Latest Articles about Middle East
AGREEMENTS SIGNED ON RUSSIAN MILITARY WITHDRAWAL FROM GEORGIA
On Friday, March 31, Georgia's First Deputy Defense Minister, Mamuka Kudava, and Russia's Ground Forces Commander-in-Chief, Colonel-General Alexei Maslov, signed a set of agreements on the withdrawal of Russian forces from the Batumi and Akhalkalaki bases and other Russian military installations in Georgia. The agreements... MORE
RUSSIAN-KAZAKH “STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIP” LACKS EXCLUSIVITY
Russia has long considered Kazakhstan to be its main partner in Central Asia, but the Kazakh leadership seems to be seeking ways to hedge its bets by building an alternative partnership with China. Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev's official visit to Russia April 3-5 is billed... MORE
RUSSIA’S NEW CHINA-BOUND GAS PIPELINE PLAN SPARKS CONTROVERSY
As the Kremlin pledged to build two huge natural gas pipelines to China by 2011, one of these routes has already triggered an environmental controversy. When Russian President Vladimir Putin visited China on March 21-22 for talks with President Hu Jintao, he reiterated pledges to... MORE
Mujahideen Shura Council in Iraq: Fact or Fiction?
In a statement released on March 23, the newly-formed Mujahideen Shura Council (MSC) in Iraq announced that on the previous day a combatant from the "Abu Dujana al-Ansari Brigade" (a unit affiliated to any one of the seven insurgent organizations comprising the MSC) detonated a... MORE
U.S.-RUSSIA RELATIONS: GROWING RIFT OVER EURASIA’S DEMOCRATIZATION
The unveiling of the latest version of the White House's National Security Strategy and the Kremlin's sharp reaction to the blueprint laid bare the growing divergence of American and Russian understanding of each other's role in the world. The U.S. administration's updated playbook on national... MORE
IVANOV TAKES CHARGE OF RUSSIAN MILITARY-INDUSTRIAL CONGLOMERATE
Russian Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov has appeared to be in political trouble since the start of the year. The traditional pompous celebrations of Defender of the Fatherland Day on February 23 were overshadowed by the scandal around the brutal hazing of a young conscript at... MORE
Al-Qaeda & the Muslim Brotherhood: United by Strategy, Divided by Tactics
For many years, Ayman al-Zawahiri has denounced Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood for what he claims is the misguided direction they have taken political Islam. In a recent statement, al-Zawahiri renewed his criticism of the Ikhwan al-Muslimun ("Muslim Brotherhood") for their participation in Egypt's parliamentary elections. The... MORE
GAZPROM BROADENS, DEEPENS INROADS INTO EUROPEAN UNION’S INTERNAL MARKETS, TRANSPORT SYSTEMS
Even as some European Union authorities in Brussels attempt to formulate a common EU energy policy, major European players seem to be vying for bilateral deals with Gazprom that could lock their countries into long-term dependence before any common policy is in place. On March... MORE
QUARRELS IN THE GOVERNMENT FUELLED BY INFLATION AND INTRIGUE
The last two weeks produced many unusually loud and disagreeable exchanges in the Russian government. Prime Minister Mikhail Fradkov even questioned the "professional competence" of his ministers to perform their duties. The main topic in these bureaucratic dramas played in front of TV cameras was... MORE
RUSSIA PLEDGES TO UPHOLD GLOBAL ENERGY SECURITY
Russia has reiterated its earlier pledges to safeguard global energy security, putting the issue at the top of the agenda while holding the G-8 presidency this year. However, some of Russia's proposed solutions have not exactly worked when they were tried in resource-rich Central Asia.... MORE