Strategic Council Online – Opinion: Ten years since the effects of the Arab Spring on the countries of the region, it seems that this time a different spring weather condition has begun to prevail among countries of the Arab world and Turkey.
Mahmoud Fazeli – International affairs analyst
Strategic Council Online – An expert on the Middle East affairs, referring to the transfer of US military bases from Qatar to Jordan, said: With regard to some of Jordan’s geopolitical characteristics, the country can implement the type of the order considered by the US in the region, while given Jordan’s political approach and geopolitical position, the country will be of particular importance in that new White House strategy.
Strategic Council Online – An expert of Africa affairs commenting on the recent situation in Tunisia as the origin of countries where the Arab Spring took place and some dissatisfaction emerged from the people said: The recent protests in Tunisia are due to dissatisfaction of people and some political officials with the decisions of the Tunisian president who removed the prime minister and suspended the parliament in an unforeseen move.
Strategic Council Online – A university professor emphasized that presence of the Zionist regime in an environment like Africa, despite its colonial history and its implications, as well as its weak, unstable and fluid governments, will lead to increased differences of opinion and create tension in the countries of the continent.
Strategic Council Online – An expert on Africa affairs, explaining the causes and grounds for the recent public protests and political developments in Tunisia, said: On the one hand, the people of that country are disappointed with the management and efficiency of the parties, and on the other hand, there are concerns about the return of the dictatorship.
Strategic Council Online – A researcher on Iraq affairs saying that Iraq, Egypt, and Jordan have strong economic incentives for trilateral cooperation within the framework of the “New Levant” plan, pointed to the challenges facing the cooperation of the three countries and noted: If the effectiveness of the agreement becomes clear to Iraq, there is the possibility that the cooperation may be extended to other political, security and military fields.
Strategic Council Online – Evidence shows that developments in Afghanistan, Libya, Egypt, Cyprus and Greece will overshadow Turkey’s foreign policy in the coming months.
Mahmoud Fazeli – Analyst of international affairs
Strategic Council Online – An expert on West Asia affairs said that the Zionist regime has been pursuing military and security goals in the Persian Gulf since the day it normalized relations with the UAE, Bahrain and Sudan, adding: The regime wants to be part of the region but public opinion in the region opposes it and does not accept it.
Strategic Council Online—Interview: An analyst of Western Asia affairs says even though the new government of the Zionist regime has been formed out of a coalition of rightist, leftist and moderate parties, one may witness more radical moves in order to create stronger unity among them, adding that Israel did not expect a resolute missile response from resistance groups in the 12-day war and under such circumstances, it would not be easy for the Zionist regime to attack Gaza once again.
Strategic Council Online—Interview: An expert of West Asia affairs says public uprisings in the region are a backup and complementary for more legitimacy for the resistance axis, adding that in the recent Gaza war “we witnessed the formation of a serious uprising among the nations of the region and was an emphasis on the point that normalization of relations with the Zionist regime has not had any impact on the knowledge and demands of nations.”
Strategic Council Online – In recent weeks, the Turkish government, in the shadow of media silence, has been shaping certain frameworks in its foreign relations with some countries and players in the region, including the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Egypt and the Zionist regime which could be analyzed and evaluated with such indicators as “pragmatic rotation”, “balancing” or “foreign policy reform”; until recently, Ankara had more or less escalated tensions with those countries and players, and even went as far as political and security conflicts.
Hamid Khoshayand – international affairs analyst
Strategic Council Online—Interview: Former director-general of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for the Middle East, while referring to the tensions in the relations between Riyadh and Beirut which resulted in the resignation of the Lebanese foreign minister, said if interests of Saudi Arabia are secured in the composition of the next Lebanese cabinet, the pressure would decrease and their policies will also change. Otherwise, he said, pressures will continue on Lebanon and they will create obstacles so as a stable government is not formed in Beirut.
Strategic Council Online – Coinciding with May this year, Turkey began to make positive steps regarding the restoration of diplomatic ties with Egypt, and according to political observers, constructive meetings took place between the two sides for two days.
Dr. Qadir Golkarian – faculty member, Near East University of Cyprus
Strategic Council Online – A university professor, stressing that Turkey would never move towards eliminating the Muslim Brotherhood and will maintain relationships with them and in some cases use their card to score points, said: Turkey’s view of foreign policy issues is not ideological, but based on interests.
Strategic Council Online – An expert on the Middle East affairs commenting on news published by the British Guardian newspaper that the process of normalization of relations between Syria and Saudi Arabia after Eid al-Fitr is possible, said: The rift in the triangle of Netanyahu, Trump and Bin Salman has prompted Saudi leaders to seek to change their regional approaches, especially in troubled areas such as Syria and Yemen.
Strategic Council Online – An expert on international affairs referred to economic competition and some security and military issues as major reasons for concern in the region over the US return to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), saying they consider themselves long-standing economic and security partners of the West and they worry that the deal will make the West less concerned about keeping them safe and alone in the face of Iran.
Strategic Council Online – The Eastern Mediterranean, border issues as well as the maritime agreement between Turkey and Libya are among the axes that have caused tensions between Greece and Turkey over the past two years. One of the contentious issues between the two neighbors is the internal developments in Libya. The visits of the leaders of both Libyan factions to Turkey and Greece have been met with fringe and controversy, and the crisis in Libya has practically added to the scope of the traditional rivalry between Athens and Ankara. Libya is in a geopolitically sensitive position, and its developments directly affect the security of Africa, the Middle East and Europe. If the Libyan crisis is resolved, the country can increase its oil production in 2 to 3 years and start oil trade with southern Europe.
Mahmoud Fazeli – Analyst of international affairs
Strategic Council Online – A university professor said that Turkey and Egypt are forced to negotiate on issues of common interests in the Mediterranean and North Africa, adding: It is likely that in the near future we will see the start of negotiations and somehow redefine cooperation between Egypt and Turkey, the two active actors in the Libyan equation.
Strategic Council Online—Interview: An expert of Middle East affairs and assistant professor of international relations in the Human Sciences Research Center says relations between Baghdad and Riyadh have faced many highs and lows during the past several decades.
Strategic Council Online—Editorial: Turkey’s foreign minister Mevlut Cavusoglu announced in a news conference that Ankara has sent a positive message to the Egyptian government in Cairo. After eight years of turbulent relations between the two countries, Cavusoglu said Turkey has made contacts at the intelligence and diplomatic levels with Egypt and Ankara is ready to sign an agreement with Cairo to assign marine borders through negotiation under the present circumstances. And Turkey considers as positive the activities of Egypt in the Mediterranean Sea excavations. Egypt has implicitly recognized Turkey’s marine borders and sent a positive message to Ankara in this way.
Mahmoud Fazeli—Analyst of international relations
