... state (the USSR) into a protracted confrontation between Armenia and Azerbaijan with the prospects for resolution being unclear
[1]
. Russia (the successor to the USSR) has expressed an interest in settling this confrontation, as have neighbouring Turkey and Iran, and a number of external actors, namely the United States and the European Union.
In May 1994, when
the Open-Ended Ceasefire Agreement
came into force, it marked the next stage of the conflict, which could be defined as “a dynamic status ...
... of recent events will be felt in the entire region for many years to come.
What can external powers do to mitigate the turmoil in the region? To be sure, any external involvement is likely to have only a marginal impact on key regional countries like Turkey, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Iran. However, a new concept of regional collective security proposed by the international community might help to limit the international repercussions of domestic crises like the one that took place in Turkey, and provide for a regional ‘straitjacket’ ...
... recently held talks with Russia and Iran, allies that support the Bashar al-Assad regime. The words of Prime Minister of Turkey Binali Yıldırım, who called for “a new page” to be opened in the history of Syria – one that would involve Turkey, Iran, Russia, the United States, Saudi Arabia and the Persian Gulf states – have also caused a stir. He also stated, for the first time, that he would not be against al-Assad being involved in the political process during a “transitional ...
... Shoukry. The Turkish government
dispatched a delegation
to seek ways of bridging the gaps between positions.
Ankara’s diplomatic activity is prompted by the need to cooperate with states that could become partners in fighting radical groups.
Turkey is worried by the regional policy of Iran, which has a military presence in Syria and Iraq, and very serious influence on political decision-making in the Middle East. The lifting of the sanctions against Iran will strengthen the country and open up a range of possibilities for it. This ...
... Russian and American approaches to convoluted international problems. Being no secret, Washington had no clear-cut
policy
in the Syria conflict, at least since the completion of the Tehran nuclear deal when the prospect of a peripheral war against Iran moved to the backburner. As a result, the United States virtually franchised Syria to its regional allies Turkey and Saudi Arabia whose views on Syria hardly coincide with U.S. national interests. No wonder, the U.S. positions in the Middle East have been shattered, as well as the allies’ faith in the American leadership. Even the habitually supportive ...
... for example, which has made barring Iran from any developments in the field of nuclear technologies the cornerstone of its foreign policy, has an objective interest in eliminating the regime of Bashar al-Assad, Tehran’s main ally in the region.
Turkey, which is battling to establish control over the regions inhabited by the Syrian, Iraqi and Iranian Kurds, has no less interest in destabilising the internal situation in Iran as well as in Syria and Iraq. A new Turkish–Israeli political alliance is being formed against the background of the “Iran syndrome”. At the official ...
... language Putin understands.
Putin may be miscalculating here in general, but he is certainly smart enough to know a war with Turkey, and therefore NATO and the West, is not at all in Russia’s interests right now.
Why, Mr. Putin?
AFP
Coming ... ... jihadists by helping Shiite Alawite Assad massacre mainly Sunni rebels and civilians with the help of Shiite Hezbollah and Shiite Iran just for Russia's having a naval base on Syria’s coast and a few new bases inside Syria as well as a client ...
... to the Turkish side,
agreeing to a discount of 10.25% instead of the originally proposed 6%
.
The hurry is also driven by the way the situation around Iran is developing. The news that the deal had been reached was followed immediately by a visit to Iran by the president of Turkey to
discuss opportunities for developing economic cooperation
. President Erdogan even promised to buy more gas from Iran if Tehran reduced the price. Turkey stands to benefit from virtually whichever way the situation develops: it will become ...
... values and norms, though not without major opposition within Turkey. Still, closer ties and more Western business/investment in Turkey seem unlikely, and may decrease over time as these trends increase.
As for Israel, I’ve noted before that a number ... ... into being an apartheid-like political pariah within the Western world.
4.) There’s a good chance for a thaw/deal with Iran in the near future.
More than any president since the Iranian Revolution in 1979, Obama has shown an energy and a willingness ...
... thermonuclear conflict. No nuclear bombs dropped from airplanes. No guided missiles launched from hardened sites or submarines. Edward Teller, Admiral Hyman Rickover, General Curtis LeMay and nuclear war theorist Herman Kahn are icons of the past. Today, even Iran is taking part in Pugwash discussions. Photo: University of California The cooperation between the United States and Russia which provides the institutional superstructure to facilitate Kerry-Lavrov and the Iran nuclear talks has its roots in the ...
