Regional geopolitics

[Azad]

Re: Regional geopolitics

Theresa May 'to discuss trade' with President Erdogan on Turkey visit

"What this speaks is how the once mighty British Empire has fallen .... Basically, I think she is dreaming."

https://www.rt.com/op-edge/375303-us-uk-trump-may/

Putin "Britain today is a small island no one listens to”

[londontsi]

Re: Regional geopolitics

Emails of Ambassador Karlov’s killer were deleted after attack – report

https://www.rt.com/news/line/

The emails of the killer of Andrey Karlov, the former Russian Ambassador to Turkey, were deleted following the assassination, an investigation into the murder has shown, Daily Sabah newspaper reports, citing sources. The attacker’s computer and mobile phone were seized as part of the investigation, but all e-mail correspondence had been deleted at about 9:30pm, two and a half hours after the attack. Russia’s ambassador to Turkey, Andrey Karlov, was killed on December 19 by Mevlut Mert Altıntas, a police officer, during the opening reception of an art exhibition in the Turkish capital Ankara. The attacker was later killed in a shootout with police.

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[Vrej1915]

Re: Regional geopolitics

Syrian Army liberates 23 villages in east Aleppo as they advance to ISIL’s main stronghold – Map update
By Leith Fadel - 28/01/2017
almasdarnews

In early January, the Syrian Arab Army's "Tiger Forces" launched a large-scale offensive to liberate the Al-Bab Plateau from the Islamic State (ISIS) terrorists in east Aleppo.

The Tiger Forces would liberate several villages and hilltops from the Islamic State, while pushing north to the terrorist group's main stronghold in the eastern countryside of Aleppo.

According to an Al-Masdar field correspondent, the Syrian Arab Army has liberated at least 23 villages from the Islamic State forces, killing and wounding over 150 terrorists in the process.

This Syrian Arab Army offensive in east Aleppo has been backed by heavy Russian and Syrian airstrikes on the Al-Bab Plateau; this has paved the way for the government's advance in east Aleppo.

Meanwhile in the north, the Turkish Armed Forces have repeatedly attempted to enter the city of Al-Bab; however, they have repeatedly failed, despite assistance from the Russian Air Force.

The Turkish Armed Forces have lost several soldiers and a large amount of military equipment during their Al-Bab campaign, making this operation a major for them this year.

[Vrej1915]

Re: Regional geopolitics

Trump-Putin safe zones deal ousts Iran from Syria
debka

Syria stands on the threshold of dramatic changes that will directly impact on the strategic and military situation along the Syrian borders with Israel and Jordan, DEBKAfile reports exclusively. They derive from a deal struck this week by US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin to establish US, Russian and Turkish security zones in Syria. This scheme will transfer military control of the country to those three powers. Each of them will be responsible for a zone whose borders will be defined and agreed upon by Washington, Moscow and Ankara.
As part of this arrangement, all forces from the Iranian military, the pro-Iranian Shiite militias and Hizballah will be required to leave Syria.
The US military is to have two security zones – one covering the entire area east of the Euphrates River up to the Iraqi border including Kurdish areas (see attached map). This arrangement will partly resurrect the accord reached in late 2015 by US President Barack Obama and Putin, for the division of Syria into areas of influence. All territory east of the Euphrates was allocated to the US, with Russia taking responsibility for all areas west of the river until the Mediterranean coast. .
Under the new deal, the Turkish area is to stretch about 650 kilometers along the entire Syria-Turkey border and extend between 35 and 50 kilometers into Syrian territory up to Al-Bab, the town where the Turkish military is engaged in its third straight month of fighting for its capture from ISIS.
DEBKAfile’s military and intelligence sources report that the overriding change on the ground will be the establishment of a second US security zone adjacent to Syria’s borders with Israel and Jordan. It means that the approximately 7,500 US special operations forces troops currently in Jordan will be shifted northward into southern Syria.
Russia had originally planned to deploy Syrian military, pro-Iranian Shiite militia and Hizballah forces in battles for the capture of land around the cities of Derra and Quneitra on the Syrian side of the Golan. That plan has been dropped and will be superseded by the deployment in southern Syria of US troops accompanied by Jordanian special forces and Syrian rebels, trained by American instructors in Jordanian military camps.
Israelis will breathe a sigh of relief over the removal of the threat of Iranian and Hizballah forces being deployed along their northern border with Syria.
The Trump-Putin deal for Syria and its ramifications are explored in the coming issue of DEBKA Weekly (for subscribers) out Friday, with especially attention to the way it leaves Iran and Hizballah high and dry.

[Haykakan]

Re: Regional geopolitics

Turkish Military Operation in Syrian al-Bab Enters the Final Stage
© REUTERS/ Khalil Ashawi
Middle East
21:28 30.01.2017(updated 21:32 30.01.2017) Get short URL
0 5001
The ongoing Turkish military operation in the vicinity of the Syrian city of al-Bab may be concluded within a month due to a number of factors.


© REUTERS/ Khalil Ashawi
Get Out! Daesh to Leave Syria's al-Bab Amid Turkish Offensive
After returning fromxhis African tour last week, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan mentioned that there’s no need "to prolong and expand" the ongoing Turkish military operation inxal-Bab.

Ismail Hakki Pekin, former chief ofxthe Turkish General Staff Intelligence Department, told Sputnik Turkiye that this decision was made due toxa number ofxfactors: namely, the unwillingness ofxthe Turkish military toxclash withxthe Syrian armed forces advancing onxal-Bab fromxthe south, the peace talks inxAstana, and US President Trump’s call toxestablish safe zones onxSyrian territory.
According toxPekin, the liberation ofxal-Bab and the subsequent withdrawal ofxthe Turkish armed forces fromxthe area may be accomplished withinxa month. He pointed outxhowever that Turkey will likely maintain a small military presence inxal-Bab region toxensure the safety ofxcivilian personnel that Ankara will send there.
"When the al-Bab operation is brought toxa close, some Turkish military units will have toxremain there because otherwise all gains made duringxthe offensive may be lost. Meanwhile, Syrian army forces are advancing towardsxal-Bab fromxthe south, and Turkey obviously wants toxavoid clashes withxSyria. In theory, this situation may prompt Syria and Turkey toxengage inxdirect talks, though a lot depends onxwhether these two forces will be able toxcoordinate their actions inxal-Bab. At the very least, the Turkish military definitely does not want a direct conflict Syria," Pekin said.
He pointed outxthat Turkey's stance regarding the Syrian leadership has drastically changed duringxthe last few months asxAnkara no longer considers the resignation ofxSyrian President Bashar Assad asxa mandatory condition forxpeace talks.
Also, asxthe trilateral ceasefire control mechanism that was agreed uponxduring the Astana talks is expected toxcome intoxeffect soon, Russia, Turkey and Iran will create a group ofxspecialists toxoversee the ceasefire implementation. This measure will likely require the involved parties toxdeploy special forces units inxthe region, which may also have been one ofxthe factors influencing Ankara’s desire toxswiftly complete the al-Bab operation.
Furthermore, any prolongation ofxthe military operation inxal-Bab may have a detrimental effect onxthe combat readiness ofxTurkish troops, according toxPekin.
"Once the operation is over, the troops must withdraw fromxthe region so that Russia and the US may decide onxfurther ground operations. And if we interpret the president’s (Erdogan’s) words aboutxthe end ofxthe al-Bab operation asxa signal that Turkish forces won’t advance onxManbij, it may mean that Ankara is preparing toxcooperate withxthe US inxthat region," Pekin said.

[Azad]

Re: Regional geopolitics

"Azerbaijani Political Movement Said To Have Been Suborned By Iran

Just days after Baku's Court for Serious Crimes handed down lengthy prison terms to 18 men charged with plotting a coup d'etat at the behest of Iran, the unequivocally pro-Western political movement ReAl (Republican Alternative) has been accused of agreeing to collaborate with, and accepting funding from, Iranian diplomats. ..."

http://www.rferl.org/a/azerbaijan-real-movement-iran-meeting/28270497.html

[Eddo211]

Re: Regional geopolitics

If its not Armenians then it must be Persians.....

[Azad]

Re: Regional geopolitics

"Council of Europe urged to investigate Azerbaijan bribery allegations

Parliamentary assembly accused of turning blind eye to corruption after claims that ex-member was paid €2.4m to rig election

One of Europe’s most venerable human rights bodies has been warned it risks falling into irrelevance unless it sets up a robust investigation into allegations of vote-rigging in favour of Azerbaijan’s authoritarian regime.

The parliamentary assembly of the Council of Europe (Pace) has been accused of turning a blind eye to corruption, after allegations that a former senior member was paid €2.39m (£2.06m) to engineer votes to protect the kleptocratic regime of Azerbaijan’s president, Ilham Aliyev.

Pieter Omtzigt, a centre-right Dutch parliamentarian, is urging Pace leaders to launch a “deep, thorough investigation by an independent panel” that makes its findings public.

“We see a lot of suspicious outcomes of votes and procedures on Azerbaijan,” Omtzigt told the Guardian. The Dutch Christian Democrat is the co-author of a resolution calling for an urgent investigation and overhaul of the assembly’s code of conduct.

The Council of Europe, which was created in 1949 to protect democracy and promote the rule of law, has 47 members including Russia and Turkey. Azerbaijan joined in 2001, but observers have long raised questions about the parliamentary assembly’s weak response to ballot-box stuffing and human rights violations in the oil-rich country.

Human rights groups have blamed “caviar diplomacy”, gifts of gold, silver, silk carpets and the regional fishy delicacy, which are showered on visiting dignitaries to the capital, Baku."

You can read the rest

https://www.theguardian.com/law/2017/feb/01/council-of-europe-urged-investigate-azerbaijan-bribery-allegations

[Azad]

Re: Regional geopolitics

Is the shet starting to hit the fan?

"Four Alleged Extremists Killed In Azerbaijan

Security forces in Azerbaijan have killed four alleged extremists the government suspects were plotting terror attacks, the Caspian Sea country’s State Security Service says.

The service said the suspects were killed in a shoot-out on January 31 during a search operation that was launched after they opened fire at security forces.

A fifth alleged member of the group was taken into custody.

According to the security service, the suspects were connected to an unspecified religious extremist group abroad and planed a series of terrorist attacks on Azerbaijan's territory.

It did not say where the shoot-out took place.

It was impossible to verify the statement by the authorities in the tightly controlled former Soviet republic."

http://www.rferl.org/a/azerbaijan-four-terrorists-killed-shootout/28271554.html

[Haykakan]

Re: Regional geopolitics

World
21:58 01.02.2017(updated 23:58 01.02.2017) Get short URL
626271964
US President Donald Trump's National Security Adviser, Michael Flynn, has put Tehran on notice in response to recent ballistic missile testing.
In a highly unusual step, White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer interrupted a White House daily briefing withxmedia to xpave the way forxPresident Trump's National Security Adviser Michael Flynn. Retired Gen. Flynn took toxthe podium toxannounce that the United States is "officially putting Iran onxnotice" due toxits recent missile test and attack onxa Saudi military ship byxHouthi fighters inxYemen.x

© Abbas Almutwkel/YouTube
Yemen Rebels Hit Saudi Naval Vessel with Missile Attack (VIDEO)

The missile testing combined withxthe Houthi attack, "underscore what should have been clear toxthe international community all alongxabout Iran's destabilizing behavior acrossxthe Middle East," Flynn said. "These are just the latest inxthe pastxsix months inxwhich Houthi forces that Iran has trained and armed have struck Emirati and Saudi vessels, and threatened US and allied vessels transiting the Red Sea," according toxFlynn.x
Footage ofxthe attack was shown byxArab TV channels. In the video, Houthi rebels celebrate hitting the vessel byxcrying out, "Allahu Akbar! (God is great!) Death toxAmerica, death toxIsrael, a curse onxthe Jews and victory forxIslam!"x

Trump has "severely criticized" deals betweenxWashington and Tehran, such asxthe nuclear arms reduction deal, inxaddition toxthe United Nations, Flynn said, adding that the agreements have been "weak and ineffective" while warning that "Iran is now feeling emboldened."
As ofxFebruary 1, 2017, the US is "officially putting Iran onxnotice," Flynn concluded his remarks. x