Latest Articles about Middle East
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
Yemen’s Role in al-Qaeda’s Strategy
Osama bin Laden has always had a very soft spot in his heart for Yemen, saying that it is “one of the best Arab and Muslim countries in terms of its adherence to tradition and the faith … [its] topography is mountainous, and its people... MORE
DID GLONASS FAILURE SINK IVANOV’S CHANCE AT THE PRESIDENCY?
The Russian Global Navigation Satellite System (GLONASS) has long been a priority in the development of Russian space technologies. Last March, in a major speech on the future of space development, Russian President Vladimir Putin singled out global positioning as a field in which Russia... MORE
AMID VOWS TO LIMIT STATE INTERFERENCE, THE STATE’S STAKE IN BUSINESS GROWS
The members of President Vladimir Putin’s administration who are also the heads of state corporations are running again for re-election to the boards of those companies, which will have the effect of maintaining state control – and, perhaps more importantly, control by members of Putin’s... MORE
Turkish Crackdown on Homegrown al-Qaeda Cells in Gaziantep
A major crackdown against alleged al-Qaeda militants in southern Turkey that left four militants and one policeman dead on January 24 has proven two things: homegrown Islamic militants still pose a serious threat in this secular but Muslim nation, and the police—aware of the danger—are... MORE
AUSTRIA’S OMV UTILIZING AND SABOTAGING THE EU AT THE SAME TIME
Austria’s state-dominated OMV energy company is pursuing a two-track policy in relation to the European Union. On one track, OMV seeks the support of EU institutions and legal mechanisms to force a takeover of Hungary’s private-owned MOL energy company, which has consistently bested OMV in... MORE