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* Richard Kemp: A Great Step Forward for World Peace - and Who Seems Determined to Ignore It
* Burak Bekdil: Will Gas Discovery Change Turkey's Political Course?


** A Great Step Forward for World Peace - and Who Seems Determined to Ignore It ([link removed])
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by Richard Kemp • September 3, 2020 at 5:00 am
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* Some months ago, in talks with leaders in Saudi Arabia as part of a delegation from former Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper's Friends of Israel Initiative, together with their Executive Director and former Spanish National Security Adviser Rafael Bardaji, I heard first-hand how open the Saudis were to the prospect of embracing Israel in the future.
* Of far greater significance, however, is the looming threat to the region from Iran and, to a lesser extent, Turkey. Most Arab countries see common interests with Israel in the face of the mullahs in Tehran with their imperial aggression in Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, Yemen and beyond, coupled with insatiable nuclear ambition.
* Notwithstanding the economic, technological and security imperatives that lie behind the evolving Middle East relationships, great credit must go to the men behind the Abraham Accord.... Mohammed bin Zayed... [and] Benjamin Netanyahu... know only too well that such actions carry with them serious risks to themselves personally and to their nations.

This week, we witnessed a symbol of perhaps the greatest step forward in world peace for decades. The first-ever direct passenger flight from Israel to the United Arab Emirates flew down the length of Saudi Arabia's airspace. Pictured: The flags of the United Arab Emirates, Israel and the United States fly at Abu Dhabi airport on August 31, 2020. (Photo by Karim Sahib/AFP via Getty Images)

This week, we witnessed a symbol of perhaps the greatest step forward in world peace for decades. The first-ever direct passenger flight from Israel to the United Arab Emirates flew down the length of Saudi Arabia's airspace. After Egypt in 1979 and Jordan in 1994, the UAE has become the third Arab state to normalise relations with the State of Israel under the new Abraham Accord.

Next month, the 2020 Nobel Peace Prize winner will be announced in Oslo. Will it go to the architects of the Abraham Accord, a momentous achievement in itself, and also a major development in a regional geopolitical realignment that is not only good for peace and prosperity in the Middle East but in the world? We knew what the answer would be to that question even before it arose. (Those who point out the deadline for 2020 nominations has passed need not expect to see it in 2021 either.)

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** Will Gas Discovery Change Turkey's Political Course? ([link removed])
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by Burak Bekdil • September 3, 2020 at 4:00 am
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testoneinstitute.org%2F16432%2Fturkey-gas-discovery&pubid=ra-52f7af5809191749&ct=1&title=Will+Gas+Discovery+Change+Turkey%27s+Political+Course%3F [link removed]
* "Turkey's never-ending military challenge against world powers in seas and land" makes for hundreds of stories of Turkish heroism in the media, which is largely controlled by Erdoğan and his business cronies.
* Now comes the promise of tens of billions of gas-dollars from the Turkish merchant of dreams. Experts say production at the Black Sea field could start in 7-10 years, at best. Erdoğan has promised 2023 for production. In that election year, Turkish voters may question the availability of natural gas, or, more realistically, they may ask Erdoğan why they are still paying high gas bills to heat their homes.

With the discovery of a natural gas field off Turkey's Black Sea coast, containing an estimated 320 billion cubic meters of gas, there is unprecedented euphoria in the pro-Erdoğan media. There is propaganda talk of "Turkey on the way to becoming a global power." Pictured: The Turkish drilling ship Fatih sails up the Bosphorus towards the Black Sea on May 29, 2020. (Photo by Burak Kara/Getty Images)

Turkey's economy minister, Berat Albayrak, has said that the discovery of a large natural gas field off Turkey's Black Sea coast will change Turkey's [political] axis. "Neither the West, nor the East, Turkey's new axis is Turkey," said Albayrak, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's son-in-law. The discovery, at an estimated 320 billion cubic meters (bcm) of deep sea gas, marks a historic day for Turkey, Erdoğan said, the beginning of a new era.

Erdoğan announced that production at the site could start by 2023 -- when Turks will go to ballot box for presidential and parliamentary elections. Officials in Ankara hopes the discovery will meet Turkey's natural gas needs for 7-8 years, and earn the national economy $65 billion.

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