Author: M Barbu

Damascus or Washington — which side will the YPG choose?

The PKK affiliate YPG has developed relations with the US, Russia and the Syrian regime, claiming significant territories in northern Syria. But a top US general says the time has come for the group to either be with Washington or join its rivals.

US ally the YPG is close to facing a dilemma after a top-ranked US military official ruled out the possibility of working with the militant group if it chose to normalise its relations with the Syrian regime, a Russian ally.

Attempt On PM Mustafa Al-Kadhimi’s Life Shows Destructive Effect Of Pro-Iran Factions On Iraqi State – Analysis

In the early hours of Nov. 7, three quadcopter drones armed with explosives detonated inside the grounds of the official residence of Iraq’s prime minister, Mustafa Al-Kadhimi, injuring seven members of his security detail.

Al-Kadhimi, who escaped with only light injuries, promptly released a statement appealing for calm. The question as to who was behind the attack, however, remained unanswered and open to speculation.

Turkey’s Pragmatic Policy In The Balkans Has Its Limits – OpEd

The recent crisis in Bosnia has highlighted the adaptability – and limitations – of Turkish policy in the Balkans.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan recently hosted in Ankara Milorad Dodik, the Serbian member of Bosnia’s tripartite presidency, to discuss the political crisis in Bosnia triggered by Dodik’s threat to abandon state institutions. At the beginning of November, Bosnia’s Bosniak leader, Bakir Izetbegovic, visited Erdogan in Istanbul to address the same issue.

Second murder in 24 hours | Female Iraqi refugee killed in “al-Hawl mini-state”

Al-Hasakah province: SOHR sources have reported a new assassination in al-Hawl camp in the far south-eastern region of al-Hasakah countryside, as gunmen of ISIS cells shot a female Iraqi refugee from Mosul dead in the camp’s fifth section.

It is worth noting that the number of murders committed in al-Hawl camp since the end of the first phase of the large-scale security campaign has reached 33, which indicates to alarming escalation of killings in the camp.

Erdogan Again Hints at Offensive Against Kurdish Forces in Syria

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan vowed to consolidate security lines on Turkey’s southern border with Syria, his latest hint of a potential offensive against American-backed Kurdish forces there.

“Turkey will defend its rights in the Aegean and Mediterranean seas, will build the Istanbul Canal, and will merge its security lines across border,” Erdogan said Saturday in the western province of Canakkale.

In a changing Middle East, Hezbollah is losing relevance

Regional realignment is storming ahead in the run-up to November 29, the date set for the resumption of nuclear negotiations between Iran and the global powers in Vienna. This is being driven by sudden, major regional developments. This includes the alleged actions by Iran’s proxies in Iraq, such as an assassination attempt against Prime Minister Mustafa Al Kadhimi as well as Hezbollah’s activities in Lebanon.

Russia Is Massing Troops on the Ukrainian and Polish Borders and the US Is Unsure What This Means

Admit nothing, deny everything, blame NATO and the West. That seems to be the Russian playbook under Vladimir Putin. The Russians have been massing troops on the Ukrainian border since spring. Many troops still remain in the region. Now, Russia is reinforcing them covertly as many experts believe that Moscow may be planning on making another move into Ukraine.

Russia and Belarus are also conducting large-scale exercises on the border with Poland as Moscow continues to act increasingly more aggressively in the region.

Mali:Le Mali et la Russie réaffirment leur coopération militaire, “sans Wagner”

Réunis à Moscou, le ministre malien des Affaires étrangères, Abdoulaye Diop et son homologue russe, Sergueï Lavrov, ont démenti, jeudi, tout contrat avec le groupe de miliciens russes Wagner. Ils ont, en revanche, lié le rapprochement militaire entre leurs pays au retrait des troupes françaises dans le nord du Mali, ayant favorisé le risque terroriste.

Les chefs des diplomaties russe et malienne ont réaffirmé, jeudi 11 novembre, leur volonté de poursuivre le partenariat militaire entre les deux pays. Un rapprochement qu’ils légitiment par un risque terroriste renforcé en raison du retrait partiel des troupes françaises.

UK–Ukraine Security Cooperation

The UK has a crucial role to play in building up Ukraine’s military capacity, developing NATO coordination in the area and helping to deter Russian aggression.

In June 2021, British destroyer HMS Defender conducted a freedom of navigation operation in the Black Sea, close to Russian-occupied Crimea. A Russian patrol vessel fired warning shots at HMS Defender, which was shadowed by Russian naval and air assets. The British operation was a signal of solidarity to Ukraine which has put a spotlight on the UK’s involvement in the Black Sea and the emerging UK–Ukraine strategic defence partnership. The UK and Ukraine have recently signed the Political, Free Trade and Strategic Partnership Agreement, engaged in a rigorous defence dialogue and forged a cooperation agenda in the defence industry. The UK has stepped up its support to Ukraine to help it resist Russia’s hybrid pressures.

Belarus: The Next Crimea?

Despite persistent rumours, Russia remains highly unlikely to attempt to annex Belarus.

Rumours of a Russian takeover of Belarus have been around ever since Russia and Belarus signed the Union State Treaty in 1999. After Russia’s 2014 annexation of Crimea demonstrated that it was willing to act on its – up to that point purely rhetorical – commitment to the protection of its ‘compatriots’, pundits have argued that Belarus, home to large scores of Russian speakers, may well constitute the ‘next Crimea’. The nationwide protests against Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko that broke out around the fraudulent August 2020 presidential elections gave new impetus to these rumours: commentators argued that Russia might use the instability caused by the protests as an excuse to intervene in Belarus to pacify the country or some of its regions.