Orientul Mijlociu

On Jan. 6, 2019, the eve of Orthodox Christmas, the Ecumenical Patriarchate in Istanbul awarded a decree of independence, known as a tomos, to the then-newly established Orthodox Church of Ukraine — a milestone in the country’s history. The move reversed a 1686 decision that had transferred jurisdiction over Kyivan Orthodox churches to Moscow. After 333 years, however, it’s not only the faithful who have changed their direction from Moscow toward Istanbul. Ukraine and Turkey are strengthening their strategic partnership by deepening their cultural, political, military, and economic cooperation.

Mohammed al-Halbusi is Iraq’s speaker of parliament for a second term despite opposition from Shiite parties aligned with Iran.

The first session of Iraq’s new parliament was held on Jan. 9. In that session, new parliament members voted that Mohammed al-Halbusi will serve a second term as speaker of the Iraqi parliament.

From the start of the day, different party members showed their strengths via different methods.

Turkey has come a long way as a pillar of NATO and the West during the Cold War and has recently gone from being a credible member of the Council of Europe and a country seeking to join the European Union to a destructive and untrustworthy partner for NATO and the West. Turkey’s conflicts and tensions with European countries and the United States have escalated gradually since the justice and development party (AKP) came to power in 2002. In 2020 the Erdogan-led Turkey saw a profound shift in relations with its traditional Western partners. This transformation took place at a time when Turkish foreign policy was close to being militarily influenced by nationalist narratives in order to exert Ankara’s power to near abroad.

Riyadh and Doha are united in their opposition to normalization with the Damascus regime, according to al-Hal Net.

Political researcher Darwish Khalifa, who is close to Saudi Arabia, says that there is a conciliatory diplomatic movement in the region. It seeks to resolve the problems and overcome the differences that have ravaged the Middle East during the ten years of the Arab Spring revolutions. The UAE is a leading part of this movement, through building bridges of communication, paving the way for others, and establishing a new political reality in a conflict-exhausted region, most recently through normalization with the regime in Damascus.

Russian forces are targeting the livelihood of people in Northeastern Syria, as attacks focus mainly on infrastructures and farms, according to Shaam.

The Syrian Civil Defense, known as the White Helmets, said that northwestern Syria has been witnessing a Russian escalation for a week. Warplanes do not leave the skies of the Idleb countryside, in a war on the livelihood of Syrians. They aim to impose instability and destroy infrastructure and production factors.

On Wednesday, a leader of the SDF militia was killed after being ambushed by unknown assailants in the northern countryside of Raqqa, the Zaitun Agency reports.

On Wednesday, a leader of the SDF militia was killed after being ambushed by unknown assailants in the countryside of Ain Issa town, in the northern countryside of Raqqa.

A ground operation in Idleb remains unlikely, even though the region will probably witness breakthroughs in 2022, according to Baladi News.

Russian Air Force warplanes and regime forces have been intensively bombing towns and villages in Idleb and Hama for a week, mainly targeting vital installations in the region, raising speculation of an incoming ground operation.

Iran is considering building a railway that connects the Port of Khomeini to that of Lattakia, on the Mediterranean, according to Arabi 21.

Iran plans to launch a railway connection project between Iran, Iraq, and Syria, allowing it to reach the Mediterranean. This project will give Tehran access to the Mediterranean Sea through the Syrian coastal port of Lattakia.

The U.S. military base in the al-Omar field was targeted by missiles again, a frequent occurrence this week, according to al-Watan.

On Wednesday, the U.S. occupation base in the al-Omar oil field in the northern countryside of Deir-ez-Zor was targeted by missiles. This development led to intense fires in the base and a state of alert for the occupation soldiers around it.