Moscow
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Sticking points between Syria and Turkey / Michael Jansen
Last week’s meeting in Moscow of the Syrian and Turkish defense ministers appears to have led to the suspension of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s threat to mount a major military operation against US-sponsored Syrian Kurdish forces engaged in the fight against Daesh. Erdogan regards the Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG) as offshoots of Turkey's Kurdish Workers Party (PKK) which has staged an insurgency since 1984. He blames the YPG for the November 15th bombing which killed six and injured 81 in a pedestrianized market in central Istanbul. The YPG has flatly rejected this charge.
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Turkey’s economic growth loses steam as elections near / Mustafa Sonmez
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has persistently prioritized economic growth but might face the risk of stagnation ahead of Turkey's crucial elections next year.
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Erdogan's game with NATO over Finland and Sweden: what he really wants / Melik Kaylan
Everyone's wondering what on earth Erdogan is up to – first he impedes the NATO accession of Finland and Sweden, then he gives the go-ahead after apparently winning concessions on Kurdish terror allegedly hatched by expat Kurds in those countries. Or so it seems. The same Erdogan who defied Russia by selling those devastating drones to Ukraine. Is he pro-West or pro-Moscow? What's his game? He manifestly used the Finland/Sweden accession issue as bargaining leverage. What does he really hope to squeeze from NATO? For the answers, you won't get any real help from authentic Turkish pundits trotted out by big news orgs like the BBC. If they're based in Turkey, they can't be too candid for fear of being persecuted under Erdogan's repressive anti-media laws. And the on-site foreign reporters aren't much better since their HUMINT contacts are watched and the news media they read locally is muzzled.
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Moscow Kurdish Film Festival to be held late June
This year Moscow Kurdish Film Festival will be held from June 29 to July 13 in the iconic cinema center «Oktyabr» in partnership with KARO.ART.
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Russia-Ukraine talks in Turkey yield respite but no ceasefire / Amberin Zaman
Turkey played host for the second time as peace negotiations between Russia and Ukraine resumed today.