Turkey gets an ally in Ukraine

Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar (L) and Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu (L2); Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmitro Kuleba (R2) and Defense Minister Andriy Taran (R) held a press conference after meeting in a ‘2+2’ format, Kiev, Ukraine, Dec, 18, 2020. Turkey under President Recep Erdogan has been variously accused of ‘neo-Ottomanism’, revanchism or radical Islamism. But …

Turkey, Russia take timeout in Libyan war

Parliament in Cairo unanimously voted on July 20, 2020 to authorise dispatch of Egyptian troops on combat missions abroad Just as the Mediterranean air is thick with talk that a military confrontation between Turkey and Egypt is brewing over control of Libya, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Versihinin  flew into Ankara for consultations with his counterpart …

Turkey, Russia tiptoe toward ‘unnecessary war’

The Russian destruction of Turkish fleet at the Battle of Sinop on 30th November 1853 sparked the Crimean War. (Painting by Ivan Aivazovsky, Russian Romantic painter who is considered one of the greatest masters of marine art.) A military confrontation between Turkey and Syria has erupted in Syria’s northwestern province of Idlib. Latest reports say …

Syria: M5 highway secured, time for truce

Syrian forces took control of  M5 highway connecting economic hub of Aleppo to Damascus and other key population centres to Jordanian border, February 12, 2020. The de-escalation talks between Moscow and Ankara over the Russian-backed offensive by the Syrian government forces in the northwestern province of Idlib didn’t help defuse tensions.   On the contrary, …

Pakistan at crossroads. Turkish footfalls beckon.

Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan (L) and Turkish President Recep Erdogan (R), Ankara, Oct. 2019. File photo.  The Indian establishment, including the political leadership, is running into a strange predicament. Never before has India’s image looked so visibly sullied in comparison with Pakistan’s as much as in the most recent years under the present government.  …

A Turkish-Russian entente cordiale in the making

‘Operation Peace Spring’: Turkey’s military operation inside Syria launched on October 9, 2019.  Shall we sit upon the ground and tell there is no longer daylight between Russia and Turkey? We are almost there. The Turkish incursion into Syria on Wednesday is the tipping point. Turkey and Russia are closely coordinating. Consider the following.  The …