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Shortly before Christmas, a highly controversial deal was struck in Khartoum between President Omar al-Bashir and his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Turkey was given exclusive rights to rehabilitate the port island of Suakin in northeastern Sudan, with docking rights for Turkish civilian and military vessels on the west coast of the Red Sea.

The former Ottoman port once served as a transit destination for Muslim pilgrims crossing the Red Sea to Mecca, a role that Erdogan hopes to restore under the direct supervision of the Turkish Army.

At first glance, this seems like yet another attempt by Erdogan to reach out to former Ottoman colonies, given his obsession with Turkeys Ottoman past. For the last 15 years, Erdogan has spared no effort at peddling what was often described as neo-Ottomanism, a revival of the intellectual, political, economic and military influence of the former Ottoman Empire throughout the Muslim world.

Aerial view of Suakin Island in 1930 with Condensor Island in the foreground and El Gerf with its enclosing defenses behind. Photo: http://www.thearchitecturestore.co.uk

The now abandoned Sudanese island was once the military headquarters of Ottoman Sultan Selim I, back in 1517. The Ottomans were forced to relinquish it to British colonialists, who set up their own base in 1883-1885. It suffered a long march into history after Port Sudan was established in 1922, and by 1939 Suakin had been all but deserted left to crumble and rot until Erdogan came along in 2017 promising to put it into use once again.

The agreement to revamp Suakin is part of a broader deal between Erdogan and Bashir, estimated at US$650 million, which involves building a new airport at Khartoum and investing in Sudanese cotton production, electricity generation, and grain silos.

Saudi Arabia is furious about the deal, and with good reason. First, it brings Turkish troops dangerously close to Saudi territory, given the Sudanese islands proximity to theport city of Jeddah. Second, Riyadh believes that Erdogan doesnt have the money to pursue such an ambitious program in Sudan, arguing that he will use Qatari funds to expand into Arab territories.

In other words, they believe Suakin is actually being handed over to the Qataris, rather than the Turks. Qatar and Saudi Arabia have been at daggers-end since last June, over Dohas alliance with the Muslim Brotherhood and its open support of Iran.

Seven years ago, Saudi Arabia and Turkey found themselves on the same side of the Syrian conflict, both committed to regime change in Damascus, but more recently they parted ways over Turkeys blatant support for the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt, after they were ejected from power via Abdel Fattah Sisis coup in the summer of 2013.The Saudis were already furious with Turkeys warming relations with Tehran, and expected Erdogan to support their standoff with Qatar, especially after setting a long list of demands that Doha was asked to accept. They included changing editorial policy of the Doha-based Al-Jazeera TV and expelling the Muslim Brotherhood from Qatar.

But rather than apply pressure on Doha, Erdogan chose to back the Emir of Qatar Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani in his feud with King Salman, breaking the Saudi-imposed embargo by allowing Qatari flights into Ankara and sending 5,000 Turkish troops to Doha in order to deter any Saudi adventurism in regard to its gas-rich tiny neighbor.

The Halaib Triangle is seen on the Egypt/Sudan border with Port Sudan and Suakin below. Graphic: Wikipedia/Asia Times

Egypt is equally upset with Turkeys new base on the Red Sea. Cairo feels that Erdogans port in Sudan might awaken Khartoums ambitions over the Halaib Triangle on the Red Sea. For more than 60 years, Egypt and Sudan have quarreled over the disputed territory, which both claim to have sovereignty over. In the 1990s, Egypt deployed troops to the Halaib Triangle, hoping this would put an end to Sudanese claims.

But with Turkish military support, Omar al-Bashir might reconsider his dtente with Cairo over the Triangle. That, of course, follows the souring of ties between Cairo and Ankara over Erdogans support for former Egyptian President Mohammad Morsi, a member of the Muslim Brotherhood, now in an Egyptian jail.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan kisses a little girl on the cheek as he walks with the President of Sudan Omar Al-Bashir during his visit in Port Sudan on December 25, 2017. Erdogan toured Suakin Island on the second day of his visit. Photo: AFP/ Anadolu/ Kayhan Ozer

Other countries are watching Erdogans ambitious undertakings with alarm. In the three years since the start of the Saudi-led war on Houthi militants in Yemen a race has been underway for security bases and pockets of economic and political influence along the Red Sea, especially after Iran took the port of Al Hudaydah in Yemen, via the Houthis, which spread terror throughout the Gulf. From there, they threaten to meddle further in the affairs of the Gulf states, namely Saudi Arabia.

Last February, the Emirates set up their own base in the port of Berbera in the breakaway republic of Somaliland, two years after building a naval base in Eritrea. Both have been vital for the Saudi war on the Houthis. In October, Erdogan erected his own base in Somalia, after China established one for its navy in Djibouti.

Elsewhere along the Red Sea, Jordan still controls the Gulf of Aqaba, Egypt still manages the Gulf of Suez, while the Riyadh-backed Yemeni President Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi remains in control of Bab al-Mandab and Aden, all aimed at blocking further Iranian advances.

This wide assortment of overseas bases is a novelty in international affairs.Throughout the Cold War, only the US and Russia had this sort of military influence outside their geographic boundaries. Countries like China and the UAE never thought of expanding militarily in such a manner.

Turkey and Iran, however, always had that ambition and were constantly in search of re-entering former colonies or satellite states. Interestingly, while Iran, Turkey, China and the UAE are all trying to cement their influence on the Red Sea, the Russians have no permanent presence there, and the Americans whose ships sail through the sea on a daily basis have a base just south in Djibouti. They are not anchored in the Red Sea the Fifth Fleet is based in the Gulf and the SixthFleet is in Naples in the Mediterranean, leaving that stretch of territory open for other countries to covet and occupy if they dare.

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ANKARA/ISTANBUL (Reuters) - A U.S. decision to continue funding the Syrian Kurdish YPG militia will affect Turkeys future moves, President Tayyip Erdogan said on Tuesday ahead of a visit this week by Secretary of State Rex Tillerson.

U.S. officials have said that Tillerson expects to have difficult conversations when he visits Turkey on Thursday and Friday, given that the NATO allies have starkly diverging interests in Syria. State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said Tillersons trip showed just how serious this matter is.

This is one of the areas of deep, deep concern on the part of the administration and the U.S. government, she told a briefing on Tuesday. We certainly dont want to see ... violence further escalate.

Turkey has been enraged by U.S. support for the YPG, which Ankara sees as a terrorist organization and an extension of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) that has been waging an insurgency on Turkish soil for over 30 years. Washington has backed the YPG in the fight against Islamic State in Syria.

Our allys decision to give financial support to the YPG ... will surely affect the decisions we will take, Erdogan said in a speech to members of his AK Party in parliament.

His comments followed the release of the U.S. Defense Departments 2019 budget, which includes requests for funds to train and equip local forces in the campaign against Islamic State militants in Syria.

The Pentagon requested $300 million for Syrian train and equip activities and $250 million for border security requirements, according to a copy of the budget. While it did not specify how much of this, if any, was earmarked for YPG-led forces, Turkish media interpreted it to mean that the Pentagon had allocated $550 million to the YPG in 2019.

It will be better for them not to stand with the terrorists they support today. I am calling on the people of the United States - this money is coming out of the budget of the United States, it is coming out of peoples pockets, Erdogan said.

Turkey last month launched a military incursion, dubbed Operation Olive Branch, into the Kurdish-held Afrin region of Syria to sweep the YPG away from its southern border. It has also threatened to press on to the Syrian town of Manbij, under the control of a YPG-led force, and warned U.S. troops stationed there not to get in the way.

U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said his Turkish counterpart Nurettin Canikli had attended a meeting in Rome on Tuesday to discuss strategy against Islamic State.

On Afrin, we all spoke with the Turkish minister of defense today. He laid out the rationale, we laid out the rationale for working this to a solution that took into account Turkeys legitimate security concerns and well still work it, Mattis told reporters traveling with him to Brussels.

He said he would meet with his Turkish counterpart later this week during a NATO gathering.

Washington says it has no plans to withdraw its soldiers from Manbij and two U.S. commanders visited the town last week to reinforce that message.

It is very clear that those who say we will respond aggressively if you hit us have never experienced an Ottoman slap, Erdogan said in parliament.

That was an apparent reference to comments made by U.S. Lieutenant General Paul Funk during a visit to Manbij.

Additional reporting by Ezgi Erkoyun, Idrees Ali and David Alexander; writing by David Dolan; editing by Dominic Evans and Mark Heinrich

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Washington could soon receive the "Ottoman slap," Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan warned, while also stating that all members of NATO are equal with the US.

While speaking to the ruling Justice and Development (AK) party in Ankara on Tuesday, Erdogan referenced a recent remark by Lt. Gen. Paul E. Funk, the top US commander in the US-led coalition against Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL), who said that Turkey would face a sharp response if it struck Manbij, Syria.

Those who say they will give a sharp response if hit, have clearly never got the Ottoman slap in their lives, Erdogan said, referring to a half-legendary Turkish martial move that involves a potent open-palm hit, resulting in a one-hit knockout or even skull fractures and death.

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Erdogan also addressed the NATO alliance, of which both Turkey and the US are members. "What kind of NATO membership is this? What kind of NATO alliance is this?" he asked. "As president of Turkey, [I say] NATO is not equal to the US, all countries [in the alliance] are equals to the US."

His remarks come at a time of increasingly strained relations between the US and Turkey. On Monday, Ankara sought clarity from the US while threatening to break ties. Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusogli told journalists that his country sought "concrete steps" from Washington, adding that US actions are the reason for "missing trust" between the two NATO allies.

Meanwhile, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said on Tuesday that Turkey had briefed the alliance about its operations in Syria's Afrin last week. He went on to express hope that such briefings would continue.

"Turkey has briefed NATO on the operation Olive Branch, they did so last week, and I have been in regular contact with the Turkish leadership, including with president Erdogan regarding the situation in Syria and the operation Olive Branch. I expect Turkey to continue to brief allies," Stoltenberg said.

The NATO secretary-general also acknowledged Turkey's "legitimate security concerns," and its right to address those concerns. "But they should do that in a proportionate and measured way," he said.

Turkeys officials, however, do not seem to be satisfied with the ambiguous statements from their NATO allies anymore. On Monday, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu has harshly responded to a similar statement on understanding Ankaras legitimate security concerns produced by the US Defence Secretary James Mattis.

Our demands from the US are clear and have already been conveyed. We no longer want to hear about promises; we want to hear about concrete steps. Trust needs to be rebuilt so we can start to talk about some issues, Cavusoglu said on Monday.

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ISTANBUL (Reuters) - A Turkish army helicopter was shot down by Syrian Kurdish YPG fighters near the north Syrian town of Afrin, President Tayyip Erdogan said on Saturday, and the Turkish military said two soldiers on board the aircraft were killed.

YPG sources separately confirmed the downing of the helicopter.

One of our helicopters was downed just recently, Erdogan told members of his AK Party in Istanbul. These things will happen, we are in a war ... We might lose a helicopter, but theyll pay the price for this.

A statement from the Turkish military did not specify a reason for why the helicopter crashed. It said two soldiers on board were killed and technical crews were investigating the crash.

The downed helicopter was the first officially confirmed loss of a Turkish aircraft over Syria since the start of the countrys long-running civil war.

In another statement, the Turkish military said a total of nine soldiers were killed and 11 wounded on Saturday in clashes with mainly Kurdish forces near Afrin. It said it had killed 39 militants.

Ankara launched an air and ground offensive last month against Kurdish fighters in Syrias Afrin region on its border, opening a new front in the multi-sided Syrian war.

Separately, the Turkish military said on Friday the construction of a fifth military post near Syrias northwestern region of Idlib had begun.

Turkey agreed to set up 12 observation posts in Idlib and neighbouring provinces under a deal reached with Tehran and Moscow to try to reduce fighting between pro-government forces and mainly Islamist insurgents in northwest Syria.

However, the de-escalation in violence they were meant to monitor has collapsed. The Syrian army, alongside Iranian-backed militias and heavy Russian air power, launched a major offensive in December to take territory in Idlib province.

Idlib is one of the last main strongholds of rebels opposed to President Bashar al-Assad, who have been driven from most of their bastions in Syria since Russia joined the war on the side of Assads government in 2015. Turkey has long been one of the main allies of the anti-Assad rebels.

Reporting by Ali Kucukgocmen in ISTANBUL and Lisa Barrington in BEIRUT; Editing by Stephen Powell and Paul Tait

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So Esau went unto Ishmael, and took unto the wives that he had Mahalath the daughter of Ishmael Avrahams son, the sister of Nebaioth, to be his wife. Genesis 28:9 (The Israel Bible)

Turkish and Vatican flags (Photo via Shutterstock)

A meeting on Monday between Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoan and Pope Francis may have grave implications for Jerusalem as both leaders appear to be building an agenda based upon their joint opposition to US President Donald Trumps recognition of the city as Israels capital.

The meeting, which took place at the Vatican, was already significant in that it was the first visit by a Turkish head of state since diplomatic relations between the Vatican and Turkey were established in 1960. However, a statement released by the Vatican says that both leaders also used the occasion to discuss the the status of Jerusalem, highlighting the need to promote peace and stability in the region (Middle East) through dialogue and negotiation, with respect for human rights and international law.

Both Erdogan and Pope Francis are opposed to U.S. President Donald Trumps decision to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. Erdogan responded to the move by calling for an emergency meeting of the OIC. The summit, held in Istanbul, declared East Jerusalem as the capital of the State of Palestine and called upon all countries to recognize the State of Palestine and East Jerusalem as its occupied capital.

The OIC also declared Trumps decision null and void legally and a deliberate undermining of all peace efforts that would give impetus to extremism and terrorism.

Erdogan, who spoke by phone with the pope at the time expressing his concerns over Jerusalem, called upon the Vatican in Mondays meeting to help Turkey and the Muslim world preserve Jerusalems status.

We need to work together to preserve Jerusalems status, he said to Pope Francis. The messages you will convey to the Catholic world on this are important, Erdogan said, emphasizing that both leaders had agreed to continue joint efforts.

Turkey currently holds the presidency of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), a coalition of 57 Muslim states. Islam is currently the second largest religion in the world with 1.6 billion followers, and an alliance between Catholicism, which has 1.2 billion adherents worldwide could very well make a formidable force for advancing an anti-Israel agenda concerning Jerusalem. Moreover, Though the Vatican has enormous influence internationally, it has no military. This deficiency could be offset by an alliance with Turkey which has the largest military in the region.

Prolific end-of-days author and educator, Rabbi Pinchas Winston noted that an alliance between Catholicism and Islam was predicted as an essential step in the process of Moshiach (Messiah). Rabbi Winston referenced a work that goes into detail on the process of the Messianic Redemption called, Kol Hatur (Cry of the Turtle Dove). It was written in the 18th century by Hillel Rivlin of Shklov, a close disciple of Rabbi Elijah ben Solomon Zalman, the leading rabbi of the generation known as the Vilna Gaon.

This meeting doesnt make sense historically or logically since Islam and Catholicism have been at war for a millennium, Rabbi Winston told Breaking Israel News. It especially doesnt make sense since they fought over Jerusalem throughout the Middle Ages during the Crusades.

But since we are in the age of Geula (Redemption), they are coming together, precisely as described by the Vilna Gaon.

Rabbi Winston explained that the coming of Moshiach primarily consists of two stages. The return to Israel takes place during the first stage with Moshiach ben Yosef (Messiah from the house of Joseph) and the second stage by Moshiach ben David (Messiah from the house of David).

Moshaich ben Yosef and Moshiach ben Dovid are described as the shor (bull) and the chamor (donkey) for Moshiach on the side of kedusha (holiness), he noted. Their counterparts are Esau and Ishmael who are the shor and chamor from the side of tumah (impurity).

Just as the two Messiahs will appear in the end-of-days, Esau, which is represented by the Catholic Church and Ishmael, which is represented by Islam will appear together in the End-of-Days.

Despite their conflict with each other over the timespan of approximately 1,500 years, Ishmael and Esau actually forged an alliance almost 4,000 years ago when the latter married the daughter of the former.

So Esau went unto Ishmael, and took unto the wives that he had Mahalath the daughter of Ishmael Avrahams son, the sister of Nebaioth, to be his wife. Genesis 28:9

Rabbi Winston explained that this unlikely union consisting of two opposing forces will be facilitated by the erev rav (mixed multitude), largely consisting of liberal, left-wing Jews.

The function of the erev rav is to bring together Esav and Ishmael, he added. Today, they are the people who object to Israels connection to Jerusalem. The liberal left should object to Islamic values but they are connecting with Islam and bringing together East and West.

The Vilna Gaon said that in the end-of-days, there will be a large number of Jews who will take up the cause of Esau and Ishmael at the gates of Jerusalem.

Pope Francis may actually view an Islamic global agenda as being worthy of support. The pope on Monday presented Erdogan with an angel of peace on a bronze medallion, that is seen embracing the northern and southern hemispheres while overcoming a dragon.

This is the angel of peace who strangles the demon of war, the pope told Erdogan as he gave him the medallion. (It is) a symbol of a world based on peace and justice.

Pope Francis presented Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas with a similar medallion at the Vatican in May 2015. At the time, the pope said that the angel of peace was destroying the bad spirit of war and praised Abbas for being an angel of peace.

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