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The US once again reiterated its firm opposition to Turkey’s purchase and acquisition of the S-400 Russian defense missile system on Tuesday. A State Department spokesperson rejected a recent proposal by Turkey’s Defense Minister Hulusi Akar, who stated that a possible compromise on this issue - which saw the US sanction Turkey under the CAATSA law - would see Turkey use the S-400s in the same...

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France hosted an international conference on Libya in the presence of US Vice President Kamala Harris, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi and other international and regional high-level officials, including Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis. Leaders reaffirmed their commitment to ensure the success of the country’s political process through elections...

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The US role in the Eastern Mediterranean and the partnership between Washington, DC and Athens is the focus of a recent report by JINSA, the Jewish Institute for National Security of America. The report, titled “At the Center of the Crossroads: A New U.S. Strategy for the East Med',' highlights the geopolitical importance of the region for the United States, and calls on Washington to...

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Earlier this week it was reported that the EU was considering taking measures against Turkish Airlines over the latter's alleged role in trafficking migrants to Belarus. Turkish Airlines denied wrongdoing in a statement on Wednesday. On Thursday, however, Bloomberg reported that Turkey agreed with the EU that it would monitor flights headed to Belarus in an effort to prevent them from being...

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European Union officials on Wednesday accused Belarus of state-sponsored “trafficking” of human lives by luring desperate migrants to the Polish border — the edge of the EU — where many are now stuck in makeshift camps in freezing weather. The EU is preparing to hit Belarus with fresh sanctions as early as Monday, and EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said earlier this week that “The...

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In 2016, days after the failed coup attempt in Turkey, Professor Henri Barkey was falsely targeted by the Turkish government, which formally charged and prosecuted him for allegedly inciting the failed 2016 coup. He is part of a large and expanding group of alleged co-conspirators including Osman Kavala, one of Turkey’s most prominent civil-society organizers, has now spent years in jail for...

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Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew wrapped up an almost two week visit to the United States late last week. His trip included meetings with President Biden, Secretary of State Blinken, and key members of Congress. Religious freedom in Turkey and the reopening of the Halki Theological Seminary featured heavily in discussions with US political leaders, but the trip also highlighted the important...

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North Macedonia’s Prime Minister Zoran Zaev announced earlier this week that he would resign after his party suffered an overwhelming defeat during recent municipal elections to the nationalist VMRO-DPMNE, the main opposition party. Following the election, Zaev insisted that the coalition could agree on another candidate for prime minister and form a government, rejecting calls from the...

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Authorities in Greece reported 6,808 new coronavirus cases on Thursday as the country experiences a sharp upturn in its daily infection rate, breaking record after record: 4,696 on Saturday, 5,449 on Monday and more than 6,700 on Tuesday. The situation in hospitals is also worrying, with data showing that beds are filling faster with new Covid-19 patients than there are discharges, and that the...

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There are growing concerns that Turkey could launch another incursion into Syria, and reports indicate that the Turkish army has stepped up its presence in areas controlled by the Syrian opposition in northeastern Syria, amid ongoing Turkish threats against Kurdish forces in the area. In the meantime, Turkey’s parliament approved a motion late last month extending Erdogan’s mandate to send...

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Zoran Zaev announced his resignation as North Macedonia’s prime minister and leader of the ruling Social Democratic party after a landslide defeat in local elections late on Sunday. The move raises important questions about what lies ahead for North Macedonian politics, with the nationalist opposition, which is opposed to the Prespes agreement with Greece, calling for early elections. Tom...

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On Sunday President Biden held a meeting with Turkish President Erdogan on the margins of the G20 Summit. During their meeting, President Biden raised concerns about Turkey’s possession of the Russian S-400 missile system, emphasized the importance of respect for human rights and called for the countries to cooperate more and handle “disagreements effectively”. Going into the meeting, President...

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Greece’s often-strained relations in past years with Germany took center stage Friday during a visit to Athens by outgoing Chancellor Angela Merkel. During their meeting, Greek President Katerina Sakellaropoulou raised the thorny issue of Germany's role in Greece's financial crisis, noting that “there were times of difficulty and tension,” adding that Greeks “often felt alone.” Many Greeks...

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The US Treasury Department on Thursday imposed sanctions on two top Lebanese contractors and a lawmaker close to Hezbollah over alleged large-scale corruption that undermined the rule of law in Lebanon. This decision comes amid an unprecedented economic crisis in Lebanon. It also comes as Hezbollah attempts to expand its influence over Lebanon, seeking control over the powerful Finance and...

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The Financial Action Task Force (FATF), the Paris-based global money laundering and terror financing watchdog, added Turkey to its “grey list” last week, placing it under increased monitoring. This is not the first time Turkey was placed on the “grey list”, and in 2019 the FATF warned that unless Ankara improves its “serious shortcomings,” Turkey risked being added to the grey list once again....

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Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis held two days of meetings in Saudi Arabia, where the focus was on bilateral relations and energy developments in the region. During his visit, Mitsotakis made the case that Greece can be an entry point into the European power market for energy produced in the Middle East. The visit came weeks after Greece and Egypt signed a deal to build an...

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This month the Piraeus Port Authority handed a further 16 percent of its shares to Cosco, cementing its control by the Chinese state-backed shipping group, which bought 51 percent of the Greek port in August 2016 during the financial crisis. The deal has intensified unease in the EU over China’s increasing involvement in European infrastructure and met a wall of opposition over environmental...

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EU leaders were in Brussels on Thursday and Friday for a European Council summit, with soaring energy prices and a rule-of-law dispute with Poland at the top of the agenda. Other topics on the agenda included discussions over migration, with the EU condemning the use of migration as a pressure tool, resurgent EU coronavirus hot spots, and vaccine donations. The summit also saw German Chancellor...

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Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew is set to visit the United States between October 23 and November 3, where he will hold a number of important meetings, including a meeting with US President Joe Biden at the White House. In a recent piece for the Middle East Institute, expert Tuğba Tanyeri-Erdemir argued that this in-person meeting provides the Biden administration a unique opportunity not only...

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Hezbollah and its political allies have intensified Lebanon’s political crisis and paralyzed the new government by trying to push the cabinet to dismiss Tarek Bitar, the judge in charge of investigating the 2020 Beirut blast. Last week, on October 14, clashes erupted in Lebanon’s capital city over the probe into the explosion of Beirut’s port, with deadly shootings taking place at a...

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