Monthly Archives: May 2015

US and Russia Need to Cooperate

Posted on May 31, 2015 by

31 May 2015 During his first visit to Moscow on 6-8 July 2009 President Obama tried to “reset” relations. Unfortunately for the international community this failed to materialize. Russians probably preferred to wait and see. The Arab Spring led to … Continue reading →

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Yemen’s Sectarian Divide

Posted on May 27, 2015 by

27 May 2015 Saudi-led airstrikes against Yemen’s Houthis started on 26 March. On 14 April the UN Security Council adopted Resolution 2216 giving Saudi Arabia what may be called a diplomatic victory. The Resolution urged all Yemeni parties to respond … Continue reading →

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Syria: Only More Trouble Ahead

Posted on May 25, 2015 by

25 May 2015 With Daesh controlling half of Syrian territory and the “Army of Conquest” consolidating its gains in the Idlib province and getting closer to regime’s bastion of Latakia, the Assad regime appears to be on the retreat. While … Continue reading →

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The Fall of Ramadi and Turkish Views From the Past…

Posted on May 21, 2015 by

21 May 2015 22 September 2015 will mark the 35th anniversary of the beginning of the Iraq-Iran war which lasted eight years. This was followed by Saddam Hussein’s invasion of Kuwait in 1990 and the First Gulf War. In 2003 … Continue reading →

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US-GCC Camp David Summit: An Overview

Posted on May 18, 2015 by

18 May 2015 US-Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Summit meeting at Camp David ended with a Joint Statement and an Annex which contains additional detail on future avenues of cooperation. The Gulf States had four major expectations from the summit: • … Continue reading →

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Confusion over the Camp David Summit

Posted on May 13, 2015 by

13 May 2015 Following his visit to Riyadh, Secretary Kerry met with his Gulf counterparts in Paris on Friday, May 8th in preparation of this week’s summit at Camp David. After the meeting, Kerry and Saudi Foreign Minister al-Jubair held … Continue reading →

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Yemen: Time for Decisive Diplomacy

Posted on May 9, 2015 by

9 May 2015 Saudi Arabia has announced a five-day humanitarian cease-fire in Yemen. The cease-fire is supposed to start on Tuesday, May 12th at 11:00 p.m., last for five days and be subject to renewal. During two press conferences with … Continue reading →

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Turkey’s Upcoming Election and the Syria Conflict

Posted on May 4, 2015 by

4 May 2015 On 27 April, the International Crisis Group published the “Statement on a Syrian Policy Framework”. The Statement starts with an analysis of the conflict and then suggests a framework for a political deal based on the understanding … Continue reading →

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