Turkey and the Kurdish Vote for Independence in Iraq

by Omer Taspinar Recent developments in Iraq, with the Kurdish referendum for independence taking place as scheduled on Monday, put the Turkish government of Recep Tayyip Erdogan between a rock and a hard place. According to most recent press reports, more… Continue Reading

Rapprochement between Turkey and Syria on the Horizon?

by Giorgio Cafiero For decades, Turkey and Syria’s bilateral ties have fluctuated vastly. In 1998, the two nations almost went to war over Damascus’ support for the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), sovereign disputes involving Hatay province, Turkish-Israeli relations, and water… Continue Reading

Russia and Turkey: The Arms Deal that Signals the Age of Pragmatism

by Nikolai Pakhomov If any single arms deal can capture the shifting nature of Russian cooperation in the post-Cold War era, it is the pending sale of S-400 air defense systems to Turkey that now looks increasingly likely to happen.… Continue Reading

Russia Talking with Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan Over Military Deployment to Syria

by Joshua Kucera Russia is in talks with Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan about sending troops to Syria, senior Russian and Turkish official have said. “Negotiations are now going on, a process is being worked out so that Russian military police can… Continue Reading

The Gulf Crisis: Grappling for a Face-Saving Solution

by James M. Dorsey A two-week old conflict in the Gulf goes to the core of key issues in international relations that hamper the fight against political violence and govern diplomatic relations: the absence of an agreed definition of terrorism… Continue Reading