Opinion
New initiative launched to redirect Gulf energy flows away from Strait toward Mediterranean
Syria envisioned as key cog in new energy distribution network.
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COMMENT: Iran and the GCC, the memory remains
Relations across the Gulf have been ruined following more than 100 days of war between Iran, Israel and the US with the Gulf neighbours to the south and east of the Islamic Republic left exposed following a new memorandum with the Trump admin.
RAGOZIN: Talk of a turning point in Ukraine is a dangerous gamble
Compromised politicians in Ukraine and Europe see the continuation of the war as a lifeline for their expiring careers.
BEYOND THE BOSPORUS: EU Parliament is having a laugh again. Sanctions gun turns to Turkish justice minister Gurlek
Routinely ignored, the European legislature acts as if it carries some weight in Turkish affairs. Spare us, please.
Death of Turkey’s opposition declared by analysts
Erdogan seen as having throttled last life out of CHP. His “coup is complete”.
Armenia accelerates trade shift toward EU after Russian pre-election pressure
Relations between Yerevan and Moscow remain strained, following a pattern seen in Moldova, where Russian trade restrictions and political pressure ultimately helped push exports toward the EU.
BEYOND THE BOSPORUS: How the Turkish opposition helps sustain the myth of real elections
CHP Party legitimises entire spectacle by participating vigorously in compromised races.
Russia goes on the offensive against Armenian PM Pashinyan
Ahead of Armenia’s June 7 parliamentary election, Russia is carrying out a full-scale pressure campaign against Nikol Pashinyan’s government.
COMMENT: Europe risks becoming a ‘vassal’ unless it relearns power politics, Sciences Po chief warns
Europe is in a historic decline that threatens its economic model, political autonomy and global influence, and lacks the intellectual framework needed to reverse the trend, according to the head of France's elite Sciences Po university.
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COMMENT: A new world of asymmetrical diplomacy
The world has changed in a very fundamental way. For most of the last century the world has been run on the lines of Great Power Geopolitics: them and us; the enlightened and the barbaric; the rich and the poor.
TCHAKAROV: Armenia after an opposition victory — Georgia 2.0?
An opposition win would not be an economic, political or geopolitical disaster.
BERTRAND: Thucydides trap is not real, but threat of WWIII is
I actually suspect that no-one seriously believes in the existence of the "Thucydides trap": not the Chinese, not the West, and probably not even Graham Allison, the author of the concept (he's too smart for this).
RAGOZIN: Melnyk reburial signals ideological shift in Ukraine
During his seven years as president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy’s attitude to Ukraine’s history has changed radically.
COMMENT: Now there’s a thing – Deutsche Welle circulates Erdogan regime’s line in English but butters up opposition in Turkish
Core tenet of German foreign policy means a public veneer of democratic solidarity, but a reality of accommodating strongmen.
BEYOND THE BOSPORUS: Defiant Ozel declares Erdogan will be ousted by 60% of voters in snap poll
Unfortunately, as per usual, the CHP does not appear to be living in the real world.
Millions of Ukrainians may remain in EU for years even after war ends
Ukrainian refugees are likely to remain in the European Union for years – and possibly permanently – even if the war with Russia ends, according to a new report by the Clingendael Institute.
COMMENT: Turkey’s opposition leader scales water cannon. Round of applause, but autocracy looks here to stay
Barring an exceptional turn of events, ‘Action man’ Ozel is too little too late. Democracy took a knife to the back long ago.
EU’s foreign policy boss Kallas is undermining Europe’s credibility
Kaja Kallas has done it again. The EU’s top foreign policy high representative called China a “cancer” that needs decisive treatment with chemotherapy rather than temporary relief with morphine.
COMMENT: Russia and China deepen strategic alignment as partnership reaches “highest level in history”
Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping set out an expansive vision for their bilateral relationship in a joint statement issued during a state visit to Beijing this week, marking 30 years of strategic partnership.
ASH: UK cocks up on Russian sanctions
At the least a PR disaster for the UK around its Russia sanctions regime. At the worst the UK has been pushed by Trump’s war on Iran to easing up sanctions on Russia.