World press on US-Iran conflict, Syria crisis and French-Turkish relations (April 24, 2012)

The Washington Post published an article devoted to the new Pentagon agency established to investigate the Iranian nuclear programme. The fact may seem striking, taking into consideration that intelligence work is the CIA's area, the author of the article, Greg Miller, believes. The decision may reflect certain changes within US policy concerning Iran, he supposes. Evidently something must have forced the US administration to endow the country's military with a special services' functions.

The Guardian published an article devoted to the Syrian crisis. The article was entitled 'How to stop Syria's warring factions tearing the country apart.' The author of the article, Mokhtar Benabdallaoui, believes that Lebanon, despite its chronic sectarian instability, contains some lessons for Syria. "During a period of transition the initial goal should be to build trust among the various sectarian groups. And while free and fair elections are necessary for democratic government, they are insufficient on their own to establish trust and defuse tensions," the article reads. "Ultimately, the Lebanese system has come to rely on a delicate balance that remains in place only when there is confidence that no one particular group is dominating the system. Syria needs exactly that; a modus vivendi by which, at least initially, assurances are presented to Alawites, Christians and Druze that whichever system replaces the current one, it will not be dominated by the majority," the author says. "The process should be based on a clear roadmap: stipulate the return of the army to its barracks, remove weapons from the hands of insurgents, allow the presence of international monitors, and open a national debate under the auspices of regional and international forums," he explains.

Hurriyet published an article by Sevil Küçükkoşum headlined 'Ankara pinning hopes on Hollande in France.' "Turkey is keeping a close eye on France’s presidential race, because Ankara is hoping that a possible victory for François Hollande will lead to the lifting of France’s veto on the opening of new chapters in Turkey’s EU accession talks, according to Turkish diplomats," the article reads. "Socialist candidate Hollande has been much less skeptical about Turkey’s eventual accession to the EU than has current President Nicholas Sarkozy. If he becomes the president of France this could create a window of opportunity for revitalizing Turkey’s stalled membership negotiations, according to diplomats," the author says. " When asked about Turkey’s accession to the EU during his campaign, Hollande has said there would be no Turkish accession during the next five-year presidential term. Turkish diplomats assess these comments as election campaign rhetoric, pointing out that indeed Turkey could not enter the EU during the next five years given the accession process itself," the article reads.