Latest Articles about Middle East
Under Pressure – The PKK Launches 2008 Campaign
On April 2, the Turkish General Staff (TGS) issued a statement claiming to have killed 16 militants of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) for the loss of three Turkish soldiers during two days of fierce fighting in the province of Sirnak on Turkey’s border with... MORE
A DECISIVE WEEK IN EAST-WEST RELATIONS
This week’s NATO summit in Bucharest, Romania, which might invite Ukraine and Georgia to join the alliance, is seen in Moscow as a moment of truth that could decide the future of European security. Russia's Deputy Foreign Minister Georgy Karasin announced in the Duma that... MORE
NATO OPENS A CRISIS SUMMIT IN BUCHAREST
Heads of state and government of NATO member countries are convening today (April 2) in Bucharest for a three-day summit. The Alliance faces an unacknowledged, multidimensional crisis. The U.S. predicament in Iraq, troubled financial systems on both sides of the Atlantic, all-time-high energy prices, and... MORE
PUTIN IN BUCHAREST: MORE COOPERATION WITH NATO IN AFGHANISTAN?
The arrival of Russia’s President Vladimir Putin at the NATO Summit in Bucharest April 2-4 may prove to be a turning point in the relationship between the Alliance and Russia, not only signaling potential future cooperation over Afghanistan, but also opening a more constructive dialogue... MORE
“PARTY OF THE THIRD TERM” MAY GET ITS WISH
State Duma Speaker Boris Gryzlov said on April 1 that the lower house of parliament will be ready to confirm President-elect Dmitriy Medvedev’s announced candidate for the post of prime minister, outgoing President Vladimir Putin, on May 8 – that is, just one day after... MORE
What Direction for the al-Mahdi Army after the Basra Offensive?
As Moqtada al-Sadr orders his Mahdi Army militia to lay down their arms in return for an exchange of prisoners and cessation of government raids against his followers, the six-day Iraqi-U.S. military offensive in Basra has reached its final stage (Al-Arabiyah, March 30). For the... MORE
Presence of Turkish Terrorists in Belgium Leads to Dispute with Ankara
Belgium and Turkey have a somewhat tense and delicate relationship that has lately been complicated by a dispute over counter-terrorism efforts. Ankara believes that activities by Turkish terrorist groups abroad constitute a Turkish matter. Brussels, on the other hand, attempts to resist Turkish pressure on... MORE
PUTIN STILL POPULAR, BUT PEOPLE WANT POWER TO REMAIN IN THE KREMLIN
A new poll conducted by the independent Levada Center found that while most Russians continue to view President Vladimir Putin positively and are happy that he will continue on in government service as Dmitry Medvedev’s prime minister, they do not want Russia changed from a... MORE
PUTIN SEEKS TO REAFFIRM CONTROL OVER DISGRUNTLED SILOVIKI
The colorful notion of the siloviki – power-wielders or men-of-power – that just a year ago seemed to convey an essential characteristic of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s regime, has all but disappeared from Russian political discourse. With the surprise mid-December nomination of Dmitry Medvedev as... MORE
KREMLIN MOUTHPIECE TO LEAVE GENERAL STAFF
When Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and Defense Minister Anatoly Serdyukov met their U.S. counterparts, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Defense Secretary Robert Gates, in Moscow March 17-18, one important person was absent – Russia’s top military commander, First Deputy Defense Minister and Chief... MORE