Asharq Al-Awsat: Lebanon, the Ancestors and the Grandchildren

By Ghassan Charbel. The politician said: “I can feel the pain, so as not to call it humiliation. A country mired in poverty and anarchy, where emigration steals its best young men, is awaiting the return of Macron’s envoy in September in the hope that he will succeed in persuading the political forces to elect

Rai al-Youm: The Asad-Putin summit in Moscow

By Abdel Bari Atwan. Could a Turkish-Syrian reconciliation be in the making? The conspicuous absentee at Wednesday’s summit in Moscow between the presidents of Russia and Syria was their Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan. The outcomes of the meeting could be decisive in determining whether he and his party remain in power. He is probably

Asia Times: Turkey-Syria in a delicate reconciliation dance

By Faisal Al Yafai. Forces driving a deal are powerful enough to paper over two sides’ all-too-real divisions and antagonisms What started in the autumn as the small, hesitant steps of reluctant dance partners has exploded in pace over the past few weeks, as Turkey and Syria begin open moves toward some form of reconciliation.

The Levant News: A landmark thaw that could terminate Syrian- Turkish decade chill

By Lazghine Ya’qoube. At last, the long- sought and much wanted Russian attempts at a reconciliation process between Damascus and Ankara seem to yield results and proceed in the right direction as foreign ministers of Turkey, Syria and Russia are slated to meet “soon”. While both the date and the location of the second trilateral

Rai al-Youm: Turkey reaches out to Syria

By Abdel Bari Atwan. Will the UAE be the venue of a historic reconciliation? Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan confirmed on Thursday that the foreign ministers of his country, Syria, and Russia will soon meet to discuss “strengthening communication.” This followed meetings held in Moscow last week between the three countries’ defence ministers and intelligence

Rai al-Youm: Why Assad is spurning Erdogan

By Abdel Bari Atwan. Turkey must withdraw its troops if it wants rapprochement with Syria I was not surprised by reports that Syrian President Bashar al-Asad has been ‘resisting’ pressure from Russia to hold a summit in Moscow with Turkey’s Recep Tayyip Erdogan. He clearly does not want to grant Erdogan a cost-free victory before

City A.M.: In Ukraine, the Middle East is starting to take sides and it could tip the scales

By Maurizio Geri. Historically, the Gulf states have maintained a delicate balance in international conflicts outside of the Middle East and North Africa. This is a formula they adhered to when the Russia-Ukraine conflict broke out in February; keen to remain neutral, Saudi Arabia and the UAE were determined to be passive observers. But that

Consortium News: Putin & the Arabs

By As`ad AbuKhalil. The Arab public’s antipathy toward the U.S. determines their stance toward the Russian-Ukrainian war, writes As`ad AbuKhalil. Writing on twitter a few days ago, the well-known Saudi intellectual, Khalid Ad-Dakhil, lamented the phenomenon of Arab support for Russian President Vladimir Putin.  He regards that a manifestation of “vengeful” thought.  He maintains, rightly, that

Carnegie Middle East Center: Assad’s Elusive Victory

By Kheder Khaddour. Syrian officials know that unless they control areas east of the Euphrates, the regime will not be able to stabilize itself. The war in Syria has become confined to an arc in the country’s north, along the border with Turkey. In this area, stretching from Idlib Governorate in the west to the

Rai al-Youm: Turkey and the Syrian opposition

By Abdel Bari Atwan. Erdoğan is desperate for a pre-election deal with Damascus Iranian and Russian media reports that Turkey has ordered the opposition Syrian National Coalition (SNC) to leave its territory caused much controversy and confusion in Syrian opposition circles and around the region. There has been a flurry of both denials and confirmations,