Middle Orient

The Significance Of The Turkish Straits To The Russian Navy

Four days into the Russian Federation’s invasion of Ukraine on February 27, 2022, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu declared that the operation in question was a “war.” He explained to CNN Türk, “Under these conditions, we will apply the Montreux agreement. Article 19 is pretty clear. In the beginning, it …

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Villagers repel suspected ISIS attack in eastern Kirkuk

The suspected ISIS militants retreated after almost 15 minutes of fighting, the source added. Residents of the Kurdish-majority Mansoor village in eastern Kirkuk’s Daquq district repelled a suspected ISIS attack on Tuesday evening without suffering any causalities. The suspected ISIS militants attacked a checkpoint near the village, a resident, who …

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Russia’s invasion of Ukraine impacts the Middle East too

Russia and its ties to the Middle East The Russian invasion of Ukraine, launched on a large scale on February 24, marked the most significant escalation by Russia against its neighbor since 2014 and the largest invasion in Europe since World War II. In the past few years, the Kremlin …

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Turkey and the UAE are getting close again. But why now?

In the decade since the Arab Spring, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) have been locked in a rivalry, taking diverging positions on Egypt, Libya, and Qatar, to name just a few issues. The political tension greatly impacted their economic ties and reduced investment activity. However, Turkish President Recep …

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The Russian invasion of Ukraine happened because the world gave Vladimir Putin a free pass in Syria

When Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine on February 24, I rushed to a protest organized by Ukrainians in Oxford, England. I, along with fellow Syrians, brought the Syrian revolution flag to the protests to demand an end to the invasion. At the time, I struggled to put into …

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Can Iranian oil stabilize a volatile market?

As fuel prices skyrocket following the Russian invasion of Ukraine, another major supplier of oil and natural gas is poised to play an important role. Before Donald Trump‘s withdrawal from the 2015 nuclear deal and the imposition of sanctions on Iran’s oil exports, Iran produced 3.8 million barrels of oil …

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Oil prices fall most in 2 years as UAE supports output hike

Global oil prices fell on Wednesday by the most in nearly two years after OPEC member the United Arab Emirates said it supported pumping more oilinto a market roiled by supply disruptions due to sanctions on Russia after it invaded Ukraine. Brent crude futures settled down $16.84, or 13.2%, at …

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Qatar’s Emir receives call from Ukrainian president -Amiri Diwan

Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani received a phone call on Wednesday from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy who briefed him on the latest developments in Ukraine, Qatar’s Amiri Diwan said. Both leaders discussed diplomatic ways to solve the crisis that resulted from the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

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Israel, Turkey hail new era after years of broken ties

Israel and Turkey proclaimed a new era in relations on Wednesday following more than a decade of diplomatic rupture, as Israeli President Isaac Herzog made a landmark visit to Ankara. Herzog’s Turkey trip, which included talks with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, was the first by an Israeli president since 2007, …

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Can Turkey benefit from Europe’s quest to reduce Russian gas?

Europe’s efforts to phase down gas imports from Russia might place Turkey at the center of routes for alternative supplies from Azerbaijan and Israel. As the European Union scrambles to map out plans to wean itself off Russian gas amid Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, its quest for substitutes might place …

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