Serbia and North Macedonia are exploring alternatives to EU membership that would bring economic benefits and relieve them of accession-related demands. But their turn away from EU integration would disadvantage both the union and the Western Balkans. EU enlargement to the Western Balkans appears to be in full swing. But …

Turkish foreign policy has undergone fundamental change under President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. Less understood is the rise of the National Intelligence Organization (MİT) as a tool of Turkish foreign policy. The expanded scope and sophistication of Turkey’s intelligence and clandestine1 operations have become integral to its foreign and security policy. …

In Doha, Blinken says mediators hope to ‘capitalize’ on Sinwar’s death to advance agreement, though Hamas’s position is yet unknown Mossad chief David Barnea will travel to Doha on Sunday to try to restart discussions on a deal to release Israeli hostages held in Gaza and halt the war between …

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) killed or wounded 150 civilians, including women and children, in an airstrike on the Jabalia refugee camp in northern Gaza on Thursday. This massacre is part of a systematic campaign, now 20 days old, to displace hundreds of thousands of Palestinians who remain in northern …

Analysis: Hamas has weathered Israeli assassinations in the past but faces unprecedented challenges in deciding on both a new leadership and the group’s future. With Gaza facing unprecedented devastation, experts and analysts have cast doubt on Hamas’s ability to maintain its traditional internal regulations for selecting a new leader following …

Analysis: The presence of UNIFIL peacekeepers is an obstacle to Israel’s plans for depopulating south Lebanon and creating a buffer zone. Since launching its ground invasion, Israel has carried out a series of unlawful attacks on the UN’s peacekeeping forces, who may see them as an impediment to its plans …

Devlet Bahceli also suggested that the conditions of the militant leader’s life sentence without parole be reconsidered if he agrees to make such a call. In a U-turn that came as a bombshell for Turkish politics, Devlet Bahceli, a top ally of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and leader of …

A series of explosions and gunshots were heard at TUSAS, Turkey’s state-run aerospace and defense company, in an attack Turkey’s defense chief blamed on the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party. An attack struck the Turkish Aerospace Industries (TUSAS) headquarters near Ankara on Wednesday causing multiple casualties. Turkish officials blamed a Kurdish …

The Trinity House Agreement, which has been signed today, has its foundations in RUSI and FES research conducted following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Some of the key ideas underpinning the UK-German defence agreement signed today can be traced to work RUSI undertook with the Friedrich Ebert Stiftung (FES) in the …

Israeli president Isaac Herzog’s first ever visits to Serbia and Albania weeks ago cannot be seen as isolated from the developments in the region, analysts say. As Tel Aviv charges ahead with multiple wars, undeterred by the unprecedented damage it is bringing itself globally as indicated by some of its …