Turkey

Clouds of War: Russia sends Warships as Turkey kills 45 Syrian Troops and blackmails Europe with Migration

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Turkey and Russia engaged in a tense dance of negotiation and threat on Friday in the wake of the killing of 34 Turkish soldiers in an air strike the previous day. Russian sources maintained that the Turkish troops were “where they were not supposed to be,” and were nested among […]

Bashar al-Assad

Turkey mobilizes for war with Syria and Russia as Nearly 3 Dozen Turkish Troops Killed

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Al Jazeera reports that nearly three dozen Turkish soldiers in a barracks in Syria were killed Friday by an air strike. Although most reports say that the bombing was carried out by the Syrian Air Force, some Syria experts suggest that it was instead done by the Russian Aerospace Forces, […]

Russia

As Tensions Flare between Russia and Turkey in Syria, will Trump be Drawn in on side of Ankara?

Middle East Monitor

By Bakr Sidqi | – Amid international neglect of the tragedy of an additional one million displaced individuals from the “de-escalation” zones in the countryside of Idlib and Aleppo provinces, Moscow and Ankara announced that the talks that took place on Monday and Tuesday failed to reach any new understandings. “We did not accept the […]

Russia

In Syria’s Idlib, Turkey is trying to play middle man between Russia and the US – with little success

The Conversation

By Umut Korkut and Tarik Basbugoglu | – The recent turn of events in Idlib, an opposition stronghold in north-western Syria undergoing bombardment by the Syrian military, has put Turkey in a difficult position. Since the end of January, Syrian regime forces have killed 13 Turkish soldiers who were monitoring a tense ceasefire in Idlib. […]

Bashar al-Assad

Trump Supports Turkey against Putin-backed Russo-Syrian Campaign to Finish off Rebels in Idlib

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Trump called Turkish president Tayyip Erdogan on Sunday and appeared to back Turkey against Russia and Syria with regard to the current Syrian Arab Army campaign in west Aleppo province and the province of Idlib. The Turkish press said that Trump thanked Erdogan for his efforts to avert a humanitarian […]

Bashar al-Assad

Humanitarian Catastrophe as Syrian Army Advances on Idlib, 750K Displaced since Fall

Middle East Monitor

By Elif Selin Calik | @CalikSelin | – ( Middle East Monitor ) – Last December, Robert Malley, president and CEO of the International Crisis Group, penned an article for the Foreign Affairs magazine, addressing the topic: “The Unwanted Wars: Why the Middle East Is More Combustible Than Ever.” Today, at the peak of the […]

Libya

Will Turkey sending its Troops to Libya Prolong the Civil War?

Middle East Monitor

By Mustafa Fetouri | – Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s government submitted a bill to the Turkish parliament seeking approval for its plans to send troops to Libya. The parliament approved the bill Thursday, given that the president’s AK Party has a majority in the chamber. The vote was originally planned for 7 January, after the winter […]

Libya

Syria, Yemen, Libya: For the First Time since Versailles, will Rival Powers redraw the Middle East’s Borders?

Middle East Monitor

By Muhammad Hussein | – This New Year will mark a century since the historic Treaty of Versailles was put into effect, creating the borders of much of the contemporary world and enabling the European colonial powers to seize the Middle Eastern territories of the defunct Ottoman Empire. The consequences of that treaty and other […]

Featured

The Great Turko-Russian World War for the Middle East: From Syria’s Idlib to Libya’s Tripoli

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – The campaign to retake parts of Idlib province in northwest Syria by the Russian Aeronspace Forces and the Damascus government of Bashar al-Assad picked back up on Saturday. Two days of cloudy, foggy weather had grounded the Russian Su-24 jet bombers, but yesterday saw clear skies. The Syrian Arab Army […]