The Central Asian nation of Kyrgyzstan on Sunday unilaterally cancelled joint military drills between the six nations comprising the Russia-led Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), less than a day before they were due to start on its territory. The Kyrgyz defense ministry did not specify the reason for cancelling the …
Read More »8 years of combat hardened Ukraine’s army into a fighting force
When Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered unmarked troops to Ukraine in 2014, first in Crimea and then the eastern borderlands of Donbas, they were better equipped, trained and organized — and they crushed their opponents. Eight years on, the roles are reversed. That’s due to a multitude of factors: The …
Read More »Erdogan reveals intelligence talks with Syria regime
The Turkish intelligence service has been conducting negotiations with the Syrian regime of Bashar Al-Assad in Damascus to define a “road map” on several issues, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has revealed. “Our intelligence service is conducting negotiations there [Damascus], and we will define our road map based on the results,” …
Read More »Russia: Sanctions prevent it from maintaining gas pipeline to Turkiye, Balkans
Russia says that European sanctions block the energy transfer to Turkiye and Balkan region, Reuters reports. According to the report, the Russian operator of a pipeline that supplies Turkiye and the Balkans with natural gas, South Stream Transport B.V, would suspend some maintenance and repair work, citing European Union sanctions, …
Read More »‘A time bomb’: Anger rising in a hot spot of Iran protests
Growing up under a repressive system, Sharo, a 35-year-old university graduate, never thought she would hear words of open rebellion spoken out loud. Now she herself chants slogans like “Death to the Dictator!” with a fury she didn’t know she had, as she joins protests calling for toppling the country’s …
Read More »Putin calls Kerch Bridge attack “a terrorist act” by Kyiv
Russian President Vladimir Putin on Sunday called the attack that damaged the huge bridge connecting Russia to its annexed territory of Crimea “a terrorist act” masterminded by Ukrainian special services. The Kerch Bridge, which holds important strategic and symbolic value to Russia in its faltering war in Ukraine, was hit …
Read More »Peace is only option to end all conflicts in Afghanistan: Qaisari
The former police chief of Qaisar district of Faryab province considers peace to be the only option to end problems and conflicts in Afghanistan. In an exclusive interview with Ariana News broadcast on Friday, Nizamuddin Qaisari said that the full support of the people for the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan …
Read More »Iranian and Turkish Moves to Join Shanghai Cooperation Organization Raise Its Profile
Held in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, from September 15 to 16, the 2022 summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Heads of State Council demonstrated that the SCO was continuing to evolve into a viable international political congregation independent from the West. Beginning in the early 1800s, international organizations (IOs) began to …
Read More »Blast on bridge to Crimea hurts Russian supply lines, pride
An explosion Saturday caused the partial collapse of a bridge linking the Crimean Peninsula with Russia, damaging an important supply artery for the Kremlin’s faltering war effort in southern Ukraine and hitting a towering symbol of Russian power in the region. Nobody immediately claimed responsibility for the blast, which killed …
Read More »Rare clashes erupt between jihadist group, Turkey-backed faction in Syria’s Idlib
Clashes erupted between Hayat Tahrir al-Sham and Faylaq al-Sham, affiliated with the Turkish-backed FSA, due to differences over the alleged opening of a commercial crossing with the Syrian government-held areas in the eastern Idlib countryside. Clashes erupted Sept. 29 between Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) and the Free Syrian Army (FSA)-affiliated …
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