Latest Articles about Middle East

Russia Uses Syria Operation to Test Weapons Systems

Since initiating their military operations in Syria, the Russian Armed Forces continue to test and experiment with weapons systems and various platforms in the course of the campaign. These tests appear to relate to a wide variety of advanced systems and seem designed to assess... MORE

Russian, NATO Maritime Deployments Intensify off Syria

Despite differing political agendas in Syria’s ongoing civil war, Russia and the members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) are now sending significant naval forces to Syria’s Mediterranean coastline. The eastern Mediterranean is becoming crowded, as ten countries, in addition to Russia and Turkey,... MORE

Kazakhstan Looks to India, Iran for Access to the World’s Oceans

Since achieving independence in 1991, following the collapse of the Soviet Union, landlocked Kazakhstan has sought to end its geographical isolation by fostering relations with neighboring countries. In recent weeks, Kazakhstan’s national railway company Kazakhstan Temir Zholy (KTZ) and India’s Ministry of Railways signed a... MORE

Russia and Turkey on War Footing

The Russian state-run propaganda machine is currently fanning anti-Turkish vitriol full-time. Economic ties between Russia and Turkey are being effectively severed, while military forces have been put on high alert. Is this escalation a mere PR exercise to mobilize the public so that it may... MORE

Putin Adjusts Russia’s Syria Strategy

President Vladimir Putin’s decision to militarily intervene in Syria came after long and careful preparations to mitigate the risks of conflict escalation. However, two events complicated Russia’s involvement and demanded a revision of this overall strategy: the Islamic State (IS) attacks in Paris as well... MORE

Islamic State’s Sri Lankan Outreach

In recent months, there has been growing evidence of actual and attempted outreach by the Islamic State into Sri Lanka, presently struggling to recover from a three-decade long conflict between its Sinhalese and Tamil ethnic groups. One of the most significant developments was the news... MORE

Islamic State’s Influence Increases in Georgia

Following mid-November’s bloody terrorist attacks in Paris and the ongoing international campaign against the Islamic State in Syria and northern Iraq, Georgian authorities have grown increasingly concerned about the security situation in the Pankisi Gorge area, which is located on the border with the Russian... MORE