Russia’s large-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 has led to a renewed focus on the geopolitical importance of the Black Sea. What the North Atlantic Treaty Organization has overlooked is Russia’s use—often in coordination with Iran—of the Caspian Sea to advance its war aims in Ukraine. The Caspian Sea …
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March, 2023
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23 March
Ukraine To Get US Tanks By Fall
The Defense Department announced in January that 31 M1A2 Abrams tanks would be delivered to Ukraine, but officials had speculated it would take about a year to make that happen. Now, they say, the U.S. will instead send M1A1 Abrams tanks from refurbished hulls already in U.S. inventory, and the …
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23 March
Japan’s PM offers Ukraine support as China’s Xi backs Russia
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida made a surprise visit Tuesday to Kyiv, engaging in dueling diplomacy with Asian rival President Xi Jinping of China, who met in Moscow with Russian President Vladimir Putin to promote Beijing’s peace proposal for Ukraine that Western nations have all but dismissed as a non-starter. The …
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23 March
Turkey, Iraq laud cooperation, but major disagreements remain
Sudani on his first visit to Ankara, stressed the importance of Iraq’s sovereignty in the two countries’ fight against terrorism. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Iraqi Premier Mohammed Shia al-Sudani on Tuesday lauded the cooperation between the two countries but reported only limited progress on the contentious bilateral rifts. …
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23 March
Iran, Iraq sign security deal boosting border cooperation
The deal follows the Islamic Republic escalating its attacks on Kurdish groups in Iraq amid the ongoing protests in Iran. Iran and Iraq signed a security agreement on Sunday. The deal follows Iran’s cross-border attacks on Kurdish groups in Iraq and demonstrates the Islamic Republic’s continued sway over its neighbor. …
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20 March
The clash of two cities: Erbil, Sulaymaniyah, and the future of Iraq’s Kurdistan
The most successful Kurdish political experiment in West Asia is unravelling due to increasing divisions between the KDP and PUK, the two biggest political parties in Iraqi Kurdistan. Iraq’s Kurds, as with other mainly Iranic populations across western and southern Asia, are busy preparing to celebrate Nowruz on March 21, …
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20 March
Erbil oil revenues to come under Iraqi supervision
The move continues a trend reversing aspects of Kurdish autonomy gained since the 2003 US invasion of Iraq For the first time since 2002, oil revenues from Iraq’s Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) will be transferred to a bank account supervised by the Iraqi central government, state-run Iraqi News Agency (INA) …
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20 March
Saudi finance minister says investments in Iran can happen ‘quickly’
Tehran and Riyadh recently agreed to restore diplomatic relations under the auspices of China Saudi Finance Minister Mohammed al-Jadaan said on 15 March that investments in Iran could happen “very quickly” following the signing of a normalization agreement. “There are a lot of opportunities for Saudi investments in Iran. We …
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20 March
Russian-Turkish ‘co-opetition’ from Syria to Nagorno-Karabakh
At a time when conflicts are increasingly interconnected, and provide tactical levers to assert pressure elsewhere, the competition between Russia-Iran and Turkiye in Syria and the South Caucasus is destined to overlap. Despite their robust diplomatic relations, Turkiye has been in direct competition with Russia and Iran in two major …
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20 March
Dead on arrival: The US plan to train PA ‘special forces’ in the West Bank
Despite being in conflict with armed resistance factions in the West Bank, Palestinian Authority forces have also collaborated with them, posing a challenge to those who seek to divide Palestinians. The Palestinian Authority (PA) has reportedly agreed to implement a controversial US proposal aimed at restoring its control over northern …
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