Author: M Barbu

Saudi, Syrian intelligence chiefs meet in Cairo

The meeting between the Saudi and Syrian intelligence chiefs is a further step to reintegrate Syria’s role in the Arab League — which is opposed by the United States.

Saudi Arabia’s intelligence chief Gen. Khalid bin Ali Al Humaidan met Nov. 13 with his Syrian counterpart Hussam Luka in Cairo, on the sidelines of the Arab Intelligence Forum. This comes as part of the Egyptian efforts to unfreeze Damascus’ membership in the Arab League and end any Arab disputes.

Deteriorating Turkish lira hurts residents in Syria’s Idlib

The depreciation of the Turkish lira against the US dollar has resulted in worsening living conditions in Idlib and increased the people’s resentment against Hayat Tahrir al-Sham and the Salvation Government, which they hold primarily responsible for the economic crisis.

The depreciation of the Turkish lira against the US dollar has aggravated the cost-of-living crisis facing the population of Syria’s Idlib province, which is under the control of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) in northwestern Syria. The prices of everyday food items, including bread, increased sharply amid overall rises in the cost of living, especially for the poor, who make up the largest segment of Syrians residing in the region. Last year local authorities adopted the Turkish currency for official transactions amid a decline in the value of the Syrian pound.

Chinese officials reportedly in Afghanistan to explore lithium projects

Officials representing several Chinese companies are in Afghanistan to conduct on-site inspections of potential lithium projects, Reuters reported.

Citing China’s Global Times, Reuters reported that representatives of five companies obtained special visas, arriving in Afghanistan in early November, via the China Arab Economic and Trade Promotion Committee in Kabul and Afghanistan’s mining ministry.

A Neglected Crisis in Bosnia Threatens to Boil Over

Bosnia-Herzegovina could be on the brink of a political collapse that triggers a new conflagration in the Balkans. There is a growing consensus among experts that this is the country’s most dangerous moment since the 1995 Dayton Accords, which ended a war that cost 100,000 lives and displaced more than 2 million people. Analysts also say stability in the Balkans has been eroded recently by the disengagement of the European Union and United States.

“The prospects for further division and conflict are very real,” the international community’s chief representative in Bosnia, Christian Schmidt, wrote in a report to the United Nations that was leaked earlier this month.

The High Stakes of the U.S.-Russia Confrontation Over Ukraine

A report in Covert Action Magazine from the self-declared Donetsk People’s Republic in Eastern Ukraine describes grave fears of a new offensive by Ukrainian government forces, after increased shelling, a drone strike by a Turkish-built drone and an attack on Staromaryevka, a village inside the buffer zone established by the 2014-15 Minsk Accords.

The People’s Republics of Donetsk (DPR) and Luhansk (LPR), which declared independence in response to the U.S.-backed coup in Ukraine in 2014, have once again become flashpoints in the intensifying Cold War between the United States and Russia. The U.S. and NATO appear to be fully supporting a new government offensive against these Russian-backed enclaves, which could quickly escalate into a full-blown international military conflict.

Has the Countdown Begun for Regime Return to East of Euphrates?

The regime will return to the areas under the control of the PYD, in a way similar to what happened in Daraa and under a decentralization formula, Fouad Alteiko writes in Nedaa Post.

The regime has never been far from the area under the control of the Democratic Union Party (PYD) since the beginning of the Syrian revolution, as a result of the understandings that took place between them at that time to hand over the area militarily to the PYD. The links and coordination between the two parties have not been interrupted so far in many areas, especially in the cities of Hassakeh and Qamishli, as well as in the regions of al-Shahba, Manbij, and some neighborhoods of Aleppo.

Despite Qatar Objection, Syria to Attend Upcoming Arab League Summit

A senior source inside the General Secretariat of the Arab League said that Algeria’s discussions with Arab countries have resulted in a preliminary agreement to invite Syria to the group’s next summit. It was also agreed to restore Syria’s place in the Arab League at the upcoming meeting, which will be held in Algeria in March 2022.

The source explained that this step is the result of meetings held by Algeria with Arab countries, while noting that Qatar had objected.

Erdogan Continues Turkification, Opens Turkish-language School in Afrin

The Turkish regime of Erdogan continues to implement its policies of Turkification in the areas it occupies in northern Aleppo to change its demographic character, especially in the Afrin region.

According to local sources, the Government of the Turkish regime opened a new school in the Rajo district of the northwestern Afrin countryside. They held a large opening ceremony during which Turkish flags were raised mainly above the school. The opening was attended by a number of figures of the government of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s regime coming from the State of Kilis, along with a large number of leaders of terrorist organizations and armed militias loyal to Erdogan, in Afrin, according to Athr Press (pro-Syrian government, editor’s note).

SDF: Syrian Government Exploits Turkish Threats to Dominate Northeast

The Syrian government exploits Turkish threats to take control over northeast Syria’s regions, the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) said in a statement on Monday.

“The Syrian government is not ready for any political settlement in Syria, and it exploits the deteriorating economic conditions of the people,” the SDF statement added.