Nearly 1,000 last-ditch Ukrainian fighters who had held out inside Mariupol’s pulverized steel plant have surrendered, Russia said Wednesday, as the battle that turned the city into a worldwide symbol of defiance and suffering drew toward a close.
Extensive meetings were held in the past days between Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, which controls Idlib, and the Levant Front, one of the most prominent and strongest groups of the Syrian National Army, in a bid to reach a compromise between the two sides.
If Ankara can be tactful about Stockholm and Helsinki’s possible membership in NATO, it has a chance to see its concerns addressed.
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine turned the spotlight on Turkey’s status as a regional power. Sweden and Finland’s expected bid to join NATO could further boost Turkish influence if the concerns raised by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who noted his objection to possible Swedish and Finnish membership in the US-led alliance, could be addressed.
Mr Biden’s hopes of pressing ahead with the nuclear talks suffered a significant setback the other week when a bipartisan super-majority of US Senators voted to endorse a Republican-led measure insisting that any future agreement with Tehran must address Iran’s support for terrorism in the region, and that Washington should not lift sanctions against the IRGC. Tehran is unlikely to concede to either measure.
Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s statement on May 13 that Turkey would not consider Sweden and Finland’s NATO membership favorably, has exposed the conflict that has been going on behind closed doors since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
The plan to make Sweden and Finland, which are members of the European Union but not NATO members, join NATO due to the fear of Russia and the demand of the USA was uttered in the first days of the crisis.
Μέχρι σήμερα η Τουρκία προσπαθεί να εκμεταλλευθεί όπως μπορεί τη συμμετοχή της στο ΝΑΤΟ, δίχως η ίδια να προσφέρει ό,τι απαιτείται για τους συμμάχους, υποσκάπτοντας μάλιστα τη συνοχή του συνασπισμού, με τη συμπεριφορά της απέναντι στην Ελλάδα. Τώρα, η Άγκυρα αισθάνεται πως η παρασιτική της σχέση με το ΝΑΤΟ μπορεί να διαταραχθεί με την είσοδο των δύο σκανδιναβικών χωρών στη Βορειοατλαντική Συμμαχία.
The Taliban have dissolved Afghanistan’s Human Rights Commission, and four other government departments, citing a budget crisis. The cuts were announced on Monday, days after the Taliban announced their first annual national budget.
Independent reformist candidates won at least 13 seats in elections for Lebanon’s parliament, and Hizbullah and its allies appear likely to lose their majority in the 128-member assembly, according to reports. The results of the weekend election were announced on Tuesday by Lebanon’s Interior Ministry; Voter turnout was historically low with a reported 41% participation rate. It is the country’s first parliamentary election since being seized by a major financial crisis.
Iran is just “a few weeks away” from having enough enriched uranium to build its first nuclear bomb, Israel’s Defense Minister Benny Gantz told an Institute for National Security Studies conference at Herzliya’s Reichman University.
Visą pastarąjį šimtmetį Vakaruose vyraujanti politika Rusijos atžvilgiu buvo viena didelė klaida su palyginti nedidelėmis išimtimis – klaida, iš kurios iki pat šių metų beveik niekas nepasimokė.
1917–1922 m., kai buvo galima ir reikėjo neleisti bolševikams laimėti Rusijos pilietinio karo ir tam būtų visai pakakę vidutinio intensyvumo Vakarų sąjungininkų pastangų, Lenino šutvei vis dėlto buvo leista įsigalėti. Padugnių remiamai nusikaltėlių partijai buvo leista įsteigti nusikalstamą režimą ir padugnių valstybę (jos steigėjo tipažas gerai aprašytas Ivano Bunino knygoje „Okajannyje dni“).