by Ahmed Souaiaia Since the start of the protest movement popularly known as the Arab Spring in 2011, all countries in Southwest Asia and North Africa (SWANA) have been impacted and the level of change in each of these countries depended on domestic, regional and global factors. However, there is one variable that established itself Read more
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by Mohamad Kawas * Summary: During the past weeks, the United States has pushed its envoys to Saudi Arabia in a way that is almost shameful in the eyes of any American observer. It seemed that the United States was seeking to appease the Kingdom. Republican Senator Lindsey Graham visited the Kingdom in April. The Read more
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According to exclusive media reports, US and Syria are holding secret talks in Oman. A senior diplomatic source in the Arab League revealed to some media outlets that US officials are holding direct talks with a Syrian delegation, which comes in the wake of a regional push to restore relations with the war-torn country. The Read more
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by Hoda Rizk Iran is trying to re-deepen the relationship between the Astana parties in light of the changes taking place in the region and the impact of the Russian-Ukrainian war on regional and international alliances, at a time when Turkey is reviewing its stances and foreign policy after a decade of failed projects, and Read more
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Speculation increased about the summit that took place between the Turkish and Russian presidents in Sochi about what the two leaders had agreed upon, especially since the summit took place behind closed doors and did not include the presence of any additional officials from the two parties, although Turkish intelligence chief Hakan Fidan was among Read more
Continue Readingby Mieczysław P. Boduszyński, Assistant Professor of Politics, Pomona College In all the hand-wringing that critics and commentators have done since President Donald Trump announced the withdrawal of U.S. troops from northern Syria, one of the common refrains emphasizes the breach of trust between Washington and its Kurdish militia partners. Some scholars of international relations Read more
Continue ReadingBy Ahmed E Souaiaia* Abstract: Mere hours before Turkey’s president, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, visits with his Russian counterpart in Sochi, his government clarified the purpose of its invasion of Northern Syrian. The Turkish government frames its intervention as partly humanitarian, partly security missions. Considering that Erdoğan has called for such a “safe zone” as early Read more
Continue ReadingLeaders of Russia and Turkey have agreed to create a demilitarized Idlib buffer zone in Syria’s northwestern province to separate government forces from rebel fighters based there. The Russian president said that under the deal, all heavy weaponry, including tanks, rocket launch systems and mortar launchers operated by rebel groups would need to be pulled Read more
Continue ReadingWith every military operation in areas held by the so-called moderate opposition fighters, Western governments accuse the Syrian government of having planned to use chemical weapons or of having used chemical weapons. In the latter case, they responded by bombing sites and assets that allegedly enabled the government to use such weapons. So has the Read more
Continue ReadingReacting to news reports that an attack with chemical weapons took place in the city of Douma (Syria), president Trump tweeted the following: Russia vows to shoot down any and all missiles fired at Syria. Get ready Russia, because they will be coming, nice and new and “smart!” You shouldn’t be partners with a Gas Read more
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