The contrasting coverage of the US–Russia talks in the international media is probably an indication that it is too early to consign diplomacy to the dustbin. The western media is awash with a ‘gloom and doom’ analysis, suggesting that hostilities are about to break out. Russian media, on the other …
Read More »Blinken, Lavrov To Meet In Geneva Friday To Continue Diplomacy Over Ukraine
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken will urge Russia to “take immediate steps to de-escalate” tensions along its border with Ukraine in a meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in Geneva Friday. Blinken is heading to Ukraine this week for talks with the country’s president amid continued fears that …
Read More »Kremlin’s Neo-Traditionalism Deepening Divide Between Russians And North Caucasians
The peoples of the North Caucasus and the majority of Russians are going in different directions mentally, increasing misunderstandings and hostility between them and the probability that this trend will lead to a fundamental break between them, Aleksandr Zhelenin says. And what is most alarming, the Rosbalt commentator says, is …
Read More »Pegasus Spyware Scandal Escalates, Raising Pressure On Polish Government – Analysis
New evidence emerged at a Senate hearing and in media reports about the Polish government’s alleged use of the Pegasus spyware against both the opposition and the ruling Law and Justice party’s own former allies. The Polish Central Anti-Corruption Bureau, CBA purchased the controversial Pegasus spyware in 2017 with money …
Read More »Klare Kante, aber keine Konfrontation
Außenministerin Baerbock und Bundeskanzler Scholz haben Deutschlands Position im Ukraine-Konflikt deutlich gemacht: Kommunikation statt Konfrontation, aber ohne dabei Russlands Verhalten schön zu reden. Richtig so. Wir können noch miteinander reden. Das war die Botschaft von Deutschlands erster Botschafterin, Außenministerin Annalena Baerbock, heute in Moskau. Reden – nicht gegeneinander, sondern miteinander. …
Read More »A special and principled person
Roberta Metsola began her political career as a university student campaigning for Malta to join the EU as its smallest state. Less than two decades later, she has been elected to preside over its most important democratic institution. Former Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi, said he recognised her talents from her …
Read More »Nazarbayev Resurfaces, Dismisses Talk of Elite Conflict in Kazakhstan
The statement from the First President came just after evidence of elite conflict began surfacing in earnest, with suggestions of a purge of Nazarbayev elites. After two weeks with nary a peep, save a spokesman statement that he had not fled the country, Kazakhstan’s First President Nursultan Nazarbayev surfaced with …
Read More »No Progress in China-India Military Talks
India and China held a 14th round of military talks earlier this week to resolve the border confrontation between the two countries that began in mid-2020. The corps commander-level talks were held at the Chushul-Moldo border point on the Chinese side of the Line of Actual Control (LAC) that separates …
Read More »After Kazakhstan Crisis, China Will Reassess Its Influence in Central Asia
The standard logic of the division of labor between Moscow and Beijing in Central Asia holds that Russia is responsible for security and China is in charge of the economy. Following that narrative, it can be asserted that neither power suffered losses during this month’s tumultuous events in Kazakhstan. The …
Read More »Why the Stalemate in Eastern Ukraine Will Likely Hold
Despite the Russian Buildup, the Status Quo Still Serves Both Sides In the days leading up to and following last week’s video summit between U.S. President Joe Biden and Russian President Vladimir Putin, there has been intense speculation that Moscow is on the verge of a new military incursion into …
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