Eurasia

DIPLOMATIC AFFAIRS: Much has changed since Saudi Arabia last sent troops to help other Arab countries wage war on Israel. The message Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s spokeswoman Shir Cohen sent to journalists on Saturday night seemed innocuous enough.“In order for minister [Ze’ev] Elkin and Izhar Shay to complete their work …

A sudden U.S. troop pull-out from north east Syria could prompt a humanitarian crisis, an Islamic State resurgence and renewed conflict between Turkey and the Syrian Democratic Forces, especially its Kurdish component. The U.S. should commit to an eventual, gradual and conditional withdrawal that protects civilians.

Bayik wrote in the French newspaper L’Humanité: “The PKK has a strategy for resolving the Kurdish question peacefully and democratically within the borders of the existing states based on constitutional guarantees. Cemil Bayik, Co-President of the Executive Council of the Union of Kurdistan Communities (KCK) called on Europe to side …

The latest conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh has been a disaster for Iran. The terms of the cease-fire agreed on by Armenia and Azerbaijan represent a grave threat to Tehran’s long-term strategic interests. The effects of this are likely to affect the perception of the regime among the Iranian people, and alter …

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights has monitored a squadron of Russian fighter jets targeting ISIS positions in the Syrian desert at the Hama-Idlib-Raqqa triangle. The attack which started in the early hours of the morning and is still underway. No information has been reported on the losses.

Reactions pour in to assassination of prominent nuclear scientist Mohsen Fakhrizadeh east of Tehran on Friday. Regional Condemnations Hezbollah Deputy Chief Sheikh Naim Qassem offered condolences to the Iranian nation on the martyrdom of Fakhrizadeh, stressing that the issue of retaliation is to be decided by the Iranian leadership itself.

Hezbollah Deputy Leader Sheikh Naim Qassem said on Friday that the retaliation for the assassination of Iranian scientist Mohsen Fakhrizadeh was in Iran’s hands, warning that Hezbollah was fully prepared for any Israeli aggression.

Many Iran-backed militias participated in 2018 general elections via independent lists or general lists. There are increasing demands in Iraq for political parties with armed wings to be barred from participating in general elections scheduled for next summer in order to ensure participants have an equal opportunity at the polls, …

The Arab coalition is very much concerned over the expansion of the Qatari and Turkish sphere of influence within the legitimate government’s institutions and its political and partisan components.

Japan will not accept China’s proposal to ease bilateral tensions over the sovereignty of the Senkaku Islands, the government’s top spokesman said Thursday, dismissing it as part of an attempt to advance Beijing’s claims to Tokyo’s territory.