The interest of foreign world powers in the presidential elections in Turkey is not just idle curiosity, but is connected to the potential for future bilateral relations between Turkey and the countries in question. And in this, Russia is no exception. Attitudes to President Erdoğan vary, with some leaders seeing him as a friend, while for others the relationship is governed purely by his status, but he remains the leader of an important state, and that accounts for a great deal. And international interest in Turkey will remain unchanged if his challenger Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu becomes the new leader. Politicians typically make an effort…

On the 19^th of May, the Financial Times quoted the British Minister of Defense, Ben Wallace, stating that the West could face the threat of full-scale war with Russia and China by the end of the decade and proclaimed defence preparation a paramount task for Western countries. One has to wonder what universe Mr. Wallace and his boss, Rishi Sunak, are living in since Britain is engaged in war with Russia right now, has, with every step, every hostile action, set itself up for a full-scale war, a full-scale catastrophe, which they cannot prevent. Why Britain would go to…

On May 10, an earlier announced meeting of the foreign ministers of the Astana format participants – Russia, Iran, Turkey and Syria – took place in Moscow. It should be noted that this summit of representatives of the Quartet took the baton from the heads of defense departments. The latter shows that Russia, as the initiator of the Middle East dialogue on the settlement of the Syrian crisis, demonstrates a systematic approach covering all important aspects of the remaining contradictions between Damascus and Ankara. Accordingly, the meetings of the heads…

After more than a year of behind-the-scenes diplomacy, Syria’s membership in the Arab League of States (LAS) was finally restored when Arab foreign ministers reached a consensus on an issue that has been causing sharp divisions since the start of the Syrian crisis 12 years ago. On May 7, the Arab League’s foreign ministers…

Very seldom is something that can be so beneficial for one country attracted the wrath of so many others, as in the reaction to Russia affording Georgia visa-free status and direct flights, after so many years of travel and visa restrictions, recriminations, and name-calling. The US and the Georgian president also want to stop flights from resuming between the neighboring countries, which were suspended last year in the wake of the Ukrainian civil war, Russia’s special operation…

The parliamentary and presidential elections held on May 14 this year in Turkey, to which the special attention of external observers is riveted, nevertheless did not surprise with their results. First of all, the elections confirmed the high tension and the state of an almost proportional split in Turkish society into supporters and opponents of Erdoğan and Kılıçdaroğlu, East and West, radical Islamic and moderately secular, imperial-independent and republican-pro-Western path of development of the country…

Turkish President Recep Erdoğan is notable for his acumen and his particular pragmatism. Like Kemal Atatürk in his time, he has achieved a fairly advanced partnership with Russia in the field of economy, politics, and security. The fact that Turkey, being a NATO member, still tries to maintain an independent course towards Russia, to develop mutually beneficial economic relations with it (especially in the field of energy, transit communications and tourism), not to participate fully in the anti-Russian sanctions of the collective West, not to rule out the possibility of new agreements with Russia on military-technical…

So, the EU does not want Georgia now that it refuses to die for Ukraine or open a second front against Russia. It does not want to “Cut off its nose to spite its face”. Georgia’s EU candidacy status has been a carrot dangling from a stick in front of a donkey for many years, and has brought about some good results; however, a Georgian donkey is stubborn, and for good reason. It is so easy to frame everything into simple choices, especially when perceived by outsiders and the naïve…

On the 78th anniversary of the liberation from fascism in World War II, the world’s attention is increasingly focused on the causes and developments of the Ukrainian conflict. Even today, it is no secret in the United States and its Western allies that the main reason for the conflict in Ukraine is the recognition by the Western political elite that the defeat of a Nazi regime in Ukraine, raised by Washington, means the end of the unipolar world. That is why NATO countries, led by the United States, are doing everything possible to prolong the military conflict, to inflict maximum damage on Russia and, ultimately, its defeat. Following American financial attempts…

The destabilization of the military-political situation and the provoked civil war in Syria, which has been going on since March 2011, have become another consequence of the US regional policy of reformatting the Middle East region and establishing its own monopoly. The strategy of “controlled chaos” with the use of radical forces and internal political contradictions was a hackneyed product of American diplomacy and intelligence. The Syrian conflict is an echo of the “Arab Spring” and a reflection of multi-layered ethno-religious contradictions…

On April 19, 2023 President Yoon Seok-yeol gave an interview to Reuters in which he said, among other things, that “If there is a situation the international community cannot condone, such as any large-scale attack on civilians, massacre or serious violation of the laws of war, it might be difficult for us to insist only on humanitarian or financial support.” Yoon noted that his government is exploring how to help protect and rebuild Ukraine, just as South Korea received international aid during the 1950-53 Korean War. “I believe there won’t be limitations to the extent of the support to defend and restore a country…

In Turkey, the pre-election struggle of the main candidates for the presidency is in full swing. Despite the sharp nature of the confrontation between the main contenders in the presidential elections (from the ruling party Recep Erdoğan and from the opposition party Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu), the maturity of Turkish democracy and features of Turkish culture so far in general demonstrate the correct attitude of experienced politicians to each other. It so happens that the tension of the forthcoming elections is mostly connected, on the one hand, with the long period of ruling of the leader of the Justice and Development Party (AKP) Recep Erdoğan during the last…