Middle-east Arab News Opinion | Asharq Al-awsat

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Iraqi Kurds fly Kurdish flags during an event to urge people to vote in the upcoming independence referendum in Irbil. (AFP)

Iraqi Kurdistan Referendum Beats Drums of Ethnic War

by Dalshad Abdullah and Nazeer Rida | Sep 23, 2017 | Features

Irbil, Beirut – Unprecedented tensions have been building between Iran, Turkey and Iraq and between the Iraqi Kurdistan Region’s staging of an independence referendum, the consequences of which may lead to a regional conflict against the Kurds. The Kurds have been...

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Syria/AP

Moscow Warns Washington from Targeting its Allies in Syria

by Said Abdel-Razek, Taha Abdel-Wahed, Asharq Al-Awsat | Sep 22, 2017 | Middle East

Moscow, Ankara- Moscow announced on Thursday that it had warned Washington from any attempts of shelling from areas where its allied Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) are deployed in eastern Syria. “Any attempts of shelling from the areas where the militants of the...

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The Iraqi Kurdistan Region will hold its contentious independence referendum on September 25 despite misgivings by the United States (AFP)

Last Western Attempt to Postpone Kurdistan Referendum

by Heba El-Koudsi, Said Abdel-Razek, Asharq Al-Awsat | Sep 22, 2017 | Middle East

New York, Ankara, Irbil- The foreign ministers of Turkey, Iran, and Iraq called on authorities in Kurdistan to annul the referendum on independence scheduled for next Monday. During a meeting in New York on Thursday, the three ministers issued a statement saying they...

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An Iraqi soldier looks on as smoke rises from oil wells in the Ajil field east of the city of Tikrit in the Salahuddin province, March 4, 2015. REUTERS/ Mahmoud Raouf

The Near East’s Costly Wrong Bets

by Eyad Abu Shakra | Sep 21, 2017 | Opinion

As uncertainty engulfs a bleeding Near East, besieged by regional and global powers each pursuing its own agenda, dormant ambitions and sensitivities are waking up and finding the current situation suitable to express themselves. To begin, such dormant ambitions and...

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King Salman shakes hands with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Ankara. SPA file photo

Phone Call between King Salman and Turkish President

by Asharq Al-Awsat | Sep 21, 2017 | Saudi Arabia

Jeddah– Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz and President of Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdogan discussed regional matters during a phone conversation on Wednesday. During the call, the two sides reviewed bilateral relations between the two countries...