Recent Posts

Threats, Instability and Disruption in Europe’s South

Russia’s intervention in Syria in September 2016 turned out to have much broader objectives. The development of air and naval bases provided Moscow with platforms for operations in the Mediterranean and in Sub-Saharan Africa. The delivery of S-400 missile systems to Turkey added another major strategic gain. The European Union …

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Erdogan returns emptyhanded from talks with Putin, Raisi

Erdogan fails to enlist Russian and Iranian support for a fresh Turkish military operation in Syria, but he remains bent on maintaining the pressure. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan returned without any concrete results from talks with his Russian and Iranian counterparts in Tehran, to which he went with a …

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Russia, Ukraine finally reach agreement to sign separate grain deals in Istanbul

The skeptics, this author included, were proven wrong. Turkey, and yes, the UN, got Russia and Ukraine to sign a critical deal in Istanbul that would help stave off a global food crisis as we put this newsletter to bed. Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and UN Secretary-General Antonio Gutteres …

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