Western leaders shrugged it off when, in 2016, Erdoğan said in plain language that Turkey did not need to join the European Union “at all costs” and could instead become part of a security bloc dominated by China, Russia and Central Asian nations.
The Greek government is expected to raise with its EU partners Ankara’s decision not to join western sanctions against Russia, questioning Turkey’s narrative of being a neutral broker, EURACTIV has learned.
“It’s inconceivable that Turkey has managed to escape western sanctions against Russia,” a source close to the matter told EURACTIV Greece.
As it continues its unprovoked invasion of Ukraine, Russia finds itself facing growing international isolation, including an expanding list of sanctions.
While not exactly a pariah nation, Russia can now count on few allies. Other nations have remained essentially neutral, including China, the Persian Gulf monarchies, and Turkey.
Adversaries of Yemen’s Huthi rebels say they will never negotiate in good faith. Others think they might, given the right mix of incentives. With a nationwide truce in place, diplomats should give the latter hypothesis a shot.
In the fall of 2012, as Syria plunged into civil war and the Eurozone crisis generated panic across global markets, a parliamentary election in Ukraine signaled trouble ahead to those who were paying attention. The results that trickled out on Oct. 28, 2012, indicated that then-President Viktor Yanukovych’s Party of Regions had secured a strong position through dubious constitutional maneuvers and ballot manipulation.
The response of the Gulf Arab states to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has been somewhat revealing of the depth of fissures between the United States and its Gulf allies. The “stress test” United Arab Emirates (UAE) Ambassador to Washington, Yousef Al Otaiba, hinted at on March 3, was on full display in the pushback by the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries—particularly Saudi Arabia and the UAE—against pressure from Washington to condemn the invasion and side with Ukraine.
The Russians don’t seem too keen at the moment to send Syrian fighters to Ukraine, Danny Makki reports for al-Araby al-Jadeed.
Russia’s assault on Ukraine has been viciously raging for approximately two months, leaving little gains to show in the grand scheme of things.
Jabhat al-Nusra is trying to raise a fully ideological generation through its school programs, according to al-Watan.
Widespread controversy has been sparked by images of a lesson plan, adopted by the so-called Tahrir al-Sham’s (HTS) Dar al-Waheed al-Sharif schools, where the terrorist group Jabhat al-Nusra is influential. Accusations have mounted that Jabhat al-Nusra is imposing “jihadist” curricula among children in areas under its control in Idleb.
The SDF lost several of its members as ISIS tries to avenge its leader.
These last few days have been bloody for the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF). The Kurdish-led group has been under the fire of the Islamic State (ISIS) as a retaliation for the assassination of their leader.
It was billed as a promising breakthrough — Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan meeting last month and agreeing to try to resolve their countries’ age-old differences, keeping, at least, a lid on tensions as the conflict in Ukraine rages.