lebanese look to help them hold their country together, and a would-be security broker between Iran and the Gulf States — all this while maintaining an intimate relationship with Israel.
Today, such a degree of involvement with the Middle East obviously stands out in the Russian foreign policy landscape. Tomorrow, this is unlikely to be an exception. Already for some time, Moscow, in parallel with Washington, has been pursuing a political settlement in Afghanistan. This requires ...
... was that military intervention would clear the border territory east of the Euphrates of Kurdish forces, create a “buffer security zone” in Syria, and prepare the ground for the return of refugees. By maintaining its partnership with Turkey within ... ... they shared, Saudi Arabia was increasingly displeased with the Trump administration’s chaotic and unpredictable policy in the Middle East. There were apprehensions that the U.S. was preparing to withdraw from the region. The Saudis were no longer sure ...
... writes Alexander Grushko, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation.
To this day, Russia is a convinced supporter of multilateral approaches. We are obliged to this by our status of a nuclear power and a permanent member of the UN Security Council. We are actively shaping the positive agenda in the world. We are cooperating with like minds in the frames of Collective Security Treaty Organization, Commonwealth of Independent States, The Eurasian Economic Union, Shanghai Cooperation ...
... “moderate Arabs”. Because of the torturous hell that was the Chechen conflict, Russia has always been quick to prefer authoritarian stability over democratic instability when it comes to areas infected by such radicalism. This is especially so in the Middle East, which Russia considers close enough to be a near backyard and too close to its own southern flank. And so here we sit with Russia as the new Chair of the Security Council. Ideally, this should lead to continuous engagement and new opportunities to establish dialogue and cooperative interaction. Alas, idealism no longer seems to operate anywhere within the diplomatic space devoted to Russian-American relations....
Media outlets and government circles both cringe and squirm when the subject of Westerners leaving the West to go fight in Syria and Iraq with the Islamic State arises. While acquiring data and calculating accurate numbers wildly diverges from source to source, there is no doubt that ANY number simply makes countries like the United States uncomfortable and perplexed: in short, how could anyone want to leave the land of the free, the tolerant, the open, the just and go fight for a group that represents...
... unworthy of having the same advanced weapons. How does any country not feel that the U.S. is purposely compromising its own security and risking the lives of its people? Indeed, less than a year after the announcement of the China-Pakistan deal, the ... ... decision-making for its drone targeting and operational missions. Pakistan and China seem to be openly courting this very behavior today. Middle East Israel Defense Forces (IDF) actually succeeded in destroying a drone that it tracked flying over sensitive military ...
... its firm decision, for now, to not tamper with oil production.
So what is the bigger picture? Why tap the reserves? National security, regional hegemony, and long-term economic positioning explain most of it. With this one simple move of maintaining the ... ... as you can see, nothing is ever as it seems in the world of high economic ‘political finance,’ especially in the Middle East when it comes to global energy markets. Saudi Arabia is ‘punishing’ itself for one year so as to reward ...
