... (SAM). The goal of the round table was to discuss the positions of Russia and Turkey on key issues related to the Afghan problem. Leading Russian and Turkish experts attended the meeting.
On December 13, 2021, the round table "Views of Russia and Turkey on the situation in Afghanistan" was held at the Russian International Affairs Council (RIAC). The meeting was organized jointly with the Center for Strategic Research of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Turkey (SAM). The goal of the round table was ...
... its proposed role at the airport is highly significant as it portends the closer integration of Afghanistan into familiar Turkish geopolitical agendas.
Andrey Kortunov:
A Tale of Two Interventions: Why Russia Succeeded in Syria When U.S. Failed in Afghanistan
Turkey’s Afghan power-play and the U.S.
Turkey’s
announcement in June
of plans to militarily manage the security at Kabul’s Hamid Karzai International Airport with U.S. financial support incensed the Taliban.
By not consulting or informing the ...
... longstanding ties to the Taliban to exert considerable influence over the Afghan peace process and to gain the upper hand over regional rivals namely, India. States such as Turkey and Iran stand to benefit (to some degree) from the internal instability of Afghanistan.
For Turkey, a greater role in security in the region enhances its Central Asian presence and appeases NATO allies. For Iran, collaboration with the Taliban allows for a greater influence in a territory previously occupied by adversaries while the flow of ...
... wants to maintain a forum for constructive cooperation on Afghanistan. Russia tried to prevent NATO’s mission in Afghanistan being refashioned in this case into NATO’s Resolute Support Mission, but later voted for the new Resolution 2274 on Afghanistan at the UN.
REUTERS/Yves Herman
Andrey Kortunov:
How Not to Talk with Russia
Another unspoken topic of the meeting is the Turkey issue, and not in terms of the Syria crisis but regarding the issue of trilateral cooperation between NATO, Turkey and Russia. This format at ambassador level will make it possible to formulate an understanding of whether it is possible to speak ...
In light of the recent developments in Syria and the apparently imminent US military intervention, the blog will take a short break from its relatively academic style and its thematic focus in order to brainstorm and share some thoughts on the broader picture of what is happening in the geopolitical arena of the region. Dangerous Double Standards Bashar al-Assad has reportedly used chemical weapons to attack, essentially, his own people. The first, logically obvious question is why would Assad essentially...