Regional geopolitics

[Haykakan]

Re: Regional geopolitics

ISIS missile barrage smashes Furqlus Gas Plant in retaliation for Palmyra assault
By Chris Tomson -
25/03/2016

With preliminary reports suggesting government troops have captured some 50% of Palmyra city itself already, desperate ISIS commanders have demanded their fighters and artillery units to fire several long-range missiles at the Furqlus Gas Plant in eastern Homs. Consequently, the Furqlus Gas Plant has been heavily damaged and is out of work for now.

This piece of government-held energy infrastructure supplies Homs City and the Syrian capital of Damascus with gas through an extensive network of pipelines that run through and along the Qalamoun mountains on the border with Lebanon.

However, there are several other gas plants that are able to supply these cities – this means the residents of the aforementioned cities will not necessarily be stripped of their energy supply just yet.

While many soldiers of the Syrian Arab Army’s (SAA) 11th Division are stationed here alongside the National Defence Forces (NDF) of Homs, no casualties have yet been reported. Currently, heavy clashes are underway inside Palmyra’s southern and western districts while the ISIS-held city of Quraytayn was also entirely surrounded as of last week.

https://www.almasdarnews.com/article...lmyra-assault/ | Al-Masdar News

This is very much inline with what USA did to all the countries it attacked in the middle east. They destroy infrastructure and take that country decades back in development. Destroying electricity grids, sewer systems, gas lines...it sickens me. This Zionist/American plan to take the world backwards by centuries is a true crime against humanity. These terrorists are armed and supplied by the west and its cronies in the region....all of this has been disasterous for the Armenian and other communities in these regions.

[londontsi]

Re: Regional geopolitics

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A must see video

State Dept-Google-Al Jazeera plot against Assad

https://www.rt.com/op-edge/337269-clinton-google-aljazeera-assad-plot/

The Western media has quietly ignored an unexpected collaboration between Washington, Google, and “independent” Al Jazeera aimed at helping to overthrow Syria’s Bashar Assad. Would they be as oblivious to a similar cozy “partnership” involving Russia?

Last Monday, WikiLeaks lifted the lid on a correspondence between Jared Cohen, the President of ‘Google Ideas,’ and then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s staff in the summer of 2012. In his July 25, 2012 email to top State Department’s officials, Cohen pitched his about-to-be-launched “tool” to Clinton’s inner circle, asking it to “keep close hold” of it....

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[londontsi]

Re: Regional geopolitics

Russia signals interest to defrost ties with Turkey

http://atimes.com/2016/03/russia-signals-interest-to-defrost-ties-with-turkey/

In an abrupt turnaround, Moscow has put out feelers to Turkey signalling interest in calming tensions in the bilateral relations and opening a new page. The Russian civil aviation authorities have lifted the ban on flights to Antalya on the Mediterranean, which is known as the Turkish Riviera and a popular destination for Russian tourists.

No explanation has been given for the decision, in terms of which Ural Airlines will fly seven times a week from the Russian cities of Rostov-on-Don, Nizhny Novgorod and Kazan to Antalya.

Moscow had previously banned the sale of tour packages and charter flights to Turkey – as well as import of certain Turkish goods – after a Russian military jet was downed by a Turkish F-16 on Nov. 24. In December, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed an order to extend Russian economic sanctions against Turkey.

Moscow’s latest decision suggests that Russian tourists may return to Turkey as before. The number of Russian tourists had dropped by a million last year to 3.6 million.

Again, on Thursday, a senior Kremlin politician Valentina Matviyenko, the speaker of the upper house of Russian parliament, was quoted as saying,

Our relations with Turkey need to be taken out of the deep freeze. We are actually ready to solve this but we are not the reason for this coldness between us.
For the ice to melt, Turkey needs to take a step and take responsibility for downing our plane. Unfortunately, we have not perceived even an indication from Ankara that such a step will be taken.

Matviyenko put the onus on Turkey by insisting that Ankara must “take responsibility for downing our plane”. But she left the pre-condition sufficiently vague. Some amicable formula seems to be under consideration whereby the two sides can move on.

Clearly, the Russian stance has mellowed, considering that at the peak of tensions, Putin had voiced skepticism whether Russian-Turkish relations could be normalized at all so long as the leadership in Ankara remained in power.

Putin had spoken to the Emir of Qatar Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani twice in recent days. Turkey and Qatar are aligned closely on Syria and the emir is also personally close to Turkish President Recep Erdogan. Possibly, the emir has acted as a go-between. At any rate, it is apparent that the demonizing of Erdogan in the Russian media propaganda has noticeably tapered off.

To be sure, Moscow is preparing the ground for reopening dialogue with Ankara. What explains the sense of urgency? Simply put, it is the Syrian peace talks under way in Geneva. Engaging with Ankara has become an unavoidable practical necessity for Russian diplomacy while steering the Syrian peace process, since Turkey is a key player with real capacity to influence the situation in Syria, whether anyone likes it or not.

In principle, Russia has imposed a ‘no-fly zone’ in Syria but reports continue to appear that Turkey nevertheless keeps supplying the extremist groups in Syria with weapons and fighters. Some Iranian reports even claimed that in Salahuddin in Iraq, Islamic State used brand new weapons manufactured in 2016, which the jihadists could have only sourced from Turkey.

However, Ankara too should be in a chastened mood now. The horrific terrorist strikes in Ankara and Istanbul apart, Ankara would know that the ground situation is turning more and more in favour of the Syrian government forces and the ouster of President Bashar Al-Assad has become highly improbable.

The capture of the ancient city of Palmyra from the hands of the Islamic State, which is imminent, will be a big morale booster for the Syrian regime. The government forces have encircled Aleppo and cut off most of the supply routes from Turkey. They are expected to have a crack at liberating Raqqa, the ‘capital’ of the Islamic State, in a near future. At this point, clearly, the priorities are changing for both Moscow and Ankara.

While Moscow’s interest will be to see that the Syrian ceasefire holds, Ankara will appreciate that Russia holds many cards on the Syrian chessboard. Put differently, Moscow’s help becomes useful and necessary to secure Turkey’s legitimate interests in any Syrian settlement.

Moscow received two important visitors on Wednesday – German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier and the US Secretary of State John Kerry. Both these western statesmen would have strong reasons to urge the Kremlin to patch up with Erdogan.

For Germany, Turkey is a hugely important interlocutor today on the issue of Syrian refugees. For the US, Turkey is a key NATO ally whose cold war with Russia becomes an obstacle (and a potentially dangerous flashpoint) in the Syrian peace process.

However, from the Turkish viewpoint, the most critical issue today will be Russia’s equations with the Syrian Kurds. Reports suggest that Russia has been helping the Syrian Kurds in their military operations to gain ground in northern Syria in areas bordering Turkey. Russia has also been vociferously advocating the inclusion of Kurds at the Syrian peace table (which is something that Turkey has opposed tooth and nail). Meanwhile, Kurds have proclaimed their agenda of a federated Syria.

Conceivably, Moscow held out a meaningful signal to Ankara on Friday by discarding traces of any ambivalence on Syrian Kurds. The deputy foreign minister and presidential envoy on the Middle East Mikhail Bogdanov stated in Moscow,

Our task is to help Kurds, to find common ground, common approaches. National Syrian interests should prevail over all others. They should proceed from the fact that Syria should not be broken apart as it will be bad for Syrians themselves.

Bogdanov added that Moscow has good relations and contacts with the Kurds. He just stopped short of holding out an assurance to Ankara that Moscow would be willing to go the extra mile to prevent a break-up of Syria. With direct talks between the Syrian government and the opposition expected in the next round of negotiations in April, there is scope for some sort of give and take between Moscow and Ankara regarding the inclusion of Kurds in the peace talks.

Moscow has failed to ‘isolate’ Erdogan. On the other hand, it has done well to re-engage Turkey within a week of the visit by the Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammed Javad Zarif to Istanbul.

Moscow cannot afford the emergent format of Russian-American co-piloting of the Syrian peace process, which has been shored up with great effort, being upstaged by regional powers who may feel excluded. Of course, the sensible thing will be to engage the irascible parties and give them a sense of involvement. Russian diplomacy cast its net wide in the Middle East, but Turkey was a solitary exception, and the gap was becoming untenable. Moscow is now moving to close it.

Ambassador MK Bhadrakumar served as a career diplomat in the Indian Foreign Service for over 29 years, with postings including India’s ambassador to Uzbekistan (1995-1998) and to Turkey (1998-2001). He writes the “Indian Punchline” blog and has written regularly for Asia Times since 2001.

(Copyright 2016 Asia Times Holdings Limited, a duly registered Hong Kong company. All rights reserved. Please contact us about sales, syndication and republishing.)

[londontsi]

Re: Regional geopolitics

Desperate Russia eases sanctions on Turkish firms

http://www.dailysabah.com/money/2016/01/16/desperate-russia-eases-sanctions-on-turkish-firms-1452887457

Russia, which began imposing unilateral sanctions following the jet downing crisis,
is now unable to adjust to rising prices and the 2018 World Cup,
with Moscow easing sanctions imposed on Turkish firms in various fields.....

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[Vrej1915]

Re: Regional geopolitics

Syria civil war: Assad hails Palmyra recapture from IS
BBC

President Bashar al-Assad has hailed the recapture of Palmyra from so-called Islamic State (IS) as an "important achievement" in the "war on terrorism".
A monitoring group has backed the Syrian government's claim that the city was recaptured overnight by the army.
Military sources say the Syrian army now has "full control" after days of fighting backed by Russian air strikes.
Meanwhile, Syria's antiquities chief said the damage to the ancient city was less than previously feared.

"We were expecting the worst. But the landscape, in general, is in good shape," Maamoun Abdulkarim told the AFP news agency.
He said he felt "indescribable joy" that the city had not been completely destroyed.
An on-the-ground assessment of the destruction will be carried out in coming days in order to develop restoration plans, Mr Abdulkarim said.
More images of the damage caused by IS have emerged since Palmyra's recapture.

A general view taken on March 27, 2016 shows the theatre in the ancient Syrian city of Palmyra, after government troops recaptured the UNESCO world heritage site from Islamic State (IS) group jihadists on March 27, 2016.

A general view taken on March 27, 2016 shows part of the remains of the Arc de Triomph (Triumph Arc) monument that was destroyed by Islamic State (IS) group jihadists in October 2015 in the ancient Syrian city of PalmyraImage copyrightAF{


The remains of the Arch of Triumph, a nearly 2000-year-old monument blown up by IS militants in October 2015
A view shows a damaged artefact at the entrance of the museum of the historic city of Palmyra, after forces loyal to Syria
President Assad said the recapture of Palmyra showed the success of the army's strategy.

Russian President Vladimir Putin congratulated Mr Assad, a Kremlin spokesman said.

The Kremlin said President Assad knew the Palmyra operation "would have been impossible without Russia's support".

Palmyra is situated in a strategically important area on the road between the capital, Damascus, and the contested eastern city of Deir al-Zour.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a UK-based monitoring group, said at least 400 IS fighters were killed in the battle for Palmyra.
In a statement released on Saturday, Russia's defence ministry said its strikes hit 158 IS targets, killing more than 100 militants.


This is a victory for President Bashar al-Assad, who wants to show the world that he is a partner in fighting terrorism.
Backed by Russian war planes and Shia militias, government forces gained control over the ancient city and are now close to securing a vast area of the country.
But residents and observers cast doubts on why Mr Assad's forces pulled out from Palmyra in the first place, allowing Islamic State militants to get in to the city.
In May 2015, hundreds of IS fighters drove hundreds of kilometres across the desert to reach Palmyra, almost uninterrupted, while government forces were dropping barrel bombs over opposition areas full of civilians.

President Assad has now secured a stronger position in the peace talks. He is certainly seen as a problem-solver, but many say he is the source of the problem.


When IS seized the city it destroyed archaeological sites, drawing global outrage. Two 2,000-year-old temples, an arch and funerary towers were left in ruins.
The jihadist group, which has also demolished several pre-Islamic sites in neighbouring Iraq, believes that such structures are idolatrous.

Site contains monumental ruins of great city, once one of the most important cultural centres of the ancient world
Art and architecture, from the 1st and 2nd centuries, combine Greco-Roman techniques with local traditions and Persian influences
More than 1,000 columns, a Roman aqueduct and a formidable necropolis of more than 500 tombs made up the archaeological site
More than 150,000 tourists visited Palmyra every year before the Syrian conflict

[Artashes]

Re: Regional geopolitics

This is very much inline with what USA did to all the countries it attacked in the middle east. They destroy infrastructure and take that country decades back in development. Destroying electricity grids, sewer systems, gas lines...it sickens me. This Zionist/American plan to take the world backwards by centuries is a true crime against humanity. These terrorists are armed and supplied by the west and its cronies in the region....all of this has been disasterous for the Armenian and other communities in these regions.

A common refrain from the native Americans ... Pale face speaks with forked tongue.
This behavior and those behind it have been going n for hundreds of years, if not longer.
All who refuse to acknowledge that EXTREMELY elite and powerful (do) conspire amongst themselves for world dominance , leave that door wide open.
This incideous and murderous behavior is not going to stop of its own accord.
Recognition comes first, then appropriate action.

[Vrej1915]

Re: Regional geopolitics

[Vrej1915]

Re: Regional geopolitics

[Joseph]

Re: Regional geopolitics

Azeris releasing and encouraging Wahhabis to fight for ISIS

http://www.veteranstoday.com/2016/03/27/the-role-of-the-ministry-of-national-security-of-azerbaijan-in-recruiting-forces-for-isis/

[Vrej1915]

Re: Regional geopolitics

US-Turkey: The strained alliance
Jonathan Marcus
Diplomatic correspondent
BBC

http://www.bbc.com/news/explainers-35882201

It's a diplomatic relationship that is deeply in crisis, but one that remains of crucial importance to both countries.
Rarely have relations between the US and one of its key Nato allies been so poor as those between Washington and Ankara.
"Damage limitation" may be an understatement to describe one of the main aims behind the visit the of the Turkish President, Recep Tayip Erdogan to the US this week.
It has become increasingly clear what both these presidents think of each other.
In his recent study of Barack Obama's foreign policy - the product of multiple interviews with the president - Jeffrey Goldberg of The Atlantic summed up Mr Obama's view of his Turkish counterpart in terms of disappointed expectations.
Goldberg notes that "early on", Obama saw Erdogan "as the sort of moderate Muslim leader who would bridge the divide between East and West - but Obama now considers him a failure and an authoritarian, one who refuses to use his enormous army to bring stability to Syria."
Whatever Mr Obama may think about his Turkish counterpart in private, Mr Erdogan has been much more outspoken in public.
Just one example - earlier this month he condemned the Obama Administration's support for Kurdish fighters in Syria, insisting that Washington's inability to grasp their true nature had turned the region into "a sea of blood".
Syrian crisis
The differences between Washington and Ankara are various, not least reflecting US disappointment at the current drift in Turkish domestic affairs.
But it is the Syrian crisis, and in particular the role of Kurdish militias in the fight against so-called Islamic State (IS) that has crystallised US-Turkish tensions.

US and Turkish disagreements over Syria reflect fundamental differences on both strategy and goals.
From the outset Turkey backed rebel groups in Syria opposed to the Assad regime.
Indeed his removal became a strategic necessity for the Turkish government; the only way they believed stability could be restored.
Turkey has been directly hit by the crisis - not just by the spill-over of terrorism across its own borders. It has also been forced to contend with a huge wave of Syrian refugees.
That is one of the reasons why the Turks have backed the idea of establishing "safe zones" inside Syria; areas that could be protected by US and allied air power as well as forces on the ground.
That idea has been consistently opposed by the Obama administration.
The US was no friend of President Assad but its focus was elsewhere - the struggle against IS in both Syria and Iraq.
Given the absence of any clear alternative governing arrangements in Syria, Iraq appeared to be Washington's priority, while it helped arm rebel groups in Syria its efforts initially had little impact.
Strategic importance
Turkey, with its long land border with both Syria and Iraq was clearly of huge strategic importance in Washington's anti-IS campaign.

The US pressed to use Turkish air bases though for a long period the Turks were reluctant.
When they did finally approve their use it appeared to represent to many observers something of a quid pro quo for the US turning a blind eye to Turkish strikes against the Kurds.
For it is Kurdish dynamics, rather more than IS, that has dominated thinking in Ankara. Kurdish fighters have been among the most successful ground forces battling IS.
Who are the Kurds?
In the process they have received considerable material support from Washington.
This has been like a red-rag to a bull for the Turks who, already battling a Kurdish insurgency within Turkey, fear any Kurdish successes that might encourage Kurdish national aspirations.


So Ankara and Washington are allies, but at the same time pretty much at loggerheads over Syria.
Russia's military intervention on the side of President Assad only added a new complication.
Turkey's shooting down of a Russian jet that briefly intruded into its air space prompted an ambivalent reaction from its NATO allies. In public there was strong support for Turkey.
But in private many of them were alarmed at what they saw as a strand of recklessness in Ankara's behaviour.
US fighters were briefly deployed to patrol Turkish air space but were almost as quickly withdrawn.
US-Turkish strategic differences over Syria are one thing. But both governments need to find sufficient common ground to move forward with the campaign.

The growing IS terrorist threat to Turkey may encourage some flexibility in Ankara.
Turkey would dearly love to roll back Kurdish gains in Syria but it wants other things too.
Turkey's position is not necessarily as strong as it appears. It now has few friends or allies in the region.
Gone are the days when Mr Davotoglu, as the then foreign minister, proposed a new Turkish foreign policy of "zero problems" with all its neighbours.
Policy reset
Now it has problems on all its frontiers. Ankara's "new Ottomanism" , its bid to secure a role as a major player in the Middle East, may have run its course.

The Syria crisis has exacerbated Turkish fears of Kurdish autonomy; it has renewed its campaign against Kurdish militants inside Turkey; it is now under threat from IS terrorism; it faces chaos across its borders with both Iraq and Syria.
Turkey also has an uneasy relationship with Washington; terrible relations with Moscow; and it has fallen out with other key regional players like Israel with whom it once was close.
Turkey badly needs a reset in its foreign policy. Washington could help with that.
But on Syria their differences remain so fundamental, it is hard to see how any compromise can be achieved.