ASTANA, Kazakhstan — Russia, Turkey and Iran agreed Tuesday to the outlines of a plan to reinforce a cease-fire in Syria, establishing the three most significant allies of the protagonists in the conflict as guarantors to a peace process.
The deal concluded two days of talks in Kazakhstan’s capital, Astana, that drew Iran into a burgeoning alliance with Russia and Turkey over ways to secure a settlement. It set broad but vague parameters for a cease-fire enforcement mechanism and committed the three countries to jointly fight the Islamic State and Syria’s al-Qaeda affiliate. It will also provide a test of Russia’s new role as the lead power broker in efforts to secure a sustainable, long-term solution to the war.
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Commentaries, Analysis, And Editorials — January 24, 2017
The Russian-Turkish-Iranian axis: Strange bedfellows — Ofra Bengio, Jerusalem Post
Russia leaves Syria talks with tentative plan. Up next: get US involved. — Fred Weir, CSM
Trump Team Aims to Test Russia’s Alliance With Iran — Eli Lake, Bloomberg
What the Saudi Monarchy Wants From the U.S. — Gerald Feierstein, RCW
North Korea nuclear threat means South must not delay anti-missile system — Jack Kim and Christine Kim, Reuters
The real stakes involved in N. Korea’s missile threat — Hugh White, Straits Times
The Art of a Deal With North Korea: President Trump has a chance to succeed where many others failed. — Joel Wit and Richard Sokolsky, Politico
Xi Jinping portrays China as a rock of stability — The Economist
Beijing Is No Champion of Globalization — Elizabeth C. Economy, Foreign Affairs
Europe’s priority now is to keep the union of 27 together — Almut Möller, The Guardian
Russia: Life After Trust — Michael Idov, New York Magazine
Democrats urged Obama to cease Yemen war role before Trump took over — Julian Pecquet, Al-Monitor
Trump TPP move seen as win for China, but Beijing isn’t celebrating — Emily Rauhala and Anna Fifield, Washington Post
The Trump-Putin Parallels Pile Up — Leonid Bershidsky, Bloomberg
‘American Carnage’ Is Real — Justin Fox, Bloomberg
In 2009, media drooled over Obama. To Trump they bare their teeth. — Kayleigh Mcenany, The Hill
