The recent Turkish-Greek row over Twitter might be a taste of things to come
Rising tensions between Greece and Turkey over a simple goodwill tweet indicates how alarmingly volatile the relations between two NATO allies are becoming.
A multinational naval exercise focused on crisis response started this week in the eastern Mediterranean Sea, bringing warships from 12 NATO countries into an area with a sizable Russian naval presence.
The Dynamic Mariner exercise led by NATO Allied Maritime Command, or MARCOM, began Sunday near Turkey’s Aksaz Naval Base on the southeast coast of the Aegean Sea, the alliance announced in a statement Monday.
Latest Turkish-Greek war of words linked to electoral campaigns
Turkish Greek bickering continued apace this week with Erdogan repeating his stock threats about descending on Turkey’s foes “unexpectedly in the night,” spurring further overwrought takes on how the two NATO allies might slip into war.
On Sept. 2, after a 10-month interregnum, Senegalese diplomat Abdoulaye Bathily was appointed the new special representative of the United Nations secretary general (SRSG) for Libya and the head of the U.N. Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL). But to have any chance of success, the new SRSG will need to change the paradigm that has prevented his seven predecessors from stabilizing the North African country over the past decade.
One year ago, on Aug. 31, 2021, the last foreign soldier left Afghanistan. Since then, the situation in the country has only grown more fragile, marked by deteriorating living conditions, widespread human rights violations, and increasing political instability. One key contributing factor to the crisis is a dysfunctional centralized governance structure that has become more paralyzed and unresponsive under Taliban control. The group has greatly aggravated the problem with its rigid religious ideology and exclusive political agenda, but it well predates the Taliban takeover. The situation has steadily deteriorated over the past two decades as a result of a system that undermined local mechanisms of resilience, deprived people of access to basic public services, and marginalized them politically. With the Taliban at the helm, the system now only perpetuates further political exclusion, economic deprivation, and human suffering. The worsening economic conditions and political environment in the last year offer ample evidence of this.
Iraq came close to civil war but stepped back from the brink last week. On Aug. 29, street fighting erupted between followers of Iraqi Shi’a cleric and political leader Muqtada al-Sadr and those of the Iran-aligned Coordination Framework (CF), after Sadr announced his “final withdrawal” from politics and the closure of the majority of Sadrist institutions. He also declared that he would no longer dictate actions to his supporters, who interpreted his announcement as a green light to storm Baghdad’s Green Zone, including the presidential palace, the government headquarters, and the parliament. They were met with force by militia members of the CF, resulting in an armed confrontation between the two warring factions, with dozens dead and hundreds injured. Iraqis spent the evening of Aug. 29 thinking the country was descending into an intra-Shi’a civil war.
The Official SANA News Agency reported a new Israeli strike on the Aleppo International Airport Tuesday night.
The Russian Defense Ministry accused “terrorist groups” affiliated with Turkey are excavating antiques in the occupied Afrin, according to SANA.
The Russian Defense Ministry revealed that terrorist groups affiliated with the Turkish regime are excavating antiques in the occupied Afrin, preparing to load them to Turkey and sell them on the black market later.
Unidentified gunmen assassinated Fadi Majed al-Saad, a former member of the Free Syrian Army, according to Baladi News.
On Wednesday, unidentified gunmen assassinated a former member of opposition factions in the western Daraa governorate.
Intelligence Online reported that Hakan Fidan and Ali Mamlouk have met again under Russian auspices, according to al-Modon.
Intelligence Online reported that the head of Turkey’s intelligence service, Hakan Fidan, has held a new meeting with the head of the Syrian regime’s intelligence service, Ali Mamlouk. The meeting occurred under Russia’s auspices.