Vitaly Bilan
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20.01.2014
Arab Spring: an end to this eastern tale?
After its triumphant start in 2011-2012, recently the “flagship” of the Arab uprisings, the Islamic movement Muslim Brotherhood, sponsored by Qatar, has been losing ground practically in the entire region, which, in fact, is the first sign of decay of the once promising oriental tale called the Arab Spring. At first, there was Libya, where […]
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19.11.2013
Sudan: on the brink of a new conflict?
In late October, the pro-South Sudan Ngok Dinka tribe in the disputed province of Abyei began to vote unilaterally to join the territory. Reports of this caused great anger in Khartoum and among the leaders of the nomadic Misseriya tribe, which is under its control and passes through the territory of the province several times […]
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30.10.2013
Washington’s Afghan Conundrum
It appears that the present state of affairs in the signing of cooperative security agreement between the U.S. and Afghanistan is becoming a serious problem for the current U.S. administration. Procrastination is prompting geopolitical rivals (notably China and Russia) to augment their influence in the region, and the signing of an agreement on terms that […]
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05.08.2013
The Greater Middle East: from nationalism to “Somalisation”
The events of the so-called Arab Spring have demonstrated that the Middle Eastern nation-states, as is the case with European states, are experiencing the sunset of their existence. However, compared to their European “big brothers,” this process is much more painful. Which, in general, is not surprising. As we know, Arab nationalism was a romantic […]
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31.07.2013
On the situation in Sinai
With the sharp deterioration of the situation in Sinai (especially in its northern part), which occurred in Egypt after the overthrow of the regime of the “Muslim Brotherhood”, the issue of control (or rather, the lack of control) in the Sinai Peninsula has been renewed in the world media. So much so, that the leaders […]
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20.05.2013
Israel, Iran and the Syrian issue
The unsuccessful attempts to overthrow the Assad regime are increasingly moving Israel to center stage, and the footdragging on Syria is significantly hindering a decision on what is perhaps Israel’s key foreign policy issue: Iran. In a late July speech at the the National Security College’s graduation ceremony, Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak said that […]
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19.04.2013
Obama between the Middle East and the Far East
Against the backdrop of recent White House political missteps, Barack Obama has decided to gamble on making at least some progress towards resolving the Middle East problem. He is entrusting it to John Kerry in hopes that if anything is achieved it would be a victory for Obama’s policies, and if not, it could be […]
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07.04.2013
Egypt, France and the Qatar factor
Egyptian Foreign Minister Mohammed Amr visited the French capital in early April. Egyptian news agencies reported that Amr was received by both his French counterpart, Laurent Fabius, and French President François Hollande. That allowed both Amr and the controlled media to extol the “close relations” and “strategic cooperation” between Cairo and Paris. However, anyone who […]
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22.01.2013
Mali: Islamists, Tuaregs and French interests
Carte blanche The UN Security Council supported the military operation France carried out in Mali on January 14 and gave Paris quite a helping hand in restoring that country’s “constitutional order and territorial integrity.” UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon also stood behind Paris, noting that “bilateral partners are responding, at the request and with the consent […]
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03.01.2013
Israel’s elections and the “russian street”
The “Russians” are coming The issue of “Russian” Israelis has reemerged in the Israeli media as the early parliamentary elections scheduled for January 22 approach and Likud allies itself with the Russian party, Israel Our Home More oil was poured on the fire by the early December report about the formation of a new Russian […]
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04.12.2012
Israel’s operation Cloud Pillar in Gaza and the anti-Iranian campaign
A strange war Debates are still raging in both the Israeli and the regional media as to why it was necessary to expend so much energy and resources on operation Cloud Pillar and mobilize 75,000 reservists (7.5 times more than during Molten Lead, the IDF’s last operation in Gaza) just to enter a very hasty […]
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10.11.2012
The status of Palestine and the fight for votes
Arab League Secretary General Nabil al-Arabi said the other day that an expanded meeting with representatives from the Arab world and 27 European Union countries will take place at the League’s headquarters in Cairo on November 13. The main topic of discussion will be Palestine’s status in the UN. Let’s try and understand what goals […]