Russia’s best chances to claim a prominent role in the Middle East usually come amidst a regional escalation of tensions. But the confluence of diplomatic rows, terrorist attacks and air strikes at the start of June did not exactly play into Moscow’s hands. As usual,... MORE

Since Moscow’s military intervention in the Syrian civil war began in September 2015, a key element of Russian logistical support for its forces has been a maritime supply route deployed from southern Russian Black Sea ports via the Turkish Straits to Syria. This supply train,... MORE

In the kaleidoscopic, ever-shifting array of factions that characterize the Syrian civil war, allegiances can shift in surprising ways. Nowhere is this more evident than in the relationship between Russia and the Kurds. In theory, the two sides should be diametrically opposed. Moscow is heavily... MORE

Georgian Prime Minister Giorgi Kvirikashvili recently visited the United States. And the main tangible result of his delegation’s meetings with US President Donald J. Trump, Vice President Mike Pence and Secretary of State Rex Tillerson was the signing of the General Security of Information Agreement... MORE

On April 25, the Turkish Air Force carried out strikes on the town of Sinjar (Iraqi Kurdistan) and on targets in the Karachok Mountains (northeastern Syria, between the towns of al-Hasakah and Qamishli) (Hürriyet, April 25). The airstrikes on Kurdish forces highlight Turkey’s determined stance... MORE

In an apparent attempt to revive the so-called “Astana peace process”—peace talks between the Syrian government and armed opposition in Kazakhstan’s capital Astana, under the auspices of Russia, Turkey and Iran (see EDM, February 15, March 20)—Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a seemingly bold plan... MORE

The formation of Hai’at Tahreer al-Sham (HTS, the Levant Liberation Commission) earlier this year was the al-Nusra Front’s most successful attempt thus far to form a coalition with other rebel groups in Syria. While al-Nusra had formed an alliance called Jabhat Fath al-Sham (JFS) last... MORE

Russian state propaganda has definitively changed its portrayal of United States President Donald Trump after the April 7 Tomahawk cruise missile strike on the Syrian airbase of Shayrat (Homs province). The forces loyal to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad (the Syrian Arab Army—SAA) had allegedly used... MORE

The convocation, last February, of a Kurdish conference in Moscow that included the Yezidis (Aranews.net, February 16), combined with new Kurdish-Yezidi claims that the Russian military has promised to provide them with training (Deutsche Welle, March 21), have highlighted Moscow’s continuing effort to win over... MORE

The United States’ April 7 cruise missile attack against a major Syrian airbase sent US-Russian relations into a nosedive. US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson’s April 12 talks in Moscow with Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and President Vladimir Putin seemed doomed to fail. But Putin... MORE