Two Things to Watch This Week - Putin and Turkey

Putin to Visit Tehran
Russian President Vladimir Putin is scheduled to visit Tehran this week. During the visit he will meet with Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. This is the first visit by a Kremlin leader to Iran since Josef Stalin’s visit in 1943 for a wartime summit with Winston Churchill and Franklin D. Roosevelt.Putin’s visit is important for several reasons. First, Russia is building a nuclear reactor for Iran but has delayed construction due to Iran’s failure to comply with international controls. Putin will be closely watched to see if he gives any indication, or even a pledge, that Russia is moving closer to launching the nuclear reactor. Second, Russia has strongly opposed stronger sanctions against Tehran, and this visit will only strengthen that stance. Third, Putin has said that he has seen no “objective data” to prove the claims that Iran is pursuing nuclear weapons. Fourth, even if Putin’s trip yields no significant agreement it bolsters Iran’s standing on the world stage. Alexander Pikayev, a leading expert on Iran with Russia’s Institute for World Economy and International Relations, said, “It’s a break in international isolation, a chance to show that Iran is an important country.”Putin’s visit to Iran takes on even more significance in light of his well-publicized attempts in recent weeks to make a power play in Russian politics. Putin is constitutionally barred from serving a third term as President, but his most recent power play could cement his role as Prime Minister. Putin’s approval rating in Russia stands at a staggering 70%. As Prime Minister, he would have less power than the President, unless the new President is merely a puppet. This appears to be Putin’s plan. Putin appointed Viktor Zubkov Prime Minister in September, and if Zubkov, a political weakling, becomes President, Putin can assume the office of Prime Minister and continue to run the government from the Prime Minister’s office until he’s able to run for the presidency again in 2012. As Nathan Thornburgh (Time 10/15/07, p. 19) notes, “If he backs Zubkov for the President, that would leave Putin with undiminished control over Russia.”What we see happening is strikingly similar to what the Bible predicts for the end times as Rosh (Russia) and Persia (Iran) are joining together in a growing alliance against Israel and the West (Ezekiel 38).
[Editor's note: After Mark submitted this article, it was reported that Putin would delay his visit because of an assassination plot. Then, it was said the delay would only be a matter of hours. Indeed, according to an AP report Tuesday morning: "Russian leader Vladimir Putin met his Iranian counterpart Tuesday and implicitly warned the U.S. not to use a former Soviet republic to stage an attack on Iran. He also said nations shouldn't pursue oil pipeline projects in the area if they weren't backed by regional powers."]
Turkey, the Kurds, and Oil
Turkey is poised to give the U.S. a very big headache. Turkey has threatened to launch a military against the Kurds in northern Iraq. This comes on the heels of a vote in a U.S. House committee that has deeply offended the Turks. NPR filed this report on October 15, 2007 concerning the vote:A House committee has voted to call on President Bush to declare that the slaughter of up to 1.5 million Armenians by Ottoman Turks 90 years ago was genocide. The bill is awaiting a vote by the full House.The modern-day Turkish government — successors to the Ottomans — is fuming. Turkey and the Bush administration worked unsuccessfully to defeat the resolution, but the battle is not over.The Turks, still fuming over this action, are now prepared to strain their relations with the U.S. if necessary in order to stage a cross-border offensive into Iraq against the Kurds. The U.S. is working desperately to defuse the threats. A recent poll discovered that Turkish attitudes toward the U.S. are becoming increasingly hostile. The poll, which used a 100-degree thermometer scale, found that Turkish “warmth” toward the U.S. has plunged from 28 degrees in 2004 to only 11 degrees in 2007.Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan spoke at a rally in Istanbul on Friday (10/12/07) and urged the Turkish parliament to vote unanimously to “declare a mobilization” against Kurdish rebels and their “terrorist organization.” Erdogan also said, “We are making necessary preparations to be ready in case we decide on a cross-border operation since we don’t have patience to lose more time.”
One reason this is so problematic is that Turkey is the key cog in the U.S. supply route to troops in Iraq. Turkey’s Incirlik air base is a major cargo hub for American military troops in both Iraq and Afghanistan. If Turkey were to close this base the U.S. would be sent scrambling to keep the supply lines open to its troops. Another consequence of a Turkish incursion into northern Iraq is skyrocketing oil prices. Escalating fears of a new frontier of instability had an immediate impact on world oil markets as the price soared to a record high of $86 a barrel. If they actually attack the Kurds, the price of crude could really spike.These developments in Turkey are prophetically significant because ancient Meshech, Tubal, Gomer, and Togarmah (Ezekiel 38:1-5) are all in modern Turkey. The growing hostility and strained relations between the U.S. and Turkey could easily push Turkey back toward the east and pave the way for its participation in the Gog coalition that will oppose Israel and the West it the end times.
by Mark Hitchcock –
http://www.prophecyhotline.com/
As in the days of Noah...