Latest Articles about Middle East
Turkey’s Choice with Barzani: The Gun or the Olive Branch
Shortly after the Turkish National Assembly passed a resolution authorizing the Turkish army to enter northern Iraq, President Massoud Barzani of the Kurdistan Regional Government of Iraq (KRG) replied: “If they invade there will be war.” Barzani added: “We are not a threat to Turkey... MORE
NEWSPAPER: PUTIN’S ENTOURAGE SEES NO ALTERNATIVE TO A THIRD TERM
Russian President Vladimir Putin recently gave the strongest hint to date that he plans on remaining at the helm of the ship of state following the end of his second and final constitutionally mandated term next May. Putin, who will head the federal list of... MORE
OSCE STUMBLING OVER UNRESOLVED CONFLICTS AHEAD OF YEAR-END MEETING
Insofar as its words still matter (admittedly an increasingly dubious premise), the OSCE seems set to defer to Russia at the year-end meeting in late November in Madrid regarding the post-Soviet unresolved conflicts. The political declaration, drafted by the Spanish chairmanship, reflects Russia’s overall position... MORE
RUSSIA STRUGGLES TO SUSTAIN PARTNERSHIP WITH INDIA
During Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s November 11-12 visit to Moscow, Russia and India signed agreements on space cooperation -- including a possible joint lunar program -- rupee debt investment, drug trafficking and transnational crime, as well as a deal on joint development and production... MORE
PUTIN, POST-MARCH 2008: DE FACTO “NATIONAL LEADER,” OR BACK IN THE KREMLIN?
Vedomosti on November 12 quoted State Duma Speaker Boris Gryzlov, head of the pro-Kremlin United Russia party, as saying that President Vladimir Putin will be presented with his official Central Election Commission (CEC) card identifying him as a candidate in the December 2 State Duma... MORE
HIGH INFLATION REVEALS PUTIN’S MISTAKES
Russia may appear to be an island of tranquility in the sea of troubles that engulfed the world economy last week. Its stock market continues to rise, its banks are not exposed to the U.S. sub-prime mortgage fears, and $100/barrel oil prices only mean a... MORE
NETHERLANDS JOINS RUSSO-GERMAN GAS PIPELINE PROJECT
On November 6 Gazprom chairman Alexei Miller and Nederlandse Gasunie CEO Marcel Kramer signed a framework agreement on Gasunie joining Nord Stream, the project to build a gas pipeline from Russia directly to Germany on the Baltic seabed. Russian President Vladimir Putin and Dutch Prime... MORE
“PROTECTION” IN RUSSIA: DIFFERENT PROVIDERS, BUT SAME RACKET
In early 1994, the Analytical Center of the administration of then-President Boris Yeltsin produced a shocking report stating that 70-90% of Russia’s private enterprises and commercial banks in major cities were being forced to pay “tribute” to organized crime groups, totaling 10-20% of their turnover.... MORE
PJAK Faces Turkish-Iranian Storm
The last year has seen steadily increasing violence between Turkey and the Kurdish Workers’ Party (PKK). On October 21, 2007 a group of PKK fighters killed 12 Turkish soldiers and captured eight others in an attack in southeastern Turkey. Since then Turkey has called on... MORE
MOSCOW FORCING LUFTHANSA TO SWITCH FROM KAZAKHSTAN TO SIBERIAN HUB
Russia’s Transport Ministry has threatened to close Russia’s air space to Lufthansa’s cargo flights to East Asian countries, unless Lufthansa Cargo establishes a Russian ground-based hub for its East Asia business. The Russian ministry warned its German counterpart that Lufthansa Cargo’s overflight authorization could be... MORE