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Turkey and Iraq both occupy a prominent position in the Middle East, and much – not least the stability and peace of the region – depends on their foreign policies. This was amply demonstrated by the recent tense diplomatic talks between Ankara and Baghdad, which were accompanied by an exchange of ministerial visits, and which are likely to usher in important changes in relations between Turkey and Iraq. Turkey’s Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, formerly head of the National Intelligence Agency, visited Baghdad and Erbil for the first time since he took office. Meanwhile, Iraq’s Oil Minister…

“There is a rapprochement [between Saudi Arabia and Israel] underway”, announced President Joe Biden in July. If the Biden administration can find a way for Saudi Arabia and Israel to develop relations officially, this will be a significant diplomatic breakthrough. Indeed, successive US presidents have tried – and failed – in ‘normalising’ the Middle East. The Trump administration, however, found an exceptional success when it got the UAE and Israel (and a couple of other Arab states) to sign The Abraham Accords in 2020. Ever since then, the US has been trying to expand the accords by including Saudi Arabia, which is arguably the most important Muslim…

Kim Jong-un’s visit to Russia is still ongoing as the author is writing these lines, yet the audience urges him (the author, not Kim) not to put off dissecting the event’s most important moments and results. The visit of the DPRK leader to the Russian Federation will therefore be covered in several parts. He (still the author) will need to discuss the misleading news that circulated prior to the visit and how it was received in South Korea, at the very least. He will also go into more detail on what was planned for the visit and what, contrary to expectations, most likely wasn’t…