Erdogan repairs Syria ties with eye on Eurasianism

Dogu Perincek, Chairman of Turkey’s left-wing nationalist Patriotic Party,  is reportedly leading a delegation to Syria (File photo)  Yesterday, Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke with Uzbekistan President Shavkat Mirziyoyev regarding the forthcoming Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit in Samarkand on September 15-16. This must be the fourth or fifth time the two leaders confabulated over the upcoming event. One …

Deconstructing Putin-Erdogan MOU on Syria; this is how it looks.

Turkish President Recep Erdogan (L) and Russian President Vladimir Putin (R) held talks in Sochi, Russia, on October 22, 2019  The talks between the presidents of Russia and Turkey — Vladimir Putin and Recep Erdogan — at Sochi on October 22 relating to the Syrian question lasted close to seven hours and reportedly involved “difficult” …

It’s curtains for US in Syria. Russia, Iran owe big thanks to Erdogan

Turkey’s Operation Peace Spring in Northern Syria has reportedly advanced to a 1000 square kilometers area. The scenario agreed on behind the curtains through months of confidential exchanges, often one-on-one, between the Russian and Turkish leaders regarding north-eastern Syria is entering a critical phase of implementation on the ground with the agreement between the Kurds …

A Turkish-Russian entente cordiale in the making

‘Operation Peace Spring’: Turkey’s military operation inside Syria launched on October 9, 2019.  Shall we sit upon the ground and tell there is no longer daylight between Russia and Turkey? We are almost there. The Turkish incursion into Syria on Wednesday is the tipping point. Turkey and Russia are closely coordinating. Consider the following.  The …

A safe zone for Syrian refugees — so near, yet so very far

People wave as a US military vehicle travels through Kurdish-dominated Amuda province in northern Syria, bordering Turkey  Six years after Turkish President Recep Erdogan floated the idea of creating a safe zone in northern Syria, it still remains a chimera. When the Turks lobbied for the zone, notably in 2013 and 2015, the Obama administration …

Trump has mixed signals for Astana partners

(Turkey deploys battle tanks on border with Syria.) Trump’s tweets earlier today regarding Syrian withdrawal plan came out of the blue – “Starting the long overdue pullout from Syria while hitting the little remaining ISIS territorial caliphate hard, and from many directions. Will attack again from existing nearby base if it reforms. Will devastate Turkey …

Trump’s Syrian pullout is a game changer

(US bases in northeast Syria)  The US President Donald Trump’s announcement on Wednesday regarding the withdrawal of American military from Syria has predictably run into strong headwinds in the Washington Beltway. A formidable coalition appeared overnight – comprising the Deep State, US defence and security establishment, leading members of the Congress, major media organs –branding …