Executive Summary: The FSB and other Russian intelligence agencies’ activities have transformed Cyprus into a Kremlin beachhead in Europe, going largely unnoticed. Moscow has long focused on European countries, like Cyprus, that are a part of the European Union but not NATO members, to undermine... MORE

Since the launch of Israel’s invasion of Gaza after Hamas’s massacre of Israelis living in nearby towns on October 7, various Muslim and pro-Palestinian left-wing groups have rallied to support the Palestinian side. These rallies have seen some clashes with police and property damage alongside... MORE

Following the Second Karabakh War (September 27–November 9, 2020) between Armenia and Azerbaijan and Turkey’s support for the latter in that conflict, Ankara has been pushing for Baku to become more involved in Turkish geopolitical plays (see EDM July 19). In particular, Turkey openly wants... MORE

Control over energy resources and transit routes has long been a source of rivalry and competition among major powers with interests in the Middle East, Caspian Sea basin and Central Asia. And since the early 2000s, a new “great game” of sorts has embroiled local... MORE

On December 29, 2018, the head of the occupying government in Crimea, Sergey Aksenov, proposed to transport Ukrainian offshore oil and natural gas drilling rigs (“nationalized” by Russia after the Crimean annexation) from the Black Sea to the Syrian coastal shelf (UAWire, December 30, 2018).... MORE

New natural gas discoveries in the Eastern Mediterranean might be a boon for the European Union’s efforts to move away from dependence on Russian energy supplies. In the current complex energy game between Europe and Russia, Italy could play an important role as an entry... MORE

Israeli Ambassador to Azerbaijan, Dan Stav, announced, on November 6, that his country was “considering the possibility to transport its natural gas to Europe via the Trans Anatolian Natural Gas Pipeline [TANAP] through Turkey.” Earlier, on October 14, Turkish presidential advisor Cemil Ertem declared that... MORE

The eastern Mediterranean, which has seen an intermittent Russian naval presence for more than two centuries, will again see Russian military assets deployed there as a new Russian-Cypriot agreement takes effect. On January 10, Cyprus’s Council of Ministers approved a defense ministry draft proposal for... MORE

The past two years have seen a steady rise in Russia’s willingness to deploy its navy into the Mediterranean, to Syria, and Cyprus in order to demonstrate Russian power, support the Bashar al-Assad government, check Turkish designs on Syria and Cyprus, and thwart Western intervention... MORE

The Cyprus issue has dominated political debates and intrigues in Moscow through last week, turning into a test of sorts for Russia’s ability to respond to acute external challenges. The financial disaster on the island that has become so intimately familiar to many Russians has... MORE