Eurasia

Turkey, US in rare position of unity over Ukraine

Russia’s Turkey policy to “drive a wedge between Turkey and its NATO allies” will not likely bear fruit when it comes to Ukraine. Turkey’s relationship with the United States is on the rocks, and the most immediate cause is Ankara’s refusal to get rid of its newly acquired, Russian-manufactured S-400 …

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Defense officials call to probe leak of alleged Israeli op. against Iran

The revelation of this alleged Israeli involvement was unusual in that generally Israel prefers to keep a low profile if it undertakes such attacks. There were calls over the weekend by Israeli defense officials to probe the leak of an alleged sensitive IDF operation against Iran to foreign media.

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Natanz: Iran tried playing the West but got outmaneuvered by Israel

There are indications that the disruptions in Natanz were the result of a cyberattack, and, as always, all eyes are on Israel when these things happen. There’s a negotiating strategy used in the Knesset during budget debates called “the goat,” which the Iranian regime seems to be very familiar with …

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Iran downplays Natanz ‘incident’ – analysis

Iranian media is being forthright about the current incident and downplaying it. A day after Iran bragged about its latest achievements in nuclear technology, including boasting about advanced centrifuges, Tehran says an “incident” occurred at the electricity network linked to the Natanz enrichment facility.Iran has said the nuclear facility in …

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Russian Mercenaries in Great-Power Competition: Strategic Supermen or Weak Link?

Along with China, Iran, and North Korea, Russia is one of a handful of strategic competitors posing a substantial threat to U.S. strategic interests. Russia has now interfered to some extent in at least three democratic elections in the United States. Russian hackers are probably responsible for the recent SolarWinds …

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Russia Piles Up the Pressure on Ukraine

Vladimir Putin is flexing his muscles and testing Western resolve. The security situation continues to deteriorate in eastern Ukraine. Ceasefire violations spiked on Friday, with a high number of explosions. Two Ukrainian soldiers were killed. In a worrying development, Russian troops have been moved to the border with Ukraine and …

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How To Exit Bosnia – Analysis

The Schleswig-Holstein Question was a notoriously problematic territorial dispute in the nineteenth century. It involved two groups of people, each with ethnic associations with neighbours (Denmark and Germany), living in adjacent pieces of land – Schleswig (Danish) and Holstein (German). For complex historical reasons, The Duchies of Schleswig-Holstein were treated …

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Conflict Trends Update

UKRAINE Reports of a Russian military build-up along the eastern border of Ukraine and in Crimea heightened fears of escalation in the face of persistent ceasefire violations in the Donbas region and a stalled peace process. Crisis Group expert Katharine Quinn-Judge says fighting in Donbas has often surged following periods …

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