Turkey and Russia urged Libya’s warring parties on Wednesday to declare a Jan. 12 ceasefire as eastern forces carried out air strikes on the government in a conflict drawing increasing foreign involvement and concern. Turkey backs Fayez al-Serraj’s Tripoli-based Government of National Accord (GNA) and has said it will send troops as requested, while Russia has sent forces to…
Omar al-Tawil, a 15-year-old school boy in Damascus, is one of 24,000 Syrian youngsters now learning Russian at school after the country added the language of the government’s most powerful ally to the curriculum. Many young people in Syria, where Moscow intervened in 2015 to help President Bashir al-Assad win back territory, are eager to study Russian…
Russia’s prime minister has ordered an inspection of flight and tourism safety in the Middle East following an Iranian missile strike in Iraq and a fatal plane crash in Tehran, Interfax reported Wednesday. Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev’s order comes in response to a Ukrainian airliner crashing shortly after takeoff from Tehran, killing all 176 people…
The presidents of Turkey and Russia on Wednesday formally launched the TurkStream pipeline which will carry Russian natural gas to southern Europe through Turkey, part of Moscow’s efforts to reduce shipments via Ukraine. The pipeline project, stretching 930 kilometers (580 miles) across the Black Sea, reinforces strong energy ties between Moscow and Ankara, which have also increased defense…
Release January 8, 2020, 16:00 Gas supplies via TurkStream will help strengthen energy security in Turkey and Europe. A grand opening ceremony for the TurkStream gas pipeline took place today. Attending the event were Vladimir Putin, President of the Russian Federation, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, President of the Republic of Turkey, Aleksandar Vucic, President of the Republic of Serbia, Boyko Borissov, Prime Minister of the Republic…
A Ukrainian airliner crashed shortly after take-off from Tehran early on Wednesday, bursting into flames and killing all 176 people on board. Debris and smoldering engine parts from the Boeing 737, which carrier Ukraine International Airlines said was last serviced two days ago, were strewn across a field southwest of the Iranian capital where rescue workers in…
Iran launched missiles at U.S.-led forces in Iraq on Wednesday in retaliation for the U.S. drone strike on an Iranian commander whose killing last week stoked fears of a new Middle East war. Iranian state television said Iran had fired 15 missiles at U.S. targets in Iraq in response to Friday’s killing of Qassem Soleimani,…
Russia slid to 51st place in a global ranking of passport holders who can travel to other countries without a prior visa, according to a quarterly index published Tuesday. The Henley & Partners residence and citizenship planning firm ranks the strength of 199 different passports based on the availability of visa-free or visa-on-arrival travel to…
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Turkey and Russia will inaugurate a third natural-gas pipeline between their countries on Wednesday, deepening Turkish reliance on Russian energy even as the countries dig in on opposite sides of Libya’s escalating proxy war. The ceremonial opening of the TurkStream pipeline by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin underscores the…
With the world on edge over rising tensions in the Middle East, one leader seems unfazed: Russia’s Vladimir Putin. The Russian president arrived in Damascus on Tuesday in just his second visit to Syria since the start of the country’s civil war nearly nine years ago. The timing is significant. The U.S. and its allies…