Toplines US, Ukrainian, and Russian delegations continued trilateral talks in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates (UAE) on February 4. Ukrainian National Security and Defense Council Secretary Rustem Umerov stated on February 4 that the trilateral talks were “meaningful and productive” and that the parties continued to work in separate groups …

Toplines Iran and the United States are expected to hold talks in Oman on February 6, despite the brief cancellation of the meeting on February 4.[1] Iran continues to show inflexibility toward addressing US demands, which reduces the likelihood that Iran and the United States will be able to reach …

Full Kurdish integration in Syria is one of the most important projects in the Middle East, but Washington must ensure it is accomplished without further violence, and without blowing the activities of various foreign players out of proportion. Following Hamas’ attack on Israel on 7 October 2023, Syria has become …

The death of the ICC-wanted heir removes a major obstacle to the country’s stalled elections, even as his supporters decry a ‘treacherous’ end for the man who once promised reform – and later, ‘rivers of blood’. Saif al-Islam Gaddafi, the son of Libya’s late longtime ruler, Muammar Gaddafi, was killed …

The Middle East has finally arrived at the grim reckoning long barreling toward it: a ruinous collapse of oil revenues that renders government deficits utterly unsustainable. Among the wealthy Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states, four are running persistent annual budget deficits that are eroding their sovereign wealth reserves and plunging …

Over the past three years, two U.K. companies with no prior record in the mining industry have won tens of millions of dollars in Uzbek state procurement contracts with a mining behemoth known as a “crown jewel” of Uzbekistan’s economy. One was owned, on paper, by a septuagenarian British bookkeeper …

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The Women’s Protection Units (YPJ), affiliated with the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), pledged to continue fighting despite the agreement between the Syrian government and the SDF. YPJ spokesperson Rukhsan Mohammed told the British newspaper The Telegraph in remarks published today, Tuesday, 3 February, that “the struggle of the Women’s Protection …

The return would deepen Iran’s sway in Iraq and erode the post-2003 state institutions built by the US and its allies Nuri al-Maliki, the former Iraqi prime minister long seen as aligned with Tehran, is edging toward a political comeback, raising alarm in Washington just as the US heads into …

Key Takeaways Syria: The Syrian government and the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) agreed to extend their ceasefire in northeastern Syria for 15 days on January 24. The continued ceasefire will help ensure that the government offensive does not inflict lasting harm on US counter-Islamic State in Iraq and al Sham …