September 19, 2022 Eurasia
Russian president Vladimir Putin warned Wednesday that Russia would stop all energy exports to the West if Europe goes against its standing contracts and caps prices of Russian exports due to the country’s invasion of Ukraine. If Europe decides to go against the contracts, Russia “won’t supply gas, oil, coal, …
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September 18, 2022 Eurasia
The retreat of Russia’s forces from the Kharkiv district marks the most significant defeat for Russia since the start of war in Ukraine. The conflict however, is far from over argues Tchantouridze, Putin will now seek to decimate Ukraine’s economic and military infrastructure in a war of attrition, knowing that …
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September 18, 2022 Eurasia, Middle Orient
It appears that calm has returned to Iraq after the reported intervention of Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, the country’s chief and widely respected Shia cleric. In recent weeks, violence had occurred in and near parliament, which has been unable to implement last October’s election results. The clashes involved demonstrators and armed …
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September 18, 2022 Eurasia, Middle Orient
Overview of the crisis Iraq is facing one of its worst political crises in years. Normally formed via elite political consensus, more than 11 months after Iraq’s October 2021 parliamentary elections, the government has yet to be formed, the longest such impasse since the 2003 U.S.-led invasion reset the political …
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September 18, 2022 Eurasia, Middle Orient
On Aug. 22, the northeastern Syrian city of al-Hasakah was inundated with leaflets condemning creeping Iranian influence in the area. The printed messages were plastered around several highly sensitive locations in the city center, including the local branch of the Ba’ath Party, the neighborhoods of al-Matar and al-Mahatah, as well …
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September 18, 2022 Eurasia, Middle Orient
Russia’s February 2022 invasion of Ukraine renewed international experts’ focus on Moscow’s earlier military intervention in Syria, launched in 2015, which often became framed as a “testing ground” for the weapons and tactics it now employs against Ukrainian cities. Certainly, direct military action of the type seen on the Ukrainian …
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September 18, 2022 Eurasia, Middle Orient
Syrian and Russian forces attacked the training camps of Syrian armed rebel groups in the northwestern province of Idlib on Wednesday, the state-run Syrian Arab News Agency reported. The camps were targeted by Russian warplanes and Syrian missiles. An unspecified number of rebel fighters, including advisers and trainers from abroad, …
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September 16, 2022 Eurasia, Middle Orient, Turkey
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is seeking a meeting with US President Joe Biden on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly next week. The top Turkish diplomat has reiterated Ankara’s threat to block Sweden and Finland’s accession into NATO. Mevlut Cavusoglu’s remarks came as political observers set their sights …
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September 16, 2022 Eurasia, Middle Orient, Turkey
Hayat Tahrir al-Sham in Idlib has recently arrested several members of Hizb ut-Tahrir, in what the group says is a crackdown against those criticizing HTS’ position on the Turkish plan to normalize relations with the Assad government. In the first week of September, the town of Atarib in the western …
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September 16, 2022 Eurasia
The sale follows the Iraqi federal government pressuring international firms to pull out of the autonomous region, which has led to concern from the US State Department. A French energy giant has completed the sale of its stake in an Iraqi oil field. TotalEnergies sold its 18% interest in the …
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