Syrians in Turkey are wary of losing refuge as the Turkish President eyes dialogue with Assad
Turkey’s bid to reconcile with the Syrian government has left many Syrian refugees in the country on tenterhooks as Ankara faces pressure to cut a deal with Damascus on the return of the Syrians amid rising anti-refugee sentiment in a critical election year.
In an interview with Al-Monitor, Syrian Democratic Forces head Mazlum Kobane said he expects a Turkish attack in February, and warned Ankara should not punish Syria’s Kurds over its own failure to resolve its own domestic issues.
A majority of the World Economic Forum’s Community of Chief Economists expect a global recession in 2023, see geopolitical tensions continuing to shape the global economy, and anticipate further monetary tightening in the United States and Europe. These are the key findings of the Chief Economists Outlook, launched Monday at the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting in Davos-Klosters, Switzerland.
Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg welcomed Denis Bećirović, member of the tripartite Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina, to NATO Headquarters on Monday (16 January 2023).
Mr. Stoltenberg stressed that the stability of the whole region of the Western Balkans is of strategic importance to the Alliance, as mentioned in the Strategic Concept adopted at the Madrid Summit. He encouraged Bosnia and Herzegovina’s leadership to continue focusing on reforms for the benefit of the whole country and to preserve multi-ethnic institutions at all levels.
Prvi srpski dobrovoljci u regionu Zaporožje počeli su da prolaze borbenu obuku u regionu u sklopu Dobrovoljačkog bataljona Sudoplatov, javila je agencija RIA Novosti.
„Srpski dobrovoljci, zajedno sa borcima iz Rusije, učestvuju u svim borbenim vežbama na jednom od terena za obuku regiona Zaporožje za dalje učešće u specijalnoj vojnoj operaciji“, navodi se.
Iran has significantly stepped up its air defense systems deployment to Syria over the past two years, according to a 10 January report released by Newsweek citing an anonymous intelligence official from “a nation allied” with Washington.
As part of this boost in the supply of defense technology to Damascus, the report states that these deliveries include the latest generation of the locally produced Iranian Bavar-373 system and are aimed at helping Syria curb illegal Israeli airstrikes in its territory.
On 8 January, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced that Turkiye is determined to send flour and grain to African states through the Black Sea corridor.
He added that the Russian President Vladimir Putin assured Ankara that Russia would be able to provide grain for free on the condition that it is delivered to underdeveloped countries in Africa.
As the prospect of a rapprochement between Ankara and Damascus becomes more imminent, the most extreme elements of Syria’s armed opposition have been feeling a sting of betrayal, accelerating a trend that, over the past year, has seen many jihadists relocate to Ukraine.
The newly-initiated Syrian-Turkish rapprochement talks are headed in Damascus’ favor and the “Turkish concessions” derided by opponents are just the start, insiders tell The Cradle.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has already abandoned his dream of “praying in the Umayyad Mosque” in Damascus. But sources say this will be swiftly followed by further concessions that will throw a wrench into the ambitions of Syria’s opposition factions.
Predictions are a notoriously painful exercise. In the world of geopolitics, especially during a time of seismic global transformation, they are nigh near impossible to make.
In West Asia, a depressed and neglected region that acts as a punching bag for Great Power competition elsewhere, much relies on the settlement of major power battles in the realms of economy, politics, and (proxy) war.