Middle Orient

Turkey’s decision to evacuate military posts in regime-held areas in Idlib is hardly reassuring when considered against the backdrop of its continued military buildup elsewhere in the region.

French President Emmanuel Macron has clearly decided to up the ante in a standoff with Turkey in the Eastern Mediterranean, where France is backing Greece and Cyprus in their dispute with Ankara over natural gas reserves and maritime boundaries.

Competition over the world’s maritime resources and territorial disputes over maritime borders are becoming increasingly prominent in international affairs. At the same time, depleted fish stocks and polluted waters make the question of how countries can collectively manage maritime resources a central one, particularly in discussions over climate change.

A Syrian ship carrying oil has been stopped by Russia, in what is suspected to be an effort to pressure the Assad regime into accepting certain Russian demands reports Baladi News. On Monday, sources from the Syrian opposition said that Russia had detained an oil ship belonging to a Syrian …

With a continuing lack of bread and ever rising fuel prices, Syrians are feeling the strain and becoming increasingly frustrated with long queues and the dire economic situation reports The Levant.

The Russian and Turkish sides are holding talks in the Russian capital, Moscow, to discuss the latest developments on the Syrian front. Russian News agency TASS reported that the Turkish Deputy-Foreign Minister, Sedat Önal, arrived in Moscow on Thursday, at the head of a political delegation, to hold meetings with …

Hamas is using a secret base in Turkey to carry out cyber warfare and counter-intelligence operations to target its enemies, according to a report by The Times who spoke to several western intelligence sources. The Times reported that the base is based in Istanbul and was set up two years …

Turkey’s decision to evacuate military posts in regime-held areas in Idlib is hardly reassuring when considered against the backdrop of its continued military buildup elsewhere in the region.

Turkish forces have attack positions controlled by the Syrian Democratic Forces in Hassakeh and Raqqa, despite the existence of a ceasefire reports Al-Masdar.

Lebanon’s President Michel Aoun designated Sunni Muslim politician Saad al-Hariri as prime minister on Thursday to form a new government to tackle the worst crisis since the country’s 1975-1990 civil war.