Middle Orient

From Ceasefire to Peace: The Necessity for a Russia, Iran and Turkey Partnership in the Karabakh Peace Talks

When in September 23, 1991 the Zheleznovodsk Declaration, as the first important mediation effort in the Karabakh conflict, was issued, an Azerbaijani journalist described it as “a light seen in a needle hole”. Now after three decades, the conditions dominating Karabakh conflict and the prospect for peace are still like …

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How Europe Can Help Lebanon Overcome Its Economic Implosion

What’s new? The devastating blast in the Beirut port on 4 August 2020 was only the latest, and most terrifying, sign of the political bankruptcy of Lebanon’s ruling elites. These politicians have driven the country to the brink of ruin, as the banking sector collapses and COVID-19 spreads faster.

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Iran tries to mediate cease-fire between Azerbaijan, Armenia

The fighting on Iran’s northwestern border has begun to alarm officials who are attempting to mediate a cease-fire between the two sides. As the battle between Armenia and Azerbaijan continues on Iran’s northwestern border, Iranian military officials have warned about the escalation as government officials travel to the neighboring countries …

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New initiative in Israel for Jewish-Arab party

Center-left politicians and former Knesset members are advancing an initiative for a Jewish-Arab party. In three rounds of elections last year, Israel’s center-left bloc campaigned on the notion of dissociating itself with the country’s Arab citizens. In an effort to sway right-wing voters to switch allegiance to the center-left bloc, …

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Turkey and NATO May Be at Loggerheads, but They Still Need Each Other

The recent NATO summit in London underscored how Turkey’s relations with its allies are becoming increasingly confrontational. In the run-up to the meeting, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan threatened to veto the alliance’s defense plan for Poland and the Baltic states unless key Western powers became more attentive to Turkish …

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How Many Bridges Can Turkey’s Erdogan Burn?

Since his sweeping overhaul of Turkey’s political system in 2017, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has cemented his near-total control over the country. Despite the worst electoral setback of Erdogan’s career in the Istanbul mayoral election in June 2019, as well as a tailspinning economy exacerbated by the fallout from the …

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