Latest Articles about Middle East
KREMLIN REJECTS “FOREIGN” APPROACH TO RUSSIAN HISTORY
Last week President Vladimir Putin met with a selected group of delegates attending a Kremlin-organized conference, “Timely Issues in Teaching Modern History and Social Science.” Putin told the teachers: “Many school books are written by people who work to get foreign grants. They dance to... MORE
GABALA PLAN SHOT DOWN BY TEHRAN, MOSCOW’S STRATEGIC PARTNER
Although several Russian press commentaries have claimed that President Vladimir Putin’s proposal that the United States and Russia jointly establish a radar base at Gabala, Azerbaijan, has somehow shaken up Washington and NATO, this appears to be wishful thinking (RIA-Novosti, June 14; Kommersant, June 9).... MORE
TURKMENISTAN AND IRAN STRENGTHEN RELATIONS
Bilateral relations between Iran and Turkmenistan appear on the verge of a breakthrough. At the end of Turkmen President Gurbanguly Berdimukhamedov’s official visit to Tehran on June 15-16, the presidents of the two countries committed themselves to closer joint efforts across a broad range of... MORE
SOUTH STREAM: GAZPROM’S NEW MEGA PROJECT
On June 23 in Rome, ENI Chief Executive Paolo Scaroni and Gazprom Vice-Chairman Alexander Medvedev signed a memorandum of understanding to build a gas pipeline from Russia to Italy -- South Stream. Energy Ministers Pierluigi Bersani of Italy and Viktor Khristenko of Russia joined the... MORE
PUTIN TAKES THE CASPIAN ROAD TO KENNEBUNKPORT
Russia-U.S. relations show few signs of improvement in the last days before the eye-to-eye meeting between Presidents Vladimir Putin and George W. Bush in the informal atmosphere of the Bush family compound in Kennebunkport, Maine. Greeting the delegates at a conference of social sciences teachers... MORE
Trafficking and the Role of the Sinai Bedouin
On the evening of October 7, 2004, three trucks laden with explosives were driven to resorts in the northern Sinai where they were detonated, killing more than 30 people and wounding hundreds more. The targets were Israelis vacationing during their High Holidays at the usually... MORE
THE STRANGE STORY OF MIG-31 JETS FOR SYRIA
Yesterday, June 19, Moscow's respected business daily Kommersant reported that Russia's arms trading monopoly Rosoboronexport has begun to fulfill an arms deal it secretly signed with Syria earlier this year to sell five MiG-31E (Foxhound) jet fighters, considered one of the best in the world,... MORE
Moqtada al-Sadr Stepping into the Power Vacuum
Just hours after Moqtada al-Sadr reappeared in public for the first time since the U.S. security crackdown in January to demand the withdrawal of U.S. troops in a major speech in Kufa on May 25, a prominent Mahdi Army commander, Wissam al-Waili (known as Abu... MORE
MOSCOW CONSIDERS ENORMOUS INVESTMENT IN EASTERN RUSSIA’S GAS SECTOR
At a meeting on June 15, the Russian government discussed a draft " Program to Develop a Unified System of Gas Production, Transportation, and Supply in Eastern Siberia and the Far East, Including Possible Exports to China and the other Asia-Pacific Countries." Implementing the program... MORE
GUDAUTA BASE AND UNACCOUNTED-FOR TREATY-LIMITED EQUIPMENT: ONGOING RUSSIAN BREACHES OF CFE TREATY COMMITMENTS
In a formulation reminiscent of Soviet five-year plan-fulfillment reports, senior Russian officials claim that Russia has completely “fulfilled and over-fulfilled” its 1999 treaty commitments to withdraw its forces from Georgia and Moldova. Defense Minister Anatoly Serdyukov and General Konstantin Totsky, Russia’s permanent representative at NATO,... MORE