Nikola Mikovic, Syndication Bureau

The writer is a political analyst in Serbia. His work focuses mostly on the foreign policies of Russia, Belarus, and Ukraine, with special attention on energy and ‘pipeline politics’. Syndication Bureau.

To challenge Russia, Turkey courts its Turkic brethren

While the world remains focused on de-escalating the Israel-Hamas war and the ongoing conflict in Ukraine, Turkey’s attention is increasingly on gaining a foothold in former Soviet republics of the South Caucasus and Central Asia.

With one war over, the South Caucasus girds for the next

After its rapid military advance last week, Azerbaijan is set to establish full sovereignty over Nagorno-Karabakh, the country’s contested mountainous enclave that’s been under ethnic Armenian control for three decades.

Is the Taliban a threat to Central Asia?

Two years after the U.S. withdrew from Afghanistan, countries around the world have begun normalizing ties with the Taliban. Central Asian states are no exception. But amid fears that the Afghan rulers could destabilize the region or create a water crisis, and with China and Russia heavily influencing regional security, Central Asian countries are proceeding cautiously.

Putin’s Black Sea grain gambit is a win for Turkey

Russia’s recent decision to suspend participation in the Black Sea Grain Initiative, a UN-backed agreement that has allowed Ukraine to export food during the ongoing conflict, will have repercussions that go beyond threatening global food security.

Russia and Iran press ahead with ‘new Suez’

Russia and Iran hope that the International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC) could be a game-changer for global trade. Even though the project is still far from being fully operational, officials from both countries have repeatedly framed the corridor as an alternative to the Suez Canal.

Whither Turkey-Russia relations if Erdogan loses?

For Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Vladimir Putin is a “dear friend” who reportedly warned him that factions within the army were planning a coup in 2016.

An existential crisis for Iran in the South Caucasus

Tensions between Azerbaijan and Armenia are threatening to destabilize the South Caucasus, prompting some to worry that Iran could eventually be pulled into a wider regional conflict. But is Iran really prepared to invade its Shia-majority neighbor to protect Armenia, or are recent military moves little more than bluster?

Russia returns to the graveyard of empires

Even as Russia struggles to achieve military and political success in Ukraine, its leaders have turned their attention to another regional objective: restarting business in the “graveyard of empires”.

Russia’s Red Sea plans face rough waters

The war in Ukraine has laid bare Russia’s military weaknesses, and a key area of concern for the Kremlin is the health of its navy. With the Russian Black Sea Fleet an easy target for Ukrainian anti-ship missiles, Moscow is eyeing alternatives, including a long-planned naval base in Sudan.

A Russia-Iran trade corridor to nowhere

While Russia and Iran do not always concur, their status as pariahs of the West has pushed them to work as an “axis of the sanctioned”. One way this has materialized is through the International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC), a 7,200-km network of road, rail, and shipping routes designed to move freight between India, Iran, Azerbaijan, Russia, Central Asia, and Europe.