Erdogan distracts from plummeting lira with call to boycott France

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan accused France’s Emmanuel Macron of pandering to anti-Muslim “fascists” in a desperate bid to bolster his electoral fortunes ahead of presidential elections in 2022, yet many would agree that Erdogan’s anti-Western tirades are designed to divert attention from his country’s mounting economic woes.

The South Syria Deal: Two Years Later

Two years have passed since Syria’s south and southwestern regions were seized by government forces. Dubbed the “South Syria Deal,” a U.S.-Russian understanding with Jordan’s and Israel’s blessings, government forces and “state Symbols” took control of the countrysides of Daraa and Qunaytirah. Daraa-based opposition forces had to surrender and make do with a limited presence in the form of local councils while “non-Syrian elements” (a euphemism for pro-Iran militias) were removed from the Jordan and Golan borders.