Etiket arşivi: Saudi Arabia

A World of Conflict

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October 9, 2023

Following the recent developments in Nagorno-Karabakh, Presidents Aliyev and Pashinyan were supposed to meet in Granada, Spain on October 5. Only days before the scheduled meeting, French Foreign Minister Colonna visited Yerevan where she said: “I would like to publicly state that France has agreed on future contracts with Armenia which will allow the delivery of military equipment to Armenia so that it can ensure its defense.” You’ll understand that I can’t go into more detail at the moment.” A few days later, citing unnamed sources, Azerbaijani media said that Mr. Aliyev had decided against the Granada meeting after France and Germany allegedly objected to President Erdoğan’s participation in the talks. French promise to send arms to Armenia was only a knee-jerk reaction, a reflection of Paris’ colonial instincts during times of trouble in Africa. It undermines efforts to achieve peace. Should Paris be interested in peace-making somewhere, it can turn to Libya, a country that was completely devastated thanks to the Sarkozy-led intervention in violation of a UN Security Council Resolution.

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China-US Competition in the Middle East

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June 21, 2023

The title of one of my recent posts was, “A Light Breeze of Change in the Middle East”. Hopefully, it would continue to blow more and more strongly and turn into a “wind of change” after decades and decades of conflict, external intervention, and self-destruction.

A brief look at the past developments:

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A Light Breeze of Change in the Middle East

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April 17, 2023

On March 10, 2023, the “Joint Trilateral Statement by the People’s Republic of China, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and the Islamic Republic of Iran” was issued in Beijing. The Joint Statement started with a reference “to the noble initiative of President Xi Jinping and China’s support for developing good neighborly relations between the Kingdom and the Islamic Republic”. It then mentioned the gratitude of both parties to the Republic of Iraq and the Sultanate of Oman for hosting rounds of dialogue that took place between both sides during the years 2021-2022. The two sides also expressed their appreciation and gratitude to China for hosting and sponsoring the talks. Getting credit for peace-making in the Middle East is a noteworthy achievement.

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The Global South Plus

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March 13, 2023

On February 23, 2023, the UN General Assembly through its Resolution A/ES-11/L.7, once again called for ending the war in Ukraine and demanded Russia’s immediate withdrawal from the country in line with the UN Charter. The voting was very similar to last year’s Resolution ES‑11/4. And the message of the majority was the same: “End the war.”

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“Retreat” or “Normalization of Relations”?

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August 25, 2022

In the military context, the word “retreat” means “the usually forced withdrawal of troops from an enemy or from an advanced position”. In a broader context, it is defined as “an act or process of withdrawing especially from what is difficult, dangerous, or disagreeable”. [i] For obvious reasons, the word is anathema to politicians. They prefer expressions like “revision” or “updating” of policy. But in Türkiye, the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) avoids even using such expressions as they might be conceived as an admission of error. It prefers to refer to its foreign policy reversals as “normalization of relations”. How we ended up having an abnormal state of relations with others is not an issue.

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President Biden’s Upcoming Visit to Saudi Arabia

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July 12, 2022

Saudi Arabia’s de facto ruler Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman, in an interview with newspaper editors in Cairo in March 2018 said that Türkiye, Iran, and extremist groups represented a “triangle of evil” in the region. This was widely reported in the Egyptian press. Saudi Arabia’s embassy in Ankara issued a statement saying that MBS had mentioned not Türkiye but the Muslim Brotherhood and radical groups.

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Recalibrating America’s Relationships

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March 1, 2021

On February 19, President Biden addressed the global community for the first time. At 2021 Virtual Munich Security Conference he defined the partnership between Europe and the US as the cornerstone of all that the West hopes to accomplish in the 21st century, just as it did in the 20th century. He said, “I know — I know the past few years have strained and tested our transatlantic relationship, but the United States is determined — determined to reengage with Europe, to consult with you, to earn back our position of trusted leadership.” (emphasis added)

He expressed his strong belief that democracy will and must prevail.

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Never a Day of Peace

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September 24, 2019

With the release by Iran of Stena Tempero on Monday, the tanker dispute between Iran and the UK reached its easily predictable conclusion. But the Middle East just can’t offer its peoples a chance to breathe a sigh of relief. Thus, the attack on Saudi Arabia’s oil facilities once again put the region and the world on edge. In assigning responsibility, Washington and Riyadh point towards Tehran, the latter denies all charges. Okumaya devam et →

Khashoggi, Turkey and the Yemen War

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November 26, 2018

After “The End” in a movie comes the closing credits with the names of the director, writer, producer, leading cast, supporting cast, director of photography and others who have contributed to its making. “The End” in the Khashoggi tragedy is unlikely to come any time soon but the audience already knows the story and the leading cast.

“Statement from President Trump on Standing with Saudi Arabia” issued on November 20, 2018 summed up Washington’s position: Iran is “the world’s leading sponsor of terror” and the Saudis have been a great ally in the fight against Tehran and that is not going to change. Okumaya devam et →

The Path to Middle East Supremacy

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November 20, 2018

Arab spring and the Syrian conflict have led some observers to look at Middle East developments through the prism of regional “rivalry” or “competition”. Countries generally mentioned are Iran, Saudi Arabia and Turkey. Israel is also prominently involved in regional affairs but the current emphasis seems to be on confrontations between Muslim countries which can’t even manage get around a table to address regional problems. Thus, all three are said to be in a “fierce struggle” for regional supremacy and the latter two for the leadership of the Sunni world. The murder of Jamal Khashoggi has provided the discussion with additional material.

There can be different paths to regional supremacy. To embark on such a path a country needs power. And, power has economic, military and political components. Okumaya devam et →