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2018 Review: Managing Peace in the Mideast

2018 Review: Managing Peace In The Mideast
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Our final topic is the three peace processes that have begun to unfold in the Mideast.

After another year of bloody warfare in Syria and Yemen, the two countries finally appear to be on the path to peace, which is happening against the backdrop of Trump's promised "Deal of the Century". The US President unexpectedly declared that American troops would be leaving the Arab Republic following the defeat of Daesh, which he misleadingly attributed solely to the efforts of his military and its allies. Nevertheless, this move was welcomed by all regional stakeholders apart from Israel, and it's widely considered to be a major step in the direction of catalyzing the incipient peace process there.

Right before he made his announcement on Twitter, the Yemeni peace talks in Sweden concluded and resulted in UN-monitored ceasefire being agreed to in the strategic port city of Hodeidah. That conflict is considered to have created the world's worst humanitarian crisis so it was a relief for many to see that the warring parties were willing to temporarily halt hostilities at least for the time being, though much more work must be done in order to reach a lasting peace all throughout the country. It goes without saying that Saudi Arabia's stance will determine whether these efforts ultimately succeed or fail.

The Kingdom is also a pivotal player in Trump's promised "Deal of the Century" for resolving the decades-long Israeli-Palestinian issue, the details of which have yet to be released but are speculated to include some kind of a grand "compromise" between everyone. The problem, however, is that US-Saudi relations have been noticeably affected by Khashoggi's killing and it's unclear whether Riyadh is still on the same page as Washington after everything that happened between the two since then. This sudden development injected a lot of uncertainty into regional relations too.

Saudi Arabia and Israel are united in their opposition not only to Iran, but also to Turkey nowadays too, which is rapidly rising as a Great Power after undertaking a series of dramatic moves over the past few years aimed at solidifying its regional leadership. It remains to be seen just how far tensions between Ankara and its adversaries go next year, but it's almost guaranteed that President Erdogan will continue to be one of the chief actors in Mideast affairs. Furthermore, there's no doubt that Iran will figure high on the regional agenda too as Trump's sanctions begin to bite.

Andrew Korybko is joined by Navid Nasr, Independent analyst based in Maryland.

Want to sound off and share what you think about this? Send us an email at radio@sputniknews.com or find us on Facebook!

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