Latest Articles about Middle East
MEDVEDEV PROPOSES ALL-EUROPEAN SECURITY PACT DURING BERLIN VISIT
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev used his visit to Berlin on June 5 for proposing an all-European security pact with Russia’s participation, inherently in opposition to NATO (Interfax, Itar-Tass, June 5, 6). The Kremlin apparently hopes that the evolving Russo-German “special relationship” could turn Germany into... MORE
GERMANY, RUSSIA BYPASSING OTHERS WITH NORD STREAM PROJECT
The Council of Baltic Sea Countries, which met at the prime-ministerial level on June 3 and 4 in Riga, failed to hold a multilateral discussion about Nord Stream, the Russo-German gas pipeline project on the Baltic seabed. The Council is mandated to deal with environmental... MORE
SERDYUKOV ASSUMES FULL CONTROL OF THE DEFENSE MINISTRY
Russia's top general, First Deputy Defense Minister and Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces Yuri Baluyevsky, has been moved to the Security Council, a body that in recent years has been a backwater stopover for ousted high-ranking Russian bureaucrats before final retirement.... MORE
Rumors of al-Qaeda’s Death May Be Highly Exaggerated
Whether said about the aging process or the implacable approach of writing deadlines, the old saw about “time flying” is certainly true. But seldom has it been truer than in the three weeks since this author last wrote for Terrorism Focus. At dawn on May... MORE
Freeing Jerusalem: Turkey and the Lebanese Hizbullah
Newly launched peace talks between Syria and Israel mediated by Turkey have focused the international community’s attention on Turkey’s role in the Middle East. Political observers have been cautiously awaiting whether the attempt would bring any hope for Middle East peace. The head of the... MORE
POLL SHOWS RUSSIANS CONFIDENT ABOUT PRESENT, LESS SO ABOUT FUTURE
A survey conducted by Allianz SE, the giant financial service provider with headquarters in Munich, found Russians fairly confident about their country’s present and future as well as their current personal situations, but they are less confident about their personal future. The “confidence study” was... MORE
THE PUTIN-MEDVEDEV DUO GETS BACK TO ENERGY BUSINESS
It might have appeared in the trying period of power-reformatting in Moscow, that political priorities were all over the place, from strategic bombers to nanotechnologies, and from small business to NATO enlargement. By the end of the first month of President Medvedev’s “era,” the newly-reappointed... MORE
GAZPROM MONOPOLY WILL CONTINUE TO FAVOR DOMESTIC MARKET
The state-run monopoly gas Gazprom, which aspires to become the world's largest company, has pledged to give priority to the domestic market. Relying on the government's support, it has been struggling to take over one major Eastern Siberian deposit. The Kremlin has consistently backed the... MORE
PUTIN MAKES FOREIGN POLICY ABROAD, MEDVEDEV CHAIRS SECURITY COUNCIL AT HOME
It has been almost a month since Russia embarked on its experiment in governance which features a previously all-powerful president serving “under” his successor as prime minister. However, the question of who really is in charge, President Medvedev or Prime Minister Putin, remains unanswered; and... MORE
PUTIN ENJOYS HIS MOVEABLE FEAST WITH NO WORRY ABOUT GEORGIA
Putin’s working visit to Paris last week was organized as if the French hosts wanted to emphasize that in their opinion the change of his political status was only a formality and that he remained the man in Moscow they were ready to do business... MORE