Author: M Barbu

Secret Document for Normalization of Ties with Damascus Includes Exit of Foreign Forces

Jordan’s document and its confidential addendum for normalizing ties with Damascus display that the final goal for Arab countries restoring their relationship with the Syrian capital is that foreign forces and fighters exit Syria.

According to the document, which Asharq Al-Awsat reviewed, US and International Coalition forces in northeastern Syria and Al-Tanf military base near borders with Jordan and Iraq would also need to withdraw from the war-torn country.

Iraq’s Election Raises More Questions Than Answers

One-time U.S. foe emerges as top vote-getter but could still struggle to form the next government.

Muqtada al-Sadr, a Shia cleric whose Mahdi Army followers battled U.S. forces during the years of the occupation, made big gains in Iraq’s parliamentary election on October 10. His victory could pose problems for the United States and Iran. But despite the Sadrist List’s electoral success, it is not a given that al-Sadr’s list will form the government, or even be the only kingmaker. USIP’s Elie Abouaoun examines the outcome of the election, the electoral process and the implications for Iraq’s future.

Rusia intenționează să preia puterea. „Susține infrastructura României o operațiune militară în Marea Neagră?”

Odată cu anexarea Peninsulei Crimeea de către Rusia în luna martie a anului 2014, Marea Neagră a devenit ținta unor tensiuni militare care au ajuns în unele cazuri inclusiv la confruntare. Demersul Rusiei nu a făcut altceva decât să îi ofere acesteia „un avantaj geostrategic clar – transformarea rapidă a peninsulei într-un bastion al forţelor navale şi aeriene”, a transmis șeful Statului Major al Apărării, Daniel Petrescu. Prezintă România, însă, infrastructura de care are nevoie în cazul în care se va impune o intervenție de urgență a forțelor aliate?

Mutiny in Serbia: How a State Security Unit’s Rebellion Went Unpunished

In November 2001, the Serbian State Security Service’s Special Operations Unit staged a mutiny and set up roadblocks. The failure to punish the instigators of the armed revolt would have deadly consequences for the country’s prime minister.

“The commander ordered that the Communication Centre will no longer receive calls,” said a note entered at 5.10pm on November 9, 2001 in the daily log of the Communication Centre in Kula, the headquarters of Serbia’s State Security Special Operations Unit, the JSO.

Bosniak Leader’s Sudden Death Creates Vacuum in Sandzak

The sudden death of Bosniak strongman Muamer Zukorlic has shocked the mainly Muslim region, which straddles Serbia and Montenegro, and where he left a unique mark.

One of the largest crowds that the town of Novi Pazar in southwest Serbia has ever seen gathered on Sunday to say farewell to Bosniak leader Muamer Zukorlic.

Viktor Orban’s Visit to Bosnian Serb Strongman Puzzles Observers

The Hungarian premier’s weekend meeting with Bosnian Serb political leader Milorad Dodik has triggered speculation about possible private business deals or secret negotiations about the fate of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Viktor Orban’s meeting with the Serb member of Bosnia’s tripartite presidency, Milorad Dodik, on Saturday has continued to puzzle experts and trigger speculation among Hungarian and Bosnian officials about the motives for the Hungarian Prime Minister’s visit to the Balkan country.

Gruevski’s Carefree Days in Hungary Perhaps Nearing an End

A change in government in Hungary could spell the end of a comfortable exile for North Macedonia’s fugitive ex-prime minister, but extraditing Nikola Gruevski would take more than political will alone.

Afugitive from justice in his home country of North Macedonia, and a political asylum seeker in Hungary under the protection of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban: for the past three years, that’s been the life of former authoritarian prime minister Nikola Gruevski, who fled a jail sentence in North Macedonia in 2018.

Turkey’s Pragmatic Policy in the Balkans has its Limits

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.

Russia Establishes Its Modus Operandi In Bosnia and Herzegovina – Analysis

The latest session of the UN Security Council only reaffirmed once again the crisis caused in Bosnia and Herzegovina by the actions of the Serb Member of the BiH Presidency Milorad Dodik (SNSD) with the assistance of the Russian Federation. At the same time, no concrete solutions and conclusions were offered nor attempts made to prevent separatist actions aimed to annul the Dayton[2] peace agreement and destroy the state of Bosnia and Herzegovina. There is a silent generally accepted opinion that “an armed conflict of low intensity is possible in BiH”, which is an indication that the strongest global powers have already developed their military plans as well. Once again, aconflict in BiH would be an international conflict- this time with the assistance of NATO and the Russian Federation. In fact, the prolongation of introduction of concrete measures that would provide for political elimination and criminal processing of Milorad Dodik and several of his “executors” is a proof of the seriousness of the situation. Bosnia and Herzegovina could become a new hotspot, which could endanger the security of entire Europe.

3 Killed in Suspected Turkish Drone Attack in NE Syria

Turkey is being accused by Kurdish security forces of carrying out a drone attack Tuesday in northeastern Syria that killed three civilians in a car.

The strike took place in Qamishli, a city on the Syria-Turkey border that is controlled by the U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF).