Russia Archives - Arab Digest

Putin’s ascendancy in the war in Syria

7 April 2020William LawArab Digest EmailIsrael, Russia, Syria, Turkey, UAE, USA

As the Idlib truce continues to hold, Vladimir Putin reinforces Russia’s dominant role in Syria.

Saudi Arabia’s wars on three fronts

24 March 202024 March 2020William LawArab Digest EmailCovid-19, Russia, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Yemen

Mohammed Bin Salman is fighting a war in Yemen and Covid-19. So was this the time to launch an oil price war with Russia?

MENA wars in the shadow of Covid-19

23 March 2020William LawArab Digest EmailCovid-19, Egypt, Libya, Russia, Syria, Turkey, UAE, USA, Yemen

Will the global battle against coronavirus help to counter three major MENA wars? The evidence is mixed. Despite Covid-19 numbers rising dramatically in the Gulf states and elsewhere in the Middle East (with a particular concern that Egypt is both suppressing true numbers and showing itself dangerously unprepared) there is one ray of positive news. In Syria, one of the three major conflicts in the region, combatants have appeared much readier to accept a truce and to consider putting talks ahead of guns. In Libya, however, the warlord General …

Libya: a conversation with the ECFR’s Tarek Megerisi about the war

13 March 202013 March 2020Hugh MilesPodcastsEgypt, Libya, oil, Russia, Turkey, UAE, USA

Erdoğan and Putin cobble together a deal over Idlib

12 March 2020William LawArab Digest EmailRussia, Syria, Turkey, USA

Russia and Turkey have veered away from the risk of a direct confrontation in Syria but the situation in Idlib remains very much in flux. We are again grateful for the article below to David Barchard, a writer on Turkish history and politics. Six days after Presidents Vladimir Putin and Recep Tayyip Erdoğan hammered out a temporary agreement for a cease-fire in the troubled northern Syrian province of Idlib, Turks are trying to work out whether it was a disappointment or a success. The disappointment would be that Turkey has …

Business is brisk in MENA arms trade

11 March 2020William LawArab Digest EmailAlgeria, Egypt, Iraq, Qatar, Russia, Saudi Arabia, UAE, UK, USA

War in three countries, tension with Iran, growing regional instability. Is it any surprise that the arms trade to MENA is hot and getting hotter?

Oil: Irony and yet more uncertainty

10 March 202010 March 2020William LawArab Digest EmailRussia, Saudi Arabia, USA

As the oil price tumbles and market insecurity grows the Russians and Saudis play Russian roulette.

Pawns in a Syrian war of attrition

5 March 20205 March 2020William LawArab Digest EmailRussia, Syria, Turkey

While the Russians, Turks, rebels and Assad wage a chess-like war civilians in Idlib pay the price.

Algeria, Tunisia and the war in Libya

26 February 202027 February 2020William LawArab Digest EmailAlgeria, Egypt, France, Jordan, Libya, Russia, Tunisia, Turkey, UAE

Summary: Both Algeria and Tunisia have cause for concern as the war in Libya, fuelled and supported by outside players, continues with no end in sight.

As Assad nears victory in Idlib, Turkey takes casualties

18 February 202018 February 2020William LawArab Digest EmailRussia, Syria, Turkey, USA

Turkey faces difficult decisions in Syria as Assad’s forces close in on Idlib.