Russian influence

Turkey's Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan attends the NATO Foreign Ministers' meeting in Helsingborg, Sweden, on May 22, 2026.

Turkey’s Fidan heads to Moscow as S-400 sanctions issue returns to fore

The visit comes weeks before Turkey hosts NATO leaders, on the sidelines of which Ankara hopes to reach a deal with Washington over CAATSA sanctions over its purchase of Russian S-400s.

AAREF WATAD/AFP via Getty Images

Russia in talks on 'reformatting' its military sites in Syria: What to know

Moscow signals it wants to maintain its presence in Syria, where President Ahmed al-Sharaa recently said that Russian bases will be converted into training centers.

Tatoyan

Interview

Armenia candidate Tatoyan eyes Pashinyan's pro-West mantle in sea of Russia-backed rivals

In an interview from Yerevan, Armenian opposition candidate Arman Tatoyan denies pro-Russian ties and says he would deepen cooperation with the European Union and the United States while pursuing a gradual approach to relations with Moscow.

Arman Tatoyan

Arman Tatoyan

Founder, Wings of Unity Party

US President Donald Trump (L) welcomes Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan outside the West Wing of the White House in Washington, DC, on Aug. 8, 2025.

Feature

Backed by Trump and Turkey, Armenia's Pashinyan eyes third term in pivotal poll

As Russia and the West vie for influence, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan appears on track to secure a new mandate for his peace agenda with Azerbaijan and rapprochement with Turkey.

Amberin Zaman

By Amberin Zaman

Reporting on geopolitics, minorities, human rights, culture

Latest News

US extends Russian oil sanctions waiver as Iran war squeezes supply

A tugboat guides the Russian oil tanker Anatoly Kolodkin as it arrives at the oil terminal in the port of Matanzas, northwestern Cuba, on March 31, 2026.

Trump speaks with Netanyahu, Putin as Iran pressure campaign escalates

President Donald Trump gives a speech during the State Arrival Ceremony on the South Lawn on April 28, 2026, in Washington.

Iran FM meets Putin, Russia’s military intel chief as talks stall: What to know

Iran FM meets Putin and Russia’s military intel chief as talks stall: What to know

China, Russia veto scaled-back Hormuz resolution at UN Security Council

The Foreign Minister chaired the Security Council session on cooperation between the Gulf Cooperation Council and the United Nations.

Zarif and Lavrov

Taliban, Assad continue to unite Russia, Iran

While Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov discussed ways to salvage the 2015 nuclear deal in his visit to Tehran this week, the topics of Syria and Afghanistan also featured prominently on the agenda.

Russia’s governor to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Mikhail Ulyanov, is interviewed as he leaves after the Iran nuclear talks on April 6, 2021, in Vienna, Austria. Representatives from the United States, Iran, the European Union and other participants from the original Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) are meeting both directly and indirectly over possibly reviving the plan.

Russia describes latest Iran nuclear talks as 'positive'

The talks in Vienna come less than a week after a suspected Israeli attack on an Iranian nuclear facility.

This picture taken on Nov. 5, 2019, during the International Maritime Exercise (IMX) in the Gulf waters off Bahrain shows a close-up of the badge of the Combined Maritime Forces (CMF) multinational naval partnership worn on the uniform of a British serviceman.

Egypt joins Gulf region’s Combined Maritime Forces led by US

Egypt's participation in the task force comes as Russia seeks closer defense ties with Cairo and Sudan.

Lavrov and Shoukry in 2019

Russian FM talks Nile dam, defense cooperation in Egypt trip

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov also discussed Libya and Syria with Egypt's leaders

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and his Turkish counterpart, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, review an honor guard during a welcoming ceremony prior to their talks in Kyiv on Feb. 3, 2020.

Turkey, US in rare position of unity over Ukraine

Russia’s Turkey policy to "drive a wedge between Turkey and its NATO allies" will not likely bear fruit when it comes to Ukraine.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (back-L) and Chinese President Xi Jinping (back-R) attend a signing ceremony ahead of the Belt and Road Forum in Beijing on May 13, 2017.

China looms large in Turkey’s controversial waterway project

Turkey is reportedly gearing up to partner with China in the construction of an artificial waterway parallel to the Bosporus, a project with likely implications for Russia and the United States in the Black Sea.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan delivers a speech following an evaluation meeting at the Presidential Complex in Ankara on April 5, 2021. Erdogan accused dozens of retired admirals of eyeing a "political coup" by attacking his plans for a canal linking the Black Sea to the Mediterranean. His fury was directed at a letter published by 104 former admirals over the weekend urging him to abide by the terms of the 1936 Montreux Convention.

Who benefits if Erdogan scraps key maritime treaty?

A warning by more than 100 retired Turkish admirals against scrapping an 85-year-old maritime treaty restricting foreign military presence in the Black Sea coincides with rising tensions between Russia and Western-backed Ukraine in the region.

Putin and Aoun

What’s Moscow's game plan for Lebanon?

With the worsening of the Lebanese crisis, Russia will have to take a closer look at Lebanese affairs to protect its assets in Syria.

The container ship 'Ever Given' is refloated, unblocking the Suez Canal on March 29, 2021 in Suez, Egypt. This morning the container ship came partly unstuck from the shoreline, where it ran aground in the canal last Tuesday, and later resumed its course shortly after 3 pm local time. The Suez Canal is one of the world's busiest shipping lanes and the blockage had created a backlog of vessels at either end, raising concerns over the impact on global shipping and supply chains.

Russia, Iran propose alternative maritime routes amid Suez Canal blockage

Russia and Iran have called for the need to find alternative maritime shipping routes after a giant vessel was stuck in Egypt’s Suez Canal, blocking maritime traffic for days before it was freed.

This picture taken on March 9, 2021 shows the arrival of a shipment of Russia's Sputnik V COVID-19 coronavirus vaccines in Tunisia's capital's Tunis-Carthage International Airport.

Russia steps up vaccine diplomacy in Maghreb, North Africa

Russia expands its area of influence in the Maghreb as Tunisia and Algeria receive batches of the Russian Sputnik V coronavirus vaccine, raising questions about Moscow's motives.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov (L) and his Saudi counterpart Faisal Bin Farhan chat ahead of a joint press conference following their meeting in the capital Riyadh, on March 10, 2021.

US cooling could help Russia boost ties with Saudi Arabia

While Moscow realizes that it cannot replace the US role in the region, it’s hoping a cooling of ties between Washington and Riyadh will help bolster its own influence.

Russia / Mideast

Sergey Lavrov, Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani and Mevlut Cavusoglu

Russian foreign minister’s visit aimed at challenging US influence in Gulf

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov’s recent visit to the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Qatar came amid uncertainty among these states about their future relations with the new US administration.

Russia / Mideast