US Marines and Emirati troops held a major military exercise on Monday that saw forces seize a sprawling model Middle East city, AP reported. The drill was conducted some 200km (125 miles) southwest of Abu Dhabi amid tensions with Iran and despite the new coronavirus pandemic. Troops raced over the dunes of the Al-Hamra Military Base to take the model city, complete with multi-story buildings, an […]
Tensions
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Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke by phone to his Turkish counterpart Tayyip Erdogan on Thursday, the Kremlin said in a statement, saying both men agreed with satisfaction that tensions in Syria’s Idlib were now significantly lower, Reuters reports. Turkey and Russia, which back opposing sides in Syria’s war, last week agreed on a ceasefire to halt an escalation of violence in Idlib that displaced nearly a million people and […]
Tehran reacted on Friday to the escalation of conflict in northwestern Syria, saying it is ready to take every measure to help reduce tensions. “We are carefully monitoring the field developments and regional outcomes of the developments in Idlib, and we will continue our efforts to end the current tensions,” the Iranian Foreign Ministry said on Friday. The statement stressed the need for the sides to […]
22 Feb, 2020 14:39 A Turkish soldier has been killed in the Syrian northwestern Idlib province in an air strike by the Syrian Army, Turkish local authorities have said amid the ongoing crisis between Ankara and Damascus in the region. A soldier identified as Mecit Demir has been killed in a bombing in Idlib, the governor’s office of the southern Turkish Gaziantep province said in a […]
Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced Friday that the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) military air base in Tindal, Australia, will receive a major upgrade over the next several years in an effort to provide both Canberra and Washington a leg-up in the region. Previous reports that Australia’s strategic Northern Territory air base would be undergoing an extensive upgrade were confirmed on Friday as the prime […]
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo met Friday with the new ruler of Oman. The Gulf Arab country has close ties with both Washington and Tehran and that has previously provided a back channel for talks between the adversaries. Pompeo’s stop in Oman to meet Sultan Haitham bin Tariq Al Said is the highest level US visit to the country since he was selected successor to […]
Reuters reports that Turkey’s lira weakened against the dollar on Tuesday to its lowest point in regular trading since last May, as a central bank policy decision loomed and investors fretted over tensions in Syria’s Idlib, where Ankara is bulking up its military. Turkey’s central bank, which has slashed its policy rate by 1,275 basis points since July, is expected to lower its policy rate by a further 50 […]
The Russian envoy to Ankara has said that Turkish social media is flooded with hatred against Russia, and revealed that he has received threats. Security for Moscow’s diplomats has now been increased amid the flare-up in Idlib. “Look at the terrible madness on social media. I will read out some of the comments: ‘Say goodbye to your life,’ ‘No one will cry for you,’ ‘It’s time […]
Incensed by Turkey’s incursion into Idlib which has hindered the Syrian Army’s attempt to liberate the militant-held province, the Syrian parliament officially recognized the mass murder of Armenians a century ago as genocide. The People’s Council (Majlis al-Sha’ab) adopted a resolution Thursday that “condemns and recognizes the genocide committed against the Armenians by the Ottoman state at the start of the twentieth century.” The deaths of […]