Orientul Mijlociu

When Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan visited Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy 18 months ago at Mariinsky Palace on a hilly bank of the Dnipro River, he saluted the honor guard with the traditional slogan Slava Ukraini! (“Glory to Ukraine!”). The honor guard returned the customary reply in seconds: “Glory to the Heroes!” Russia’s reaction may have been even faster. During the opening speeches to the 76th General Assembly of the United Nations, the Turkish president was as clear as ever when he said, “We attach importance to the protection of the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Ukraine, including the Crimea, whose annexation we do not recognize.” Again, Russia’s reaction was swift and unpleasant. It would seem that Turkey’s commitment to Ukraine outweighs its concern about Russia’s reaction.

The Arab word’s a veritable mess. The cosmic leadership deficit, the absence of legitimate institutions, the lack of transparency, disrespect for human rights, abysmal regard for gender equality, and too much conspiratorial thinking make it impossible to come to terms with the magnitude of the problems. In short, this region will remain broken, angry, and dysfunctional until the leaders who purport to take responsibility for governing these unhappy lands get their proverbial acts together. And that’s … well, a generational enterprise at best, and I suspect something that will take a good deal longer. Aaron David Miller (“Where Have all the Arab States Gone” Foreign Policy: 4/14/2015)

Representatives of the demonstrations and independent candidates did well in the Iraqi elections, unsettling many existing political elites.

A group of independents and representatives from the October Movement plan to form an independent parliamentary bloc to oppose powerful forces and parties in the political arena.

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s forces are sending military reinforcements to Tel Rifaat to confront any possible military operation that the Turkish army and the Turkish-backed Free Syria Army may launch.

The Syrian government forces and their affiliated militias are still deploying military reinforcements in Tel Rifaat, which is under the control of the Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG), in the northern countryside of Aleppo. The buildup comes in anticipation of a potential military offensive waged by the Turkish army and its allied Free Syrian Army (FSA) factions in the area.

Turkey’s ties with Ukraine have complicated relations with Russia.

Ukraine has used a Turkish drone for the first time in its conflict with pro-Russian separatists, according to Turkish media.

The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine posted a video yesterday showing an aerial view of an unspecified target in an open area. The target then explodes, seemingly as a result of a strike from above.

Al-Sadr’s party controls 70 of a total 329 parliamentary seats in Iraq and the movement has a large base across country.

Muqtada al-Sadr remains one of Iraq’s most influential political figures and plays a pivotal role when it comes to the country’s future. He is currently considered the kingmaker, but it remains unclear if he can form a government with stability.

In the latest elections, al-Sadr’s party obtained 70 of a total of 329 parliamentary seats – a significant increase compared with the result of 2018, when his movement won 54 seats.

Police said the ISIL attackers used several vehicles and semi-automatic guns in their attack.

At least 11 people have been killed and others wounded in an ISIL (ISIS) attack on a village in Diyala province in eastern Iraq, according to the country’s security forces.

The attack on Tuesday targeted “defenceless civilians” in the village of al-Hawasha, near the town of Muqdadiya, the Joint Operations Command said in a statement.