OPINION

No one – as usual – saw it coming. So guess who walks into a room in St. Petersburg this past Thursday; Saudi Arabia’s Deputy Crown Prince – and Defense Minister – Muhammad bin Salman, favorite son of King Salman; Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir (former ambassador to the US and very close to key …

British intelligence agency GCHQ has once again been called on to reveal whether it was involved in the US targeted killing program against terror suspects, after a leaked top secret memo to agency staff contained details of a fatal drone strike in Yemen.  The documents, leaked by former NSA …

In the aftermath of the June 7 elections, many coalition options are now being discussed in Ankara. TheAKP–CHP option deserves special attention, as it would bring the country’s two largest parties together. The coalition could potentially end a protracted era of political polarization in Turkey. Here are some …

“Please, let us make decisions regarding our interests and requirements on our own, proceeding from our history and culture,” Putin said. ST. PETERSBURG, June 19. /TASS/. Russian President Vladimir Putin has warned the United States against the intention of speaking to Russia in an ultimatum-like language and urged …

Instead of building bridges and accepting Russia’s stance as having merit, the US and the North Atlantic Alliance have chosen to immerse themselves in shaping up for a lasting showdown with Moscow.  The standoff could last years or even decades, according to the Pentagon chief, who defended the US …

Washington and London have very specific plans regarding continental Europe and Russia: they want to weaken the first and impoverish the latter to prevent them from uniting into a force to be reckoned with.  Otherwise, the US policy towards Europe and Russia does not make any sense. “Modern Russia …

It is difficult to predict how the natural gas discoveries in Eastern Mediterranean will impact an already complex regional inter-relation system. Signs of mounting tension around the offshore potential resources are not new. If this tension occurs in the current early phase of exploring and extraction, it should …

The Concept of Helsinki Accords and the Search for a Strategy in Syria and Iraq The Concept of Helsinki Accords and the Search for a Strategy in Syria and Iraq The Middle East now is in many aspects reminiscent of the pre First World War Europe. The atmosphere …

On Monday, Saudi Arabia celebrated the beheading of its 100th prisoner this year. The story was nowhere to be seen on Arab media despite the story’s circulation on wire services. Even international media was relatively mute about this milestone compared to what it might have been if it …