Eurasia

Foreign Ministers Prepare NATO Summit, Exchange Views On NATO 2030

NATO Foreign Ministers met on Tuesday to prepare for the NATO Summit on 14 June. “Ministers addressed a range of issues including Afghanistan, Belarus, Russia and China; and overall, the need for NATO to adapt to a new era of growing global competition,” said Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg. “We are …

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That Old Story: Spying On Friends – OpEd

Agency was revealing on this point, though it merely confirmed centuries of understanding in politics: In our friends and foes, we mistrust. Having spilled such valuable beans, Snowden readied us for what should have been regarded as banal, even farcical. As Steven Aftergood of the Federation of American Scientists summarised, …

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Why Isn’t Russia Talking About Great Power Competition?

The lack of serious analysis of great power competition within Russia is due in large part to the baggage that Russian officials bring to any discussion of the country’s place in the post–Cold War world. All too often, debate in both policy and analytical circles is guided by long-standing grievances, …

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Russia in the Mediterranean: Here to Stay

Russia’s strategy in the Mediterranean is an integral part of its strategy for the wider European theater, which has long been the principal arena of its foreign policy triumphs and setbacks. Europe’s dominant position on Russia’s foreign policy agenda is a product of its strategic culture, which is in turn …

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Turkey’s Erdogan, Greece’s Mitsotakis ‘to meet at NATO summit’

Both sides are NATO members and came close to armed conflict last year but have been trying to lower tensions since. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis will meet at this month’s NATO summit as both sides pledge to smooth their differences. The two rivals …

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Brussels Faces Off With ‘Europe’s Last Dictator’

For decades, the president of Belarus, known as “Europe’s last dictator,” has been a thorn in the side of the continent’s democracies. But the threat Alexander Lukashenko poses to European security suddenly grew more serious Sunday, when his security forces—with the help of a transparently false cover story and an …

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Eritrea Goes From Pariah State to Regional Powerbroker

In early May, when Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki visited Sudan, the official objective of the trip was to strengthen bilateral ties within a regional framework. The visit nevertheless raised eyebrows. It came on the heels of Eritrea’s military participation in Ethiopia’s civil war in Tigray region, and also at a …

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Egypt, Sudan hold war games as Ethiopian dam dispute continues

Egypt and Sudan started a new military exercise amid a dispute with Ethiopia over Addis Ababa’s plan to add 13.5 billion cubic meters of water to the reservoir of its dam on the Blue Nile. Ground, naval and air forces from Egypt and Sudan began a joint military exercise May …

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Turkey’s persistent watering down of anti-Russian language leaves NATO in bind

Ankara defends its position on Moscow on the grounds that it has to manage its relationship with its powerful northeastern neighbor. Turkey has repeatedly softened language in NATO statements condemning Russia, part of a broader pattern of muscle-flexing obstructionism within the Western security pact, and of fellow NATO members rolling …

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UN envoy says he’s frustrated as Yemen truce talks derailed

The U.N. special envoy for Yemen on Monday expressed frustration that his efforts to achieve a cease-fire in the war-torn country have been derailed by warring parties seeking gains on the battlefield. Martin Griffiths said ongoing fighting in several parts of Yemen, including a monthslong attack by Houthi rebels on …

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