Russia has begun building a 12-mile bridge to connect Crimea to the Russian mainland. Since the seizure of Crimea in 2014, Ukraine has not allowed it to be resupplied from its territory and Russia has been forced to resupply the peninsula by ships. There are significant shortages of many necessary materials, but it would be politically difficult for Russia to withdraw. So a plan developed by Czar Nicholas in 1910 to build a bridge has been revived. Even if the bridge is built, it is unlikely that the international community will recognize the illegal seizure of the peninsula from Ukraine.
There has been another bomb attack in a Turkish city. The Syrian civil war is rapidly spreading to Turkey even as the dim outline of a negotiated settlement is beginning to appear. President Erdogan has managed to completely destroy the two year ceasefire with the Kurds and it is likely that the Syrian Kurds will emerge with a slice of Syrian territory under their control. That outcome will prove to be highly intoxicating to the Turkish, Iranian, and Iraqi Kurds. The turmoil in Turkey will likely continue to escalate.
It is hard to imagine how the Syrian people have survived the civil war. Not only have about 350,000 been killed, but millions have fled the country. The people, however, still find ways to carry on. The BBC has a great article on life in Syria right now, and the interesting insight that a particular 1970s song has sustained many. Rock on, Syria!
World Politics News 
Leave a comment