Syria: Who will Blink First?

As tensions rise in Idlib, the current political equilibrium in Syria no longer appears sustainable in the long run. The parties engaged there have various and often mutually exclusive goals
As tensions rise in Idlib, the current political equilibrium in Syria no longer appears sustainable in the long run. The parties engaged there have various and often mutually exclusive goals
The preservation of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) will play a key role in Moscow–Tehran relations. Currently, Russia is looking for options to offset the negative effect of Trump’s decision on Iran and the tenuous future of the nuclear deal.
The beginning of December was marked by Vladimir Putin taking a tour in the Middle East during which he held a meeting with the leaders of Turkey, Syria and Egypt. At the same time, Vladimir [...]
King Salman’s visit to Russia, the first ever by a Saudi monarch, shows that Moscow and Riyadh are switching gears from competition to cooperation. This rapprochement is guided by pragmatism and overlapping interests: boosting global oil prices,
With the conflict in Libya proving to be hard to resolve through U.N. mediation, outside powers, including Russia, see an opportunity to facilitate the settlement of the crisis and serve their own interests by doing so.
Despite the fact that there was no more convenient interlocutor for negotiations than John Kerry, the victory of Donald Trump in the American presidential elections gave the Russian leadership hope for an improvement in Russian-American relations in general and reaching a compromise on Syria in particular.
Against the backdrop of instability in the global energy industry, Moscow is seeking to consolidate its share of the oil and gas markets as well as ensure that its revenue stream from the oil trade does not thin out.
Following the collapse of the Soviet Union, relations between Egypt and Russia underwent a period of "stagnation" characterized by a weak level of interaction, as well as the decay of the old relations and forms of cooperation.
The success of the Russian military in Syria against all odds has reignited the debate as to what guides Vladimir Putin in the Middle East and whether Syria is only a harbinger of its ambitions.
The Syria deal unveiled by U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and his Russian counterpart, Sergey Lavrov, on September 10, is a diplomatic coup for Russia.