Commentaries, Analysis, And Editorials -- July 1, 2016

Russia's President Vladimir Putin (L) and Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan sit next to each other during their meeting in Baku, Azerbaijan, June 13, 2015. (photo by REUTERS/Alexei Druzhinin/RIA)

Maxim A. Suchkov, Al-Monitor: Has Turkey finally made nice with Russia?

Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan have had their first phone conversation in seven months. After the 42-minute talk, Putin, speaking at a government session, said the pair had agreed to resume bilateral relations.

The news came just hours after Turkey suffered a terrorist attack June 28 at Istanbul Ataturk Airport. In only one day, the image of Turkey in the Russian media was transformed dramatically from “accomplices” to “victims” of terrorists.

Certainly the letter sent from Erdogan to Putin the day before gave the process a boost. The letter, with apologies for the Nov. 24 downing of a Russian warplane, was the culmination of numerous attempts by Turkish leadership to reconcile with the Kremlin. But the U-turn in Russian rhetoric and policies is even more amazing, taking into account the reaction that letter first spurred — ranging from victorious bravado to restrained contentment.

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Commentaries, Analysis, And Editorials -- July 1, 2016

ISIS' Ramadan terror campaign -- Peter Bergen, CNN National Security Analyst

Terrorism in Istanbul: Severe Implications -- Bennett Seftel, Cipher Brief

Turkey’s agony: How Turkey has made itself a soft target -- The Economist

What's behind Turkey's harrowing cocktail of terror -- Ed Husain, CNN

They Rescued This Town from ISIS, Then Lost It -- Michael Weiss, Daily Beast

Bangladesh attack: the predictable result of unchecked violence -- Jason Burke, The Guardian

China's bullying instincts on display -- Chicago Tribune editorial

What China's Really Doing Up In Space -- Ralph Jennings, Forbes

The Guardian view on the Australian election: big ideas shrink in a small-target campaign -- The Guardian editorial

Rajoy Likely to Benefit From Spain’s Continued Political Deadlock -- WPR

Time for Eastern Europe to shine at the United Nations -- Luke Coffey. Al Jazeera

Austria's Botched Vote Feeds Populist Distrust -- Leonid Bershidsky, Bloomberg

Scotland risks becoming Greece without the sun, says thinktank -- Severin Carrell, The Guardian

The Soviet Union Had a Brexit of Its Own -- Leonid Bershidsky, Bloomberg

Venezuela is on the brink of collapse. Team Obama’s tepid approach is dangerous -- Carlos Marquez, FOX News

Who Will Control Colombia's Cocaine Without FARC? -- J. Weston Phippen, The Atlantic