Eurasia

Hopes for a spectacular relaunch of the European Union’s Franco-German “motor” after Brexit have thus far failed to materialize. Quite the contrary, now that Paris and Berlin find themselves without the British “third wheel,” almost every issue seems to trigger a bilateral squabble. Whether it is armaments cooperation, energy supply …

Senior U.S. officials have held a first direct meeting with officials from the Iran-aligned Houthi movement that controls Yemen’s capital, two sources familiar with the matter said, as the new U.S. administration pushes to end a six-year war. The discussions, which have not been officially made public by either side, …

The United States has proposed convening a United Nations-sponsored international conference on Afghanistan, a senior U.S. State Department official said. News of the proposal came as the U.S. special envoy to Afghanistan, Zalmay Khalilzad, wrapped up three days of talks in Kabul on March 3 aimed at reviving stalled Afghan …

The United States has welcomed a plan by NATO ally Germany to sail a warship across the disputed South China Sea for the first time after almost two decades, amid tensions with China in the resource-rich waters.

China is expected to tout its strong economic performance during the pandemic and unveil long-term goals for its economy at an annual meeting of its ceremonial legislature beginning Friday in Beijing. Thousands of delegates will attend the National People’s Congress session and a parallel gathering of a political advisory body, …

“Chinese Confucius Institutes are suspected of espionage” – such headlines graced news articles a couple of years ago, but the reality is that everyone knows about it, but it’s difficult to prove. In this article I will explain the role of these institutes as an instrument of Beijing’s soft power.

The papers are full of suggestions on what US President Joe Biden should do about his country’s seemingly perennial involvement in Afghanistan. None are particularly useful, in that they ignore the central premise that a nation state long mauled, molested and savaged should finally be left alone. Nonsense, say the …

The vast majority of Iranians are struggling with poverty, unemployment and skyrocketing prices, with more than 60 million of Iran’s 82 million population living below the poverty line, and millions left to fend for themselves for their most basic necessities of life.

By defining Chinese characteristics as “seeking common ground while reserving differences,” a formula that implies conflict management rather than conflict resolution, Messrs. Sun and Wu were suggesting that China was seeking to prepare the ground for greater Chinese engagement in efforts to stabilize the Middle East, a volatile region that …

Just days after the United States struck Iranian-linked targets in Syria, militia members fired a volley of rockets at Ain Al-Asad air base. The U.S. strike was conducted in response to an attack on Balad airbase in Iraq on February 20 by Iranian proxies.