Latest Articles about Middle East
LUKOIL REDUCES OIL SUPPLIES TO GERMANY, AGAIN
Russia’s Lukoil has halted oil supplies to Germany through the Druzhba pipeline for the remainder of February and “until further notice.” This is the third interruption in Russian oil deliveries by pipeline to Germany in the space of 13 months. Russia’s pipeline monopoly Transneft halted... MORE
KREMLIN EFFORT TO EXPAND COMMERCIAL TIES WITH CHINA BACKFIRES
Last year Russia and China recorded an unprecedented increase in bilateral trade. In 2007, Russia’s trade with China reached $48.16 billion, up 44.3% over 2006, according to Russian statistics. This follows a recent trend, as in 2006 bilateral trade amounted to $33.4 billion, up 15%... MORE
RUSSIA WILL REGAIN DEMOGRAPHIC, ECONOMIC, AND MILITARY STRENGTH, PUTIN CLAIMS
Speaking to a session of the State Council on February 8, President Vladimir Putin outlined his vision of Russia’s development through the year 2020. The State Council is a consultative body incorporating Russia’s regional leaders that Putin created to provide advice from time to time.... MORE
Turkish-U.S. Relations on Rocky Ground over Role in Afghanistan
Relations between the United States and Turkey encountered a new obstacle in recent days. The latest disagreement comes, somewhat surprisingly, amid a period of overall warming and increased military and diplomatic cooperation between the two long-time NATO allies. The obstacle comes in the form of... MORE
LEV PONOMAREV: RUSSIA HAS FOUR CATEGORIES OF POLITICAL PRISONERS
“The desire of millions of our citizens for individual freedom and social justice is what defines the future of Russia’s political system,” President Vladimir Putin declared in his recent speech to the State Council, laying out Russia’s development strategy through 2020 (see EDM, February 11).... MORE
MOSCOW LOSES BRAZIL SUBMARINE DEAL TO PARIS
In 2007 Russia became the world's second-largest arms exporter, exceeded only by the United States. As Moscow seeks out new markets, it is increasingly eyeing prospects in what Washington regards as its own backyard, Latin America. Moving beyond its long-standing contacts with Cuba to emerging... MORE
The Shaykh Said Revolt and Ankara’s Return to the Past in its Struggle with the Kurds
After the recent admission by some of Turkey’s leading former military commanders that the military option was not the best or only way of resolving Turkey’s Kurdish problem, it is now becoming clear that the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) is taking a new... MORE
PUTIN WARNS AGAINST “IMMORAL” WESTERN INTERFERENCE IN HIS “STRATEGIC” SPEECH
The fact that Russian President Vladimir Putin was going to deliver a major address last Friday, February 8, had been kept secret until the middle of the week, when regional leaders were urgently summoned to Moscow for an expanded meeting of the State Council, a... MORE
RESEARCHERS STUDY THE “NATURE AND STRUCTURE” OF RUSSIAN CORRUPTION
In his February 8 speech to the State Council laying out Russia’s development strategy for the next 12 years, President Vladimir Putin contrasted his eight years in power favorably with, as he put it, “the chaos, economic ruin, and breakdown of the old system that... MORE
SOURCING THE NABUCCO PIPELINE TO PREVAIL AGAINST SOUTH STREAM
Gas reserves at Azerbaijan’s Shah-Deniz field would amply suffice for the Nabucco pipeline’s first commercial phase, from 2013 onward. However, investors would expect second-phase supplies to be reliably identified by the time construction work starts on the pipeline’s first phase. The start of construction is... MORE