The head of the Russian Armed Forces General Staff Valery Gerasimov asked his closest American counterpart Joseph Dunford to assist his country in jointly stabilizing Syria. Reuters reported that the proposal to cooperate on the repatriation of refugees and reconstruction projects in the Arab Republic was met with an “icy reception” by US decision makers, …
Continue reading The US’ Rebuff of Russia’s Cooperation Request in Syria Shows Its Cynicism
President Erdogan of Turkey often asserts that 'foreign powers' (meaning the U.S.) want to bring him down. He says that the 'interest lobby' (meaning (Jewish) bankers), wants to damage Turkey. He is somewhat right on both points. Since last week the Turkish lira is on an extended down-slide. Today alone it lost nearly 20% of …
US designs in Syria were made crystal clear by US Army General Joseph Votel – head of US Central Command (CENTCOM) – during a July 19th press briefing. General Votel would state unequivocally when asked what the “arrangement” was regarding Syria, that: Our mission is very, very clear: It is focusing on the defeat of …
Strictly speaking, this is not the first time that Washington has imposed sanctions against Turkey. But the circumstances are entirely different, which makes the present crisis far more intractable. The US imposed an arms embargo on Turkey in 1975 followed the latter’s invasion and occupation of Northern Cyprus. Ankara retaliated by shutting down all US …
A Trump administration decision to sanction two key Turkish officials in retaliation for the continued detention of an American cleric coupled with unqualified support for Israel and the adoption of a backseat in Syria threatens to further undermine US influence in the Eastern Mediterranean, a key part of the world in which Russia, Iran, China …
Continue reading Big Power Competition in the Eastern Mediterranean: Is Trump Missing the Point?
The Syrian army is conducting its southern campaign with the pacification of the last two percent of the Qunietra province that remains under the control of the “Islamic State” (ISIS) terrorist group. That will free tens of thousands of troops of the Syrian army and its allies from the burden of fighting in the south …
Continue reading Why Will the US Leave Syria Soon? The Kurds Are Waking Up
Damascus reportedly reached two pragmatic deals with so-called “rebel” groups in the northeast. Sputnik reported that the legitimate Syrian government receives one-third of all the revenue from the al-Rmeilan and Jabsah oilfields, while the Kurdish-run Rudaw said that the state had agreed to jointly run the Tabqa dam with the “Syrian Democratic Forces” (SDF). Both …
Continue reading Is Damascus Getting Ready to Cut a Deal with the Kurds?
Two years ago on 15 July, Turkey witnessed the bloodiest coup attempt in its political history. A faction in the Turkish military launched a coordinated operation in several major cities across Anatolia to topple the government and unseat the country's strongman president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan. What happened next was something unprecedented: thousands of ordinary Turks, …
Work on the Syrian Constitution Should be Preceded by an agreement of Moscow and Tehran with Ankara and Washington Government forces, having freed the Damascus suburbs from militants, begin cleaning the southern provinces of Syria, which is a zone of US interest. The latter continue to support the Islamists on the border with Jordan, trying …
