Regional geopolitics

[londontsi]

Re: Regional geopolitics

Turkey to buy 2 batteries of S-400 systems from Russia

https://www.dailysabah.com/politics/2017/03/24/turkey-to-buy-2-batteries-of-s-400-systems-from-russia

Turkey will buy two batteries of S-400 surface-to-air missile systems from Russia in order to fulfil the country's urgent requirement, Daily Sabah learned from security sources. The procurement agreement will likely be concluded when the Russian and Turkish finance ministers complete the loan agreement, the sources also indicated.

Turkey and Russia have engaged in ongoing talks regarding Turkey's cooperation with Russia in the defense sector since the Russian-Turkish rapprochement in August 2016. However, the discussions have gained new momentum in recent weeks. Russian President Vladimir Putin's spokesperson Dmitry Peskov announced on March 15 that President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Putin had discussed this issue during Erdoğan's recent visit to Moscow on March 10, adding that both leaders were interested in the missile sale. Commenting on this issue, Turkish Defense Minister Fikri Işık said on March 16 that, "Progress is being made in the discussions," while adding that procurement talks have not yet been finalized. Officials for the Russian state corporation Rostec, which produces the S-400 systems, also confirmed that Ankara is ready to buy S-400 missile systems with a Russian loan, saying: "Turkey is expressing that it wishes to receive a loan. As soon as an agreement is signed and a decision is made on the amount of the loan, then we will sign a contract for the supply, including the S-400,'' Rostec CEO Sergey Chemezov said on March 14.

The S-400 was developed as an upgraded version of the S-300 series of surface-to-air missile systems. The system entered service in April 2007 and the first S-400 was deployed in combat in August 2007. According to sources within the defense industry, a regular S-400 battalion consists of at least eight launchers with 32 missiles and a mobile command post. The system can engage all types of aerial targets, including aircraft, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) and ballistic and cruise missiles within the range of 400 kilometers (249 miles), at an altitude of up to 30 kilometers. The S-400 systems are capable of firing three types of missiles to create a layered defense, and the system can be deployed within five minutes, while simultaneously engaging 36 targets.

As a N.A.T.O.-member, Turkey's procurement of the Russian S-400 system has raised concerns regarding the compatibility and integration of these weapons into the N.A.T.O. infrastructure. Minister Işık clarified last week that Turkey will use the Russian systems without integration, noting: ''Russia's S-400 missile systems will not be integrated into the N.A.T.O. system.''

Minister Işık also said the Russian missile system will be used to fulfill Turkey's immediate requirement, while stressing that the uncompromising attitude of N.A.T.O.-member countries compelled Turkey to purchasing Russia's S-400 missile defense system. "We underwent negotiations to purchase N.A.T.O.-produced missile systems, but we could not get a reasonable offer in terms of price and technology transfer. Thus, our negotiations with the Russians have intensified," Minister Işık said on March 15.

Meanwhile, Turkey's efforts to develop its indigenous long-range air missile defense system will continue, even after the procurement of Russian S-400s. ''We [Turkey] have already developed the short-range ballistic missile Hisar and are currently working on the mid-range Hisar project. Developments for our own long-range defense system are currently ongoing and we will be able to produce these systems within five to seven years,'' he said.

The S-400 missiles are the new generation of Russian missile systems and Russia has only sold the system to China and India thus far. Last year, both China and India signed an intergovernmental agreement for the procurement of four regiments of Russian-made S-400s. Turkey will be the first N.A.T.O.-member country to purchase the system.

[Azad]

Re: Regional geopolitics

"Azerbaijan's First Family Accused in Maltese Corruption Scandal

Azerbaijan's first family has been accused of funneling millions of dollars to senior political officials in Malta, including the prime minister's wife, in a case that is threatening the collapse of the Maltese government."

http://www.eurasianet.org/node/83401

[Haykakan]

Re: Regional geopolitics

Here Turkey is blaming the Gullan movement for Dink's murder.

Hurriyet, Turkey
April 28 2017


Third indictment in Dink case reveals horrific facts

MEHMET Y. YILMAZ
The third indictment written concerning the assassination of
Turkish-Armenian journalistHrant Dink on Jan. 19, 2007, has revealed
horrendous facts.

One of the gendarmerie officers in charge of monitoring murderer Ogün
Samast was Cpt. Muharrem Demirkale. It has been found out, according
to the indictment, that Demirkale spoke seven times on the phone one
day before and one day after the murder with former prosecutor
Zekeriya Öz, a Fethullahist Terrorist Organization (FETÖ) member.

Gendarmerie officers who were monitoring Samast at the time of the
killing recorded his movements with physical monitoring cameras before
the murder, during the murder and while running away after the murder.

In the prosecutor’s indictment, it is also explained that there was an
attempt to create the perception that ultranationalists were behind
the Dink murder so that the groundwork could be prepared for Ergenekon
operations and legal procedures to come later.

It is not a secret anyway that the Fethullahist gang was involved in
the Dink murder.

Journalist Nedim Şener’s book, “Dink Murder and Intelligence Lies,”
which was printed just two years after the murder, reveals the
existence of these links.

As a matter of fact, the attempt to associate Şener with the Ergenekon
case through Odatv case coincides with the time after the publishing
of this book.

The government of the time, in those years, was marching toward “the
same destination,” in their own terms. For this reason, despite all
the objections and columns we have written, it prevented the
conducting of a healthy investigation about the incident.

The investigation of security officials who were obviously involved in
the incident was not allowed. Could it be that this investigation was
not permitted at that time because of the concern that honest police
officers who did not have any association with the Fethullahist
network could have disclosed this entire business?

Frankly, if an investigation had been conducted at that time, again in
the hands of Fethullahist prosecutors and judges, everything would
have been covered up because a climate suitable for this had been
created.
It looks as if the deeper the FETÖ investigations get, the more we
will learn about what was left in the dark. Criminals will face their
penalties sooner or later.

The people responsible who have overlooked the committing of these
crimes will be go down in history as they deserve.

[Haykakan]

Re: Regional geopolitics

04.05.2017 Author: Martin Berger

Washington’s Chaoskeeping in Syria
Column: Politics
Region: Middle East
Country: Syria
What is the US up to in Syria? – This question is not simply bugging the Arab world, as the whole international community has been trying to find an answer to this puzzle. This matter became especially relevant after the so-called “chemical attack” in the Syrian Governorate of Idlib that occurred on April 4 and the subsequent cruise missile strike against the Al-Shayrat air base that followed a few days later.
The initial false-flag attack, which immediately resulted in a stream of accusations against the Syrian army and the allied Russian troops, was abused by the so-called Syrian Observatory For Human Rights, which has repeatedly participated in spreading fake reports, along with unreasonable and unverified accusations against the Syrian authorities over the years. Then, in accordance with a clearly pre-planned scenario, the High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Federica Mogherini along with France and Britain joined the action thriller, quickly switching the blame mode on. There can be no doubt that a stream of accusations being voiced against Damascus prior to any sort of preliminary investigation, let alone a thorough one, was what the Washington coalition was aiming at.
Why bother trying to provide any sort of evidence, when previously Washington managed to bring down an unwanted regime by simply handing over a tube filled with unknown substances that was handed over to Colin Powell for him to shake it in the air in front of the UN Security Council. Sure, it was a cheap trick but it worked due to the fact that nobody expected Washington to fall so low, using a dubious pretext to invade and destroy Iraq.
Once Washington, London, and Paris went under a wave of public outrage for their baseless acusations against Damascus, French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault on April 26, acting in accordance with the instructions that Washington provided him with, rushed to present the world a “declassified report of the French secret services,” that were allegedly convinced that Damascus used sarin nerve agent to launch an attack against the town of Khan Shaykhun.
But one could remind Western powers and Jean-Marc Ayrault in particular that six days before the release of this so-called declassified report Australian doctors fell victims of sarin gas in Iraq. Should we hold Damascus responsible for that attack too? Or would we be better off admitting that ISIS militants have repeatedly used sarin and other nerve gas agents both Syria and Iraq, along with their own drones!
By the way, one would not be out of line by demanding how the blood thirsty ISIS radicals that are supposedly surrounded by the US coalition forces and cut off any outside forms of support are not simply continue using nerve agents from the warehouses that remain in their control, while Damascus has officially destroyed all of its chemical stockpiles which has been officially confirmed by the representatives of international community, but are building their own drones. Any drone production operation is something that can hardly be done in the field, especially under the nose of the vigilant French intelligence services, that chose to get engaged in a propaganda war against Damascus instead. As for their British counterparts, they are sending the so-called White Helmets in the contested areas of Syria without the slightest concern for the security of these propaganda heroes in territories occupied by ISIS.
In short, Washington’s actions and the steps taken by its loyal servants in Paris and London with a theatrical performance with “Assad’s chemical attack” and their unwillingness to conduct a thorough investigation of this incident bears a strong resemblance of the events of 2003 in Iraq, which resulted in in the complete destruction of the country and the emergence of ISIS that Washington is allegedly fighting today.
Therefore, it is hardly worth explaining once again what sort of dangerous developments on both the regional and international levels can be triggered by the repetition of the reckless scenario when Washington first makes a political decision, and then creates a political excuse to go along with it. This is how armed conflicts were started not only in Iraq in 2003, but Yugoslavia and Libya, with the so-called Western humanitarian intervention, and Afghanistan too.
Provocations like the one that occurred in Khan Sheikhoun, without a doubt, demand a professional investigation conducted under the supervision of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) by a team of international experts from various regions of the world. There can be no doubt that such an investigation must be open and transparent. The current attempts to block this approach only confirm the doubts about the sincerity of those who are trying to use the incident to push forward their own agenda, in a bid to bring down the UN Security Council Resolution 2254, going along with a time-tested regime change tactics instead.
As for the United States, it is still very difficult to say what plans Washington can try to pull out in Syria in a bid to bring Damascus down. However, Washington’s policies in the region conducted through the last two decades can be briefly described as #chaoskeeping.
Martin Berger is a freelance journalist and geopolitical analyst, exclusively for the online magazine “New Eastern Outlook.”x

http://journal-neo.org/2017/05/04/washingtons-chaoskeeping-in-syria/

[Vrej1915]

Re: Regional geopolitics

In pictures: Syrian drones spot hundreds of US, Jordanian armored vehicles at the border
By Chris Tomson - 09/05/2017

DAMASCUS, SYRIA (0:00 A.M.) – The US and Jordanian military may be prepping a massive invasion of Syria, intelligence reports gathered from surveillance drones suggest.

Damascus is on high alert after some 400 American and Jordanian military vehicles were located at a military base less than a kilometer from the desert border with eastern Homs earlier today.

More pictures of the drone surveillance here:

Chris Tomson | Al-Masdar News

Chris Tomson | Al-Masdar News

The foreign convoys may launch an incursion to aid allied Free Syrian Army (FSA) proxies based around the Al-Tanf border crossing.
In 2017 alone, FSA satellite forces have entered Sweida and Deir Ezzor while also coming dangerously near Palmyra and Damascus, areas under Syrian Arab Army control.

[Vrej1915]

Re: Regional geopolitics

Russia pushing Turkey into Rojava to force Kurds submit to Assad rule: PKK official

http://aranews.net/2017/05/russia-pushing-turkey-into-rojava-to-force-kurds-submit-to-assad-rule-pkk-official/

May 8, 2017


Read More

Syrian Kurdish leader hopes Russia didn’t betray the Kurds through Turkey deal

Kurdish YPG fighters repel ISIS attack on Syrian gas facility

US-led coalition confirms deployment of troops to prevent clashes between Kurds and Turkey

Turkish Army attacked YPG positions in Syria 67 times: Kurdish officials

German army to continue supporting Kurdish Peshmerga, but won’t send new weapons: official

Syrian Kurds say Trump should pressure Erdogan to solve Kurdish issue
Tags
Assad regimeKurdish forcesKurdistan Workers' PartyKurdsMoscowPKKPYDRojavaRussiaSyriaTurkeyYPG
ARA News

Rıza Altun, member of the Executive Council of the PKK-led KCK, has heavily criticized the policy of Russia and suggested that Russia wants to use the Turkish enmity towards Kurds to condemn Syrian Kurds to Assad’s domination and rule.

“There is only one reason behind Russia’s tactic and them pushing Turkey into Rojava. They want to use Turkey’s enmity towards Kurds to condemn them to Asad’s rule. That is their policy. This is a very dangerous policy and Russia definitely needs to give up on it,” he said.

“Russia is in an unclean tactical relationship with Turkey, on the basis of the conflict they have with European and American presence in the Middle East and Russia’s alliance with Syria and Iran,” Altun told ANF.

“They are also thinking of integrating the SDF [Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces] into the regime by Turkey’s force. In fact, I don’t think the latest attack [by Turkey against Syrian Kurds] was carried out without Russia’s knowledge. I think Russia allowed such an attack. Like the US hit the regime, Russia could have hit the YPG headquarters via Turkey and taken their revenge,” the senior PKK official said.

However, he warned Russia that this will not work. “First, threatening Kurds with Turkey is a great delusion. They won’t achieve any results other than exposing themselves. Like they fought for the last 40 years, the Kurds will continue their fight against the Turks from now on as well,” he said.

“Second, strategically it’s a big mistake. The Kurds want a federal and democratic Syria. The Kurds who have this demand are a native people, they are not an external force or an extension of one,” Altun said.

“They [Russia] brought Turkey in and made them enter Jarablus and Bab, and now they say they will do the same for Efrîn. So, will Turkey offer them their gratitude and just go back? When one thinks of it strategically, we are faced with a horrific thing. Unfortunately, pragmatic and tactical politics can lead to destruction of strategy for short term interests. There is such a danger right now,” he added.

The PKK official warned Russia about trying to hand over the Kurds to the regime. “They may be greatly disappointed in the future. Bringing Turkey in is deepening the crisis, the chaos and the insolubility. Turkey stepping in like this may risk Syria fragmenting even deeper. Russia’s role is also key here. When they say they want to hand the Kurds over to the regime, they have to risk losing themselves, along with the regime,” he concluded.

Amberin Zaman, Public Policy Scholar at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, told ARA News that Russia is playing all parties to conflict in Syria.

“Russian is seeking to drive a wedge between Turkey and the United States. It is leveraging Kurdish fear of Turkey to help the regime encroach on their territory. Likewise it is leveraging Turkish fear of the Kurds to wrest concessions on the rebels and Idlib,” she said.

“The YPG’s [Kurdish People’s Protection Units] recent talk about going to Idlib after Raqqa is again probably encouraged by Russia so as to goad Turkey into action against Hayat Tahrir al-Sham group (HTS). The surest way to squeeze them would naturally be for Turkey to seal that part of the border which continues to be a logistical lifeline for HTS and Idlib-based groups,” Zaman told ARA News.

“The Kurds do not have US protection west of Manbij, so it’s easier for the Turks, Russians and the Assad regime to cut deals there. At the same time the US is very keen to address the HTS threat as well, so it won’t necessarily oppose Russian-Turkish collaboration on that front,” she stated.

Timur Akhmetov, a Russian analyst on the Middle East, told ARA News that Russia prefers a strong government in Syria.

“For the Russian officials the PYD [Kurdish Democratic Union Party in Syria] and Turkey have never been equal alternatives. The importance of the PYD in the Russian calculations is based on their presence along the strategically important Turkish border, non-conflictual stance on Assad and considerable fighting potential on the ground. But major disadvantage of the PYD is that it is a non-state actor that potentially may challenge central government,” he said.

“Russia thinks that a strong and effective central government [in Syria] is a cornerstone of a regional stability. This is why Russia engages the PYD with great diligence. On the other hand, Russia perceives Turkey as an important regional power and wants to make it a part of the solution in Syria. It would give Turkey self-confidence, reduce concerns about instability on its borders and, in the long run, more open to Russian suggestions on Syria’s political future,” Akhmetov told ARA News.

Moreover, he said that Russia is eager to plage the Kurdish card against Turkey to get concessions.

“In addition, Russian officials seem to acknowledge that the PYD may represent a serious threat to the Turkish national security. This is the reason why Russia is eager to play the Kurdish card against Turkey when it wants from Ankara concessions on Syria. However, Russia will never willingly push the Syrian Kurds against Turkey,” he concluded.

Reporting by: Wladimir van Wilgenburg | Source: ARA News

[Vrej1915]

Re: Regional geopolitics

Syrian Kurdish leader hopes Russia didn’t betray the Kurds through Turkey deal

May 7, 2017


Ilham Ahmed, Kurdish co-president of the Syrian Democratic Council, said on Friday that she hopes the recent deal by Russia, Iran, and Turkey signed in Kazakstan will not be hurtful for the Syrian Kurds.

The co-head of the SDC said that Turkey by this deal is trying to hit the safety and stability of the local self-administration areas in northern Syria–Rojava.

She said that Turkey is worried about the presence of U.S. troops on the east of the Euphrates, and Russian soldiers on the west of the Euphrates in Efrin, Til Rifaat, and other areas.

“We hope that the Russian government did not make an agreement that would be hostile to the stability and the safe areas which host the Syrians who fled from the persecution of ISIS and the brutality of war, and who still defend themselves and fight against terrorism,” she told local Hawar agency on Friday.

Abdulkarim Omer, the foreign relations chief of the Cezire canton in northeastern Syria, told ARA News in an interview on Friday that Turkey “sold the Syrian revolution” in Astana and made an agreement with Russia and Iran to undermine the Kurds.

“They created Astana for this reason,” he said.

However, until now the Syrian Kurds have good relations with both Russia and US, and Kurdish officials expect the Astana agreement to fail.

“I think that the chances of the success of the Astana agreement are low due to the contradictions of the agenda of the signatory countries,” Omer said.

Reporting by: Wladimir van Wilgenburg | Source: ARA News

[Vrej1915]

Re: Regional geopolitics

Syrian Kurds say Trump should pressure Erdogan to solve Kurdish issue

http://aranews.net/2017/05/syrian-kurds-say-trump-pressure-erdogan-solve-kurdish-issue/

May 4, 2017

US president Donald Trump will host Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on May 16-17 at the White House, in the first meeting between the two leaders. Syrian Kurdish leaders say that Trump should pressure the U.S. to solve the problems between the Kurds and Turkey.

Most likely the Turkish president Erdogan will ask the US administration to end its support to the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF)–that since November 2016 are engaged in a campaign to defeat ISIS in Raqqa.

Sihanok Dibo, a Kurdish official of the Democratic Union Party in Syria (PYD), told ARA News that Washington should convince Turkey to find a democratic solution for the Kurdish issue.

“Turkey must be convinced in a way that a democratic solution for the Kurdish people would benefit the people of the Middle East, for a secure and stable Middle East free of tyranny and terrorism,” he said.

“There are always common points that can be found between the [conflicting] parties. America can play a constructive role in this,” the PYD official told ARA News.

“It would be misleading for Ankara to ask Washington to choose between them [Turkey] and the Democratic Union Party,” he said. “The US is leading the international coalition against terrorism. It must distinguish between those who are fighting with them against terrorism, and those who hinder it like Turkey,” he said.

Abdulkarim Omer, the head of foreign relations for the Cezire [Hasakah] Canton in Syria’s Kurdish region-Rojava, told ARA News that they have no specific message for Trump.

“While we face the most dangerous terrorist organization [ISIS] on behalf of the free world, the international community must put an end to the arrogance of Turkish government, which is hindering our joint campaign against ISIS,” he said.

The Turkish military on 25 April killed at least 20 members of the Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG) in an attack on a YPG base near Derin, in Syria’s northeastern Hasakah province.

Following the attack, on 29 April, the Turkish president Erdogan said that the U.S. should work with Turkey to defeat ISIS in Raqqa.

“America, the coalition, and Turkey can join hands and turn Raqqa into a graveyard for [ISIS],” Erdogan said. “We are telling American friends not to take a terror group along with them,” he added, claiming the YPG is linked to the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK).

After clashes between the YPG and the Turkish army on the Syrian-Turkish border on 26 April, the US army deployed troops on the border to prevent clashes between the two US allies.

“We believe that it is the best time for more tough steps to be taken,” PYD official Sihanok Dibo said about the US border patrols, suggesting this is not a solution. “The most important step here is at least creating a safe zone or a no fly zone,” he told ARA News.

“For the second point, the Syria federal declaration is a basic solution for Syria, and would be the first step to put an end to the violence, death and destruction the have continued for the last six years in Syria,” he concluded.

Reporting by: Wladimir van Wilgenburg | Source: ARA News

[Azad]

Re: Regional geopolitics

Let us hope they will arm them with some nasty armaments.

"In blow to U.S.-Turkey ties, Trump administration approves plan to arm Syrian Kurds against Islamic State

President Trump has approved a plan to directly arm Kurdish forces fighting in Syria, the Pentagon said on Tuesday, inflaming already strained ties with Turkey and putting the U.S. military a step closer to seizing a remaining Islamic State stronghold.

Pentagon spokesperson Dana W. White said the president made the decision on Monday, describing the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), a diverse group dominated by Kurdish fighters, as “the only force on the ground that can successfully seize Raqqa in the near future.”

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/checkpoint/wp/2017/05/09/in-blow-to-u-s-turkey-ties-trump-administration-approves-plan-to-directly-arm-syrian-kurds-against-islamic-state/?utm_term=.a269a185a2cc

[Azad]

Re: Regional geopolitics

"Anonymous warns world to ‘prepare’ for World War 3

The infamous hacktivist group Anonymous has released a chilling new video — urging people across the globe to “prepare” for World War 3 — as the US and North Korea continue to move “strategic pieces into place” for battle."

http://nypost.com/2017/05/08/anonymous-warns-world-to-prepare-for-world-war-3/