Russian plane shot down in Syria, page-165

A couple of articles on recent ME developments.

Erdogan visits Berlin.

"Erdogan will attend a state banquet with German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier and meet twice with Chancellor Angela Merkel.
It was barely concealed that Erdogan was traveling to Berlin in order to seek an ally against Washington. He is facing an economic crisis and currency collapse unleashed by Trump’s tariffs and trade war measures targeting Turkey."

“The dramatic developments in the world make it indispensable for both Germany and Turkey to open a new page in bilateral relations, to leave aside their differences and focus on their common interests,” Erdogan wrote in the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung the day before arriving in Berlin. “With respect to our disagreements, we should keep all dialogue channels open, continue our exchanges, and by showing maximum empathy, we should try to understand our mutual sensitivities,” he added.

“The federal government is closely following developments in Turkey. A stable, prosperous and democratic Turkey is in our interest,” German government spokeswoman Ulrike Demmer said. She added: “As you know preparations are continuing. Ahead of President Erdogan’s visit, the finance minister will meet with his counterpart here.”

“We have very close economic cooperation. More than 7,500 German companies are active in Turkey,” said German Economy Minister Peter Altmaier, who called for a “new era” in relations between Germany and Turkey. He added: “We are sharing common geostrategic interests. … We would like to stabilize the region, which is very often characterized by civil wars and refugees.”
http://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2018/09/28/turk-s28.html

Meanwhile -

"The German Federal Security Council (BSR) recently agreed to allow extensive arms shipments to Saudi Arabia and other Gulf states. This is confirmed in a letter from Economics Minister Peter Altmaier (Christian Democratic Union, CDU) to the parliamentary Economic Affairs Committee."
"The BSR is a subcommittee of the federal cabinet, which includes Chancellor Angela Merkel and eight other ministers. Its meetings are secret so that usually nothing penetrates into the public domain. The decision taken at its recent session means that Germany is directly fuelling the brutal war in Yemen, led by a coalition under Saudi Arabia."   . .   . http://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2018/09/28/saud-s28.html

And Trump declares economic war on Iran and bullies the world.

"US President Donald Trump used his second day of high-profile appearances at the United Nations Wednesday to amplify Washington’s war-threats against Iran and bully countries around the world."

"Trump put the world on notice: the US—acting in flagrant violation of the UN-backed nuclear accord that it, the four other permanent UN Security Council members, and Germany reached with Tehran in 2015—will launch the next volley in its economic war against Iran in little more than a month. Starting November 5, the US will enforce a total embargo on Iranian oil exports, the principal source of funds for its state budget, and freeze Iran’s central bank out of the US-dominated world banking system thereby crippling the rest of its foreign trade."

"Companies and countries that fail to abide by these “tougher than ever before” sanctions will, Trump vowed, face “severe consequences.” That is fines, exclusion from the US market, and other “secondary sanctions.”
The US sanctions against Iran are both illegal and an act of war." http://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2018/09/27/iran-s27.html