Regional geopolitics

[londontsi]

Re: Regional geopolitics

State Duma members suggest annulling Russian-Turkish treaty which is important for Azerbaijan

http://en.apa.az/xeber_state_duma_me...us_239019.html

...... noted that "two of the three Transcaucasian republics - Georgia and Armenia - did not recognize the terms of the treaty considering it unfair. “Armenia doesn’t recognize the Treaty of Kars that envisages execution of the Treaty of Moscow and the Supreme Council of Georgia denounced it in 2005.”

I wonder how the Georgians were screwed by this treaty.

That would let the cat among the pigeon.

Nice way the break the Turkey Georgia Azerbaijan "friendship".

.

[Vrej1915]

Re: Regional geopolitics

I wonder how the Georgians were screwed by this treaty.

That would let the cat among the pigeon.

Nice way the break the Turkey Georgia Azerbaijan "friendship".

.

The georgians claim that Artvin, Olti and Ardahan are theirs.....from time to time Ani is georgian too....
Yet the benefitted from the treaty, since Surmalu and Mt Ararat were exchanged by the russians, against Batum.
Since all the idea was the return to 1878 borders, when Surmalu was already in Russian Emppire, have never been ottoman in first place, while Batum was ottoman.

NB: do not rejoyce yet. Anything strategic was not done. This is cheap blackmail, at our expense, to try to bargain with Turkey.....
Just as the west threatens to pass a resolution, ... and yet forgets when a commercial contract is signed on their terms...

[Azad]

Re: Regional geopolitics

The georgians claim that Artvin, Olti and Ardahan are theirs.....from time to time Ani is georgian too....

Georgians are good at claiming anything that is Armenian since there is nothing built by turks or themselves. They are good at erasing Armenian church’s inscriptions and converting everything to Georgian. Just like their once leader and liberator Sackofshiitvili, where is he now?

[Haykakan]

Re: Regional geopolitics

SYRIA TROOPS MAKE MORE GAINS IN ALEPPO, NEAR TURKISH BORDER

18:00, 08 Feb 2016
Siranush Ghazanchyan

Syrian army troops recaptured a new village north of Aleppo Monday,
bringing troops and allied militiamen to within a few kilometers
of the Turkish border as part of a major Russian-backed offensive
in the area, the Syrian government and opposition activists said,
the Associated Press reports.

State-run news agency SANA said army troops took control of the village
of Kfeen in the northern countryside of Aleppo "after wiping out the
last group of terrorists there."

Hezbollah's Al-Manar TV and the pro-Syrian, Lebanon-based Al-Mayadeen
station also reported Kfeen's capture and aired live footage from
the village.

The government offensive around the city of Aleppo has sent tens of
thousands of Syrians fleeing toward the border with Turkey. Turkish
authorities say up to 35,000 Syrians have massed along the border,
which remained closed for a fourth day on Monday.

Turkey has come under mounting pressure to open its border to assist
the fleeing Syrians, many of whom have been sleeping in cold weather
in open fields near the Bab al-Salameh border crossing.

https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__www.armradio.am_en_2016_02_08_syria-2Dtroops-2Dmake-2Dmore-2Dgains-2Din-2Daleppo-2Dnear-2Dturkish-2Dborder_&d=CwIFaQ&c=clK7kQUTWtAVEOVIgvi0NU5BOUHhpN0H8p7CSfnc_gI&r=LVw5zH6C4LHpVQcGEdVcrQ&m=-qC7cqsCKfceFN0tlOWbB4a8mhFm2aL06VTftSn0HRQ&s=8fIPLGWQrZmLSbpCbTu0FD6NEYb4yFQhdE1mrY1sf84&e=

[Joseph]

Re: Regional geopolitics

Excellent analysis from a former MI-6 agent

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/alastair-crooke/syria-putin-assad_b_9169998.html

[Haykakan]

Re: Regional geopolitics

I got a good laugh out of this.

FRENCH MEDIA USES RUSSIAN FOOTAGE TO SHOW 'SUCCESS' OF US STRIKES IN SYRIA - VIDEOS

Ministry of defence of the Russian Federation
MIDDLE EAST
14:53 09.02.2016(updated 15:19 09.02.2016) Get short URL
Topic:
Violence Erupts as Islamic State Rises (1446)
3681100

TV Channel France 2 showed footage of Russian airstrikes in Syria as
the work of the US-led international coalition in a fight against Daesh
(Islamic State).

While covering news from Syria and reporting about airstrikes against
Daesh militants, France 2 showed footage first released by the Russian
Defense Ministry.

According to Russian blogger Timofei Vasiliev, the news story said
that Russian airstrikes hit civilian targets, as the Russians allegedly
don't use precision bombs, instead indiscriminately bombing everything
in the area. Unlike the Russians, the French Air Force, which works
as part of the US-led coalition, "successfully" bombed Daesh targets,
France 2 said.

The French TV channel, however, couldn't find any footage to prove
their point, so it just used footage of Russian airstrikes to
demonstrate the precision of Western missiles. No big deal, right?

First, the channel claimed the Russians were off target, while the
Western coalition bombed the terrorists; then France 2 showed footage
filmed by the Russian Air Force as the work of the US-led coalition.

Awkward.

The use of the Russian Defense Ministry's videos wasn't a mistake as
one might think, but a deliberate lie -- the Russian text underneath
the footage was deleted, while the video itself is identical to that
of Russian airstrikes. Below are original footage provided by the
Russian Defense Ministry:

A similar thing happened on November 19, 2015, when PBS NewsHour,
a daily US-television news program, used the footage of Russian
airstrikes in Syria, passing them off as US airstrikes.

MINISTRY OF DEFENCE OF THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION Caught Lying! US Media
Shows Footage of Russian Airstrikes Passed Off as American Unlike the
US-led airstrikes campaign, which doesn't provide footage from their
operations, the Russian Defense Ministry is always prompt to release
video evidence showing what exactly happened to terrorists and how
their operations unfolded. Instead of accusing the Russian Air Force of
not being "precise" enough and not bombing Daesh, the Western-coalition
should simply shoot its own videos. It can't be that hard.

https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__www.youtube.com_watch-3Ftime-5Fcontinue-3D9-26v-3Dmx7Jr8FArSo&d=CwIFaQ&c=clK7kQUTWtAVEOVIgvi0NU5BOUHhpN0H8p7CSfnc_gI&r=LVw5zH6C4LHpVQcGEdVcrQ&m=suvuIc2k4mlF3dPuZYbDs9jbAnDP2lja4ihb7SrC54A&s=NDhP8M4VgBTg4ObYE-gkS8OZCAl2TT7nucIzP8kFUJ8&e=

https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__www.youtube.com_watch-3Fv-3DWgYbiCGYy2c&d=CwIFaQ&c=clK7kQUTWtAVEOVIgvi0NU5BOUHhpN0H8p7CSfnc_gI&r=LVw5zH6C4LHpVQcGEdVcrQ&m=suvuIc2k4mlF3dPuZYbDs9jbAnDP2lja4ihb7SrC54A&s=PfV9HytQWD0m9Dv46UOnrBd5PssEyZkpJl2OJPFHIq8&e=

Read more:

https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__sputniknews.com_middleeast_20160209_1034449819_france-2D2-2Duse-2Drussian-2Dfootage-2Dsyria.html-23ixzz3zflz7wMS&d=CwIFaQ&c=clK7kQUTWtAVEOVIgvi0NU5BOUHhpN0H8p7CSfnc_gI&r=LVw5zH6C4LHpVQcGEdVcrQ&m=suvuIc2k4mlF3dPuZYbDs9jbAnDP2lja4ihb7SrC54A&s=p6e5hoSMEnOO9ih9279AsifumqDenpNbq7A7hYrvv8o&e=

[Vrej1915]

Re: Regional geopolitics

Rain and windstorms halt Russia air strikes over Syria.
DEBKAfile February 7, 2016,

DEBKAfile’s military sources report that the rebel forces under siege in Aleppo and Idlib province are regrouping for an attempted counter-offensive during the lull in Russian air strikes caused by the stormy weather besetting the region since Saturday. This has slowed down the Syrian-Iranian-Hizballah advance on the key city. Our sources report that rebel forces are preparing to recover their road links to the Turkish border, although it is doubtful that they have the military capabilities to manage this.

[Vrej1915]

Re: Regional geopolitics

Hezbollah, Syrian Army storm Bayyanoun and Kafr Naya in northern Aleppo
By Leith Fadel
09/02/2016

Moments ago, the Syrian Arab Army’s 154th Brigade of the 4th Mechanized Division – in close coordination with Hezbollah, the National Defense Forces (NDF), and several Iraqi paramilitary units – launched a new assault on the strategic villages of Bayyanoun and Kafr Naya after a successful weekend that left the Islamist rebels abandoning several sites in the northern countryside of the Aleppo Governorate. According to a source inside the provincial capital of the Aleppo Governorate, the Syrian Armed Forces and their allies launched these attacks on Kafr Naya and Bayyanoun after Russian fighter jets pounded the Islamist rebel defenses inside the aforementioned villages this morning.

Over the weekend, the Syrian Armed Forces and their allies attempted to seize the villages of Kafr Naya and Bayyanoun from the Islamist rebels of Jabhat Al-Nusra (Syrian Al-Qaeda group), the Free Syrian Army (FSA), Harakat Nouriddeen Al-Zinki, Jabhat Al-Shamiyah, Harakat Ahrar Al-Sham, and Jaysh Al-Mujahiddeen; however, they were unsuccessful in this military endeavor. Following their failed bid to capture Bayyanoun and Kafr Naya this past weekend, the Syrian Armed Forces and their allies imposed full control over the villages of Mayer, Rityan, and Kiffeen; this helped position the government forces for the attack that was launched today. The village of Kafr Naya is currently the focal point for the Syrian Armed Forces, as they attempt to advance towards the rebel stronghold of Tal Rifa’at in northern Aleppo.

http://www.almasdarnews.com/article/...rthern-aleppo/ | Al-Masdar News

------

i.e: without overwhelming air power, no progress....

[Haykakan]

Re: Regional geopolitics

Georgia to build $2.5-bln Black Sea port on China's Silk Road

By AFP
Feb, 8, 2016


TBILISI: Georgia on Monday announced plans to build a new deep-water
Black Sea port in a $2.5-billion project that aims to boost trade
between China and Europe along the historic Silk Road route.

Prime Minister Giorgi Kvirikashvili said the ex-Soviet country had
awarded the contract to build the port to a joint venture called
Anaklia Development Consortium, made up of Georgia's TBC Holding and
US-based Conti International.

"The project will bring tremendous opportunities for Georgia and the
entire region, making the new Silk Road concept fully operational,"
Kvirikashvili told journalists.

Under President Xi Jinping, China has launched a multibillion dollar
drive to revive its strategic Silk Road trade routes on land and sea,
to increase its footprint from central Asia to Europe.

Georgia aims to create a regional transport hub on the Black Sea's
east coast, competing with Turkish ports for cargo ships carrying
Chinese goods for Europe.

The new port will serve large ships that cannot dock at the ex-Soviet
country's existing ports and instead go to Turkey to reload cargo onto
smaller vessels.

The Georgian government will contribute $100 million, while the rest
will be financed by the ADC consortium.

Construction work is due to start late this year and is set to take
three years, the ADC consortium said in a statement.

The port will be able to process 100 million tons of cargo annually
and could generate 0.5 percent of Georgia's GDP by 2025, ADC said.

The Georgian premier said the project will include a 600-hectare
industrial park with minimal taxation, calling this "a breath of fresh
air for the Georgian economy."

The port will be built at the village of Anaklia, which is
strategically located on the shortest transit route from China to
Europe.

"The project fits with the new concept of the ancient Silk Road
proclaimed by the Chinese government: One Belt One Road," the chairman
of Georgia's TBC Holding, Mamuka Khazaradze, told AFP.

The 'One Belt One Road' route accounts for 26 percent of Chinese
foreign trade and is a focal point for $40 billion in Chinese
infrastructure investments through its Silk Road Development Fund.

Georgia, a Caucasus nation of 4.6 million, is seeking to capitalise on
the revitalised trade route, building upon the free trade agreement it
signed with the European Union in 2014.

https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__economictimes.indiatimes.com_news_international_business_georgia-2Dto-2Dbuild-2D2-2D5-2Dbln-2Dblack-2Dsea-2Dport-2Don-2Dchinas-2Dsilk-2Droad_articleshow_50905038.cms&d=CwIBaQ&c=clK7kQUTWtAVEOVIgvi0NU5BOUHhpN0H8p7CSfnc_gI&r=LVw5zH6C4LHpVQcGEdVcrQ&m=lxQaU57teVypcTEJlpMIPsqMy7kEZuSWc2pWBkFnmw4&s=jJ2hX7Z2kRlTk3r41K0zqPrnDrR71IcWAbB70sR4RpE&e=

[Vrej1915]

Re: Regional geopolitics

Russian hands-off warning to US, Saudis, Turks amid crucial Aleppo battle
debka

After five-year Syrian civil war, faces its most critical moment. Saturday, Feb. 6, a combined force of Syrian army and Hizballah troops and an Iraqi Shiite militia under Iranian officers, were led by Russian air and Spetsnaz (special forces) officers into pressing forward to encircle 35,000 rebels trapped in Aleppo, the country’s largest city. As they tightened the siege, 400,000 Syrian civilians were also trapped and forced to bear heavy Russian air bombardment and savage artillery fire from the ground forces closing in on the city.
Rebel supply routes were cut off Thursday and Friday when Syrian and Hizballah forces captured the Azaz Corridor connecting Aleppo and all of the northern province of Idlib to the Turkish border.
Tens of thousands of refugees fleeing from the beleaguered town are massing at Bab al-Salama, the last Turkish border crossing to be closed against them. This is the largest Syrian refugee exodus since the start of the civil war.
The rebels under siege are painfully short of weaponry for fighting off the massive, combined offensive, DEBKAfile’s military sources report. Their only remaining recourse is to surrender or be ground into submission as the conquering force knocks over their positions and takes over street after street.
Once the combined forces fighting with Bashar Assad’s army take Aleppo and northern Syria, the opposition will have suffered its heaviest defeat since the war began. The rebels groups’ capacity to continue fighting the regime will be gravely diminished.
Their desperate plight - and the fresh surge of Syrian refugees in unmanageable numbers – cut short the conference in Geneva for a settlement of the Syrian conflict, before it got underway – and prompted reactions from sponsors of rebel groups.
In Riyadh, Brig, Gen. Ahmed Asiri, adviser to Saudi Defense Minister Muhammed Bin Salman, announced Friday that Saudi Arabia is ready “to participate in any ground operations that the international coalition launches against ISIS.” This offer was taken as a veiled response to the SOS from the rebel stronghold in Aleppo.
In Washington, State Department circles, in a briefing to US media, said the time had come to establish a no-fly security zone in northern Syria. They said: “Once a zone were established we do not believe Russia would challenge the stronger US and NATO forces, particularly if they were operating mainly from Turkey.”
The next day, Friday, Moscow came back with a sharp response: Russian Deputy Defense Minister Anatoly Antonov said: “Russian air defense systems enable early detection of threats to Russian aircraft flying combat missions over Syria and provide adequate measures to ensure flight safety.”
This was a reminder of the sophisticated air defense S-400 and S-300 missile systems Russia installed at its Syrian air base after the Turkish air force downed a Russian warplane in November.
Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Moallem put it more crudely: “Any foreign troops entering Syria would return home in wooden coffins.”
He advised armed opposition groups fighting the government offensive in the area to lay down their weapons because, he said, “government advances signal that the five-year-old Syria war is nearing its end.”
Saturday, US Secretary of State John Kerry urged Russia to implement a ceasefire in Syria, saying its bombing campaign was killing women and children in large numbers and "has to stop." He told reporters on his return from a trip to Europe: "Russia has indicated to me very directly they are prepared to do a ceasefire,” adding "The Iranians confirmed in London just a day and a half ago they will support a ceasefire now."
DEBKAfile’s military sources have seen no sign of any ceasefire or even a slowdown in the Russian-led Syrian-Iranian Aleppo offensive.