November 3, 2020 Eurasia, Middle Orient, Turkey
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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November 3, 2020 Eurasia, Kavkaz, Middle Orient
A high-ranking Syrian militant commander was reportedly killed in the ongoing conflict in the Karabakh region, opposition activists reported on Tuesday.
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November 3, 2020 Eurasia, Middle Orient
Clashes on Tuesday in the Syrian desert between Russia-backed regime forces and Islamic State (ISIS) militants have killed almost 30 fighters.
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November 3, 2020 Eurasia, Middle Orient
On Thursday, President Bashar al-Assad received a Russian delegation from the Defense and Foreign Ministries headed by the Russian President’s Special Envoy to Syria, Alexander Lavrentiev.
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November 3, 2020 Eurasia, Middle Orient
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that the Turkish Armed Forces may carry out a new operation in Syria if ‘terrorists’ do not move away from the Turkish border.
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November 3, 2020 Eurasia, Middle Orient
Two White House senior officials visited Damascus to meet with the head of Syrian Security and Intelligence, Ali Mamlouk, in an attempt to release two American hostages who have been kidnapped and forcibly hidden by the Assad regime for years.
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October 31, 2020 Eurasia, Middle Orient
Sunni political parties are using murders in Salahuddin province to demand an end to the presence of armed militias blamed for killings. The Oct. 17 murder of 12 people from the Sunni community in Salahuddin province north of Baghdad has raised the ire of Sunnis against Shiite factions present in …
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October 31, 2020 Eurasia, Kavkaz
Can Ankara’s “coercive diplomacy” in the south Caucasus yield tangible diplomatic benefits in the long run? Turkey once again assumed the role of “game changer” — this time in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. As with previous cases in Syria, Libya and the eastern Mediterranean, the big question is whether Ankara can …
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October 31, 2020 Eurasia, Middle Orient
The kingdom “rejects any attempt to link Islam with terrorism,” a Foreign Ministry source said. Saudi Arabia is the latest Muslim country to denounce French President Emmanuel Macron’s controversial comments on Islam and depictions of the Prophet Muhammad.
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October 31, 2020 Eurasia, Middle Orient
Israeli, Greek and Cypriot foreign ministers met today in Athens, showcasing again the strong strategic alignment between the three countries. Foreign Minister Gabi Ashkenazi met this afternoon in Greece with his Greek and Cypriot counterparts, Nikos Denidas and Nikos Christodoulides. The trilateral meeting was dedicated to issues of energy, security …
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