Latest Articles about Middle East
OSCE’S YEAR-END CONFERENCE NOT COPING WITH SECURITY ISSUES
The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe held its year-end conference on November 29–30 in Madrid. Under Russian pressure and with the collaboration of the Spanish chairmanship, the organization registered new setbacks from which it may no longer be able to recover. Russian President... MORE
OSCE’S DEMOCRACY AGENDA SET BACK AT YEAR-END MEETING
President Vladimir Putin’s November 30 decree, suspending Russia’s participation in the Conventional Forces in Europe (CFE) Treaty, was one of several Kremlin-inflicted humiliations of the OSCE during the organization’s year-end meeting in Madrid. In a parallel move, Russia imposed crippling restrictions on the ability of... MORE
UNITED RUSSIA “WINS” A CONSTITUTIONAL MAJORITY IN THE STATE DUMA
Preliminary results from Russia’s December 2 parliamentary election show that four parties have won representation in the next State Duma, with the lion’s share going – to no one’s surprise – to the United Russia party. According to the Central Election Commission, as of 10... MORE
RUSSIA HAS VOTED AS ORDERED, NOW WHAT?
The big political event that happened in Russia yesterday, December 2, can hardly be called “elections,” since few of the 60 million Russians who cast their vote really cared about whom they were electing to the lower house of parliament. From the October 1 moment... MORE
FINANSGROUP: HOW RUSSIA’S SILOVIKI DO BUSINESS
Kommersant published an interview on November 30 that gave an unprecedentedly open and detailed picture of a financial structure that is close to the Kremlin siloviki and their putative leader, deputy Kremlin administration chief Igor Sechin. The interview with Oleg Shvartsman, head of the Finansgroup... MORE
CHEMIZOV TO HEAD NEW RUSSIAN ARMS CONGLOMERATE
This week Russian President Vladimir Putin signed into law a bill passed by parliament to create a new state corporation, Rostekhnologii. The corporation will take over the state arms trade monopoly, Rosoboronexport, and its assets, which include Russia’s biggest car-making company, Avtovaz; one of the... MORE
MKO Uses YouTube to Display Military Prowess
The November 15 report by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) on Iran’s nuclear program indicates that Tehran is still violating existing UN Security Council resolutions by continuing the construction of a heavy reactor and installing a total of 2,952 centrifuges needed for uranium enrichment.... MORE
PKK Leadership Under Pressure in the Post-Öcalan Era
Every year the number of attacks by and on the guerrillas of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) mounts, seemingly by the day. Relatively infrequently, though, the world is permitted a glimpse of the PKK’s shadowy mid- and upper-level leadership figures, those who have recruited, trained... MORE
MOSCOW CONCEDES NEED FOR MAJOR TRANSIT INVESTMENT
At the State Council's November 13 meeting in Krasnoyarsk, Russian President Vladimir Putin declared that transportation infrastructure is strategically important for the country's economic growth. He conceded that the bulk of Russia's transportation facilities have become worn-out and obsolete, as most civilian planes, river ships,... MORE
IRAN PLAYS “GREAT GAME” POLITICS OVER TURKMENISTAN
International competition in Turkmenistan’s energy sector is supplying a pretext for Iran to remind Ashgabat of its need to preserve good relations with Tehran. A bilateral meeting held in Ashgabat on November 19, attended by senior foreign ministry officials from Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan, considered the... MORE