World Politics News   Articles for World Politics Course

The Jerusalem Post is reporting that Russia is going to provide Syria with its S-300 anti-aircraft missile system, considered by many analysts to be quite formidable.  The Israelis are very concerned that the S-300 system will compromise its ability to interdict weapons deliveries from Iran to Hezbollah, the Iranian ally in Lebanon.   The conflict between Iran and Israel is unquestionably heating up and the anti-aircraft system is considered a direct threat by many Israeli officials.  Iran has threatened to “punish” Israel for its attack on a military base in Syria which killed Iranian military personnel.  Reuters is quoting Israeli Defense Minister, Avigdor Lieberman, in a stern warning to Iran not to establish itself in Syria: “Every outpost in which we see Iran positioning militarily in Syria, we will destroy, and we will not allow this no matter what the price”.

Serzh Sargsyan had ruled Armenia for 10 years–two consecutive 5-year terms as President.  The constitution did not allow him to run for a third term, but the Armenian Parliament changed the constitution to provide for a Prime Minister in order to allow Sargsyan to continue to rule in a different office.   Sargsyan was installed as Prime Minister on 17 April, but the people of Armenia protested massively against what they regarded as a naked grab for power and the protests ultimately led Sargsyan to step down.  A new election is scheduled for 1 May and the opposition leader, Nikol Pashinyan, is expected to be named Prime Minister.   But allies of Sargsyan in Parliament are waging a move to have Karen Karapetyan named Prime Minister.  The political turmoil is of great interest to Armenia’s neighbor, Russia, which has two military bases in the country which might be in jeopardy if Pashinyan is elected.  We will have to see if Russia tries to influence the outcome of the election.

While French President Macron was visiting Washington, DC there was some talk of “updating” the Iranian nuclear deal (the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA)) to address US President Trump’s concerns about Iran’s missile testing and its support for Hezbollah and Hamas.  It was unclear whether these concerns would be folded into the original JCPOA or whether a new agreement would be added to the JCPOA.  Both Russia and China, however, have firmly rejected both possibilities.  The Arab News quotes Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov:  “There are attempts to interfere with the international order upon which the United Nations depends…..We said clearly with China that we will stop attempts to sabotage these agreements that were passed in a UN Security Council resolution”.