By Benyamin Poghosyan, PhD, Executive Director, Political Science Association of Armenia

The Afrin events are being used to assert the notion that without Russian military guarantees, and a Russian military base deployed in Armenia, Yerevan will be under a constant threat from a potential Turkish offensive.
Turkey's military operation in Afrin proved once more that in the current geopolitical situation in the Middle East nothing can be excluded. Obviously, Turkey had made its own calculations when it launched the offensive, and the muted reaction of the main players of the region can be perceived as a proof that some preliminary discussions had taken place before the start of the operation. The nonlinear relations between powers involved in the Middle East makes it really complicated to understand what lies beneath the surface in terms of motives and assessments. READ MORE

• February 2, 2018

Britain’s economy will be worse off after Brexit whether it leaves the EU with a free trade deal, single market access, or with no deal at all, according to leaked analysis that fed the view that the government is badly prepared.

• January 30, 2018

U.S. President Donald Trump’s decision not to impose sanctions on Russia for now, under a law overwhelmingly passed by Congress, represents a missed opportunity to deter the Kremlin’s aggressive behavior, former U.S. officials and Russia specialists said on Tuesday.

• January 30, 2018

A Syrian peace conference in Russia ended on Tuesday with a statement calling for democratic elections but ignoring key opposition demands after a day marred by squabbles and heckling of the Russian foreign minister.

• January 30, 2018

Turkey urged the United States on Thursday to halt its support for Kurdish YPG fighters or risk confronting Turkish forces on the ground in Syria, some of Ankara’s strongest comments yet about a potential clash with its NATO ally.

• January 25, 2018

U.N.-brokered peace talks with the Syrian government and opposition began on Thursday, a few days before separate negotiations hosted by Damascus’s close ally Russia that the West views with suspicion.

• January 25, 2018

U.S. President Donald Trump said on Thursday he ultimately wants the dollar to be strong, lifting the greenback and contradicting comments made by Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin one day earlier.

• January 25, 2018

China has little room for raising benchmark interest rates as inflation remains subdued and authorities try to reduce the economy’s debt burden, a former vice-governor of the country’s central bank, Zhu Min, said on Tuesday.

• January 23, 2018