Russia gave core OPEC+ members Saudi Arabia and the UAE unprecedented control over oil markets when it invaded Ukraine and was embargoed by the West. The United States has shown its discomfort with the leverage these countries have gained; the full results of these shifts in relative power will play out in …

It has become a cliché to describe relations between Turkiye and Iran as a “manageable competition”and “reluctant cooperation.” In many ways, Ankara’s relations with Tehran resemble its relations with Moscow, and Syria best displays the complicated nature of ties between all three. In particular, the Astana peace process these three …

Tensions over northern Kosovo continue. The Washington Post noticed in a January 12 editorial. The Post highlighted the negative role being played by Albin Kurti and urged that the U.S. “make clear to Kosovo’s leaders that NATO’s willingness to keep its forces on the ground isn’t indefinite. Continued Western military support for Kosovo should …

The newly-initiated Syrian-Turkish rapprochement talks are headed in Damascus’ favor and the “Turkish concessions” derided by opponents are just the start, insiders tell The Cradle. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has already abandoned his dream of “praying in the Umayyad Mosque” in Damascus. But sources say this will be swiftly …

Iran has significantly stepped up its air defense systems deployment to Syria over the past two years, according to a 10 January report released by Newsweek citing an anonymous intelligence official from “a nation allied” with Washington. As part of this boost in the supply of defense technology to Damascus, …

On 8 January, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced that Turkiye is determined to send flour and grain to African states through the Black Sea corridor. He added that the Russian President Vladimir Putin assured Ankara that Russia would be able to provide grain for free on the condition that …

As the prospect of a rapprochement between Ankara and Damascus becomes more imminent, the most extreme elements of Syria’s armed opposition have been feeling a sting of betrayal, accelerating a trend that, over the past year, has seen many jihadists relocate to Ukraine. This is especially true for foreign militants, …

Predictions are a notoriously painful exercise. In the world of geopolitics, especially during a time of seismic global transformation, they are nigh near impossible to make. In West Asia, a depressed and neglected region that acts as a punching bag for Great Power competition elsewhere, much relies on the settlement …

Data suggests that US dollar reserves in central banks are dwindling, as is the influence of the US on the world economy. This presents a unique opportunity for regional currencies and alternative payment systems to enter the vacuum. The imposition of US trade restrictions and sanctions against a number of …

The failed coup in Brazil is the latest CIA stunt, just as the country is forging stronger ties with the east. A former US intelligence official has confirmed that the shambolic Maidan remix staged in Brasilia on 8 January was a CIA operation, and linked it to the recent attempts …