September 16, 2018
The Saudi-led intervention in Yemen is now in its fourth year. On April 24, 2015 Saudi Arabia announced that “Operation Decisive Storm” had achieved its objective and priority would now shift to rebuilding the country and political dialogue. This new phase was to be called “Renewal of Hope”. More than three years later, the Yemenis find themselves in a state of despair. Okumaya devam et
September 9, 2018
The much-awaited Tehran meeting between Iranian, Russian and Turkish Presidents, generally viewed as the “Idlib Summit”, has ended with a Joint Statement on Syria (*).
Paragraph 2 of the Statement emphasizes the three Presidents’ commitment to the sovereignty, independence, unity and territorial integrity of Syria. Moreover, it rejects all attempts to create new realities on the ground under the pretext of combating terrorism and states their determination to stand against separatist agendas aimed at undermining the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Syria as well as the national security of neighboring countries. Okumaya devam et
September 3, 2018
John McCain, a Vietnam War hero, was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives from Arizona in 1982 and elected to the Senate in 1986. As President Obama mentioned at his memorial service last Saturday, the Senator was a conservative Republican, but his more than three decades of work in the Senate was underscored by bipartisanship and political courage which often put him in conflict with his own party (*).
In 1955 John F. Kennedy, at the time a junior senator from Massachusetts, published his Pulitzer Prize winning book “Profiles in Courage” on eight of his historical colleagues for their acts of courage and integrity in the face of overwhelming opposition. Looking at the respect shown to Senator McCain across America’s political spectrum, one can assume that he too might have figured among them had the book been written today. Okumaya devam et
August 27, 2018
Since the very beginning of the Syrian conflict there have been three stumbling blocks before a political settlement:
August 20, 2018
When President Obama’s visited Turkey in April 2009 he underlined Turkey’s “strong, vibrant, secular democracy”. Turkish-American relations appeared to have reached their peak. As Turkey started to move away from the democratic path relations started to sour not only with the US but also the EU. Then came the Syria ordeal. Turkey was at the forefront of those who were after regime change. President Obama’s decision not to enforce his redline in Syria caused resentment in Ankara because it showed that even the Obama administration, unlike Ankara, had not written off President Assad completely. Okumaya devam et
August 10, 2018
The JCPOA was finalized by Iran and the P5+1 on July 14, 2015. Six days later the UN Security Council voted unanimously to endorse the agreement and “terminate” all prior UN sanctions subject to re-imposition through a snapback mechanism. High level visits to Tehran immediately started. The first to arrive was German Vice-Chancellor Sigmar Gabriel. He was followed by EU’s foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini and French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius. These were months before the IAEA certified that Iran had fulfilled her obligations under the JCPOA and the US and the EU lifted their nuclear-related oil and financial sanctions against Iran. President Hassan Rouhani described the achievement as a “golden page” in his country’s history opening new windows for Iran’s engagement with the world. It was hoped that the deal would end decades of hostile relations between Tehran and Washington. Okumaya devam et
August 3, 2018
Washington has imposed sanctions on Turkey’s Ministers of Interior and Justice. These may be symbolic but their significance cannot be underrated. Ankara has reacted. The disarrayed opposition is clamoring for retaliation. Russia and Iran have condemned US action. Their “support” has made headlines in the Turkish media with some newspapers now drawing attention to the “religious dimension” of the dispute. Turkish currency continues to fall. Okumaya devam et
July 31, 2018
Ever since the beginning the dictum was “there is no military solution to the Syrian conflict”. Yet external parties involved in the war and their proxies knew all along that this was far from reflecting their true intentions. At the outset the West and their regional allies were determined to oust President Assad from power and gave the opposition every support. As time went by West’s resolve wore off as a result of the inability of the so-called “moderate opposition” to turn itself into a major player and the growing fear that regime change might end up with radical extremists in power. Russia’s intervention in Syria was a game changer which gave the Assad regime upper-hand on the battlefield. Since then the anti-Assad Western alliance has all but collapsed. Okumaya devam et
July 24, 2018
In conventional wisdom, continuity was a prominent feature of sound foreign policy. This did not mean that adjustments, seeking new political/economic opportunities, innovative approaches to conflict resolution were only to be resisted. Nonetheless, a country’s remaining on a steady course was perceived by friends, allies and adversaries as a measure of reliability. Unpredictability was never an asset. President Trump does not appear to agree. Okumaya devam et
July 16, 2018
After a confrontational NATO summit in Brussels where the primus inter pares target was Germany and a UK visit which was characterized by some observers as an “assault on diplomatic norms” President Trump met his Russian counterpart in Helsinki. He arrived in the Finnish capital leaving behind a week of controversy while the latter came from a successful World Cup which gave its host Russia added international visibility. At the beginning of the Helsinki meeting President Trump repeated his conviction that good relations between Washington and Moscow are good for both countries and the world. Okumaya devam et
Diplomatik Yorum - Ali Tuygan 