As promised, President Biden and his administration are moving swiftly to repair America’s damaged relationship with its NATO allies — following four years in which President Donald Trump bitterly complained that they weren’t pulling their weight. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin’s first official call after his confirmation was to the long-suffering …
Read More »Why Russia Is Hedging Its Bets in Afghanistan
It’s been a year since the United States and the Taliban reached their historic agreement on bringing peace to Afghanistan, but as expected, it has not led to any rapid results. Talks between the Taliban and the Afghan government have been taking place in the Qatari capital Doha since last …
Read More »Post–Revolution and War, Armenia Must Find a Geopolitical Balance
The shattering events Armenia has undergone in the last two years—the 2018 Velvet Revolution, the defeat in the 2020 Karabakh war, and the resulting crisis—couldn’t fail to impact on the country’s foreign policy. The regime change sparked hopes that Armenia’s democratization would guarantee international support and protect it from external …
Read More »A Better Way Forward For Afghanistan – OpEd
Afghanistan news channel TOLOnews last week disclosed the contents of a letter that US Secretary of State Antony Blinken had written to Afghan President Ashraf Ghani. It concerned the slowness of progress in the peace process and the US’ intention to withdraw its forces from Afghanistan by May 1. This …
Read More »First Shot Fired Against US Syria Sanctions – Analysis
There have now been 10 years of chaos in Syria, with many guilty actors. But efforts to reverse the course in the country are gaining steam. For example, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov’s visit to the Gulf last week featured many prominent themes, but Syria really stood out. His trips …
Read More »Biden Recalibrates Trump’s Approach To East Asia – Analysis
President Joe Biden has much repair and restoration work to do in East Asia. Donald Trump seriously degraded the United States’ role in the region, helping Beijing to escalate the most hostile and confrontational US–China relationship in 50 years. Simultaneously, Trump undermined US credibility with the allies and partners that …
Read More »Smugglers’ Protests: Iran Succumbs To Trauma And Demons – Analysis
Recent clashes in the Iranian province of Sistan and Balochistan highlight Iran’s vulnerabilities as well as its inability to overcome trauma and control its demons. The clashes sparked by a crackdown on cross border fuel smuggling to neighbouring Pakistan achieved what past US and Saudi machinations failed to accomplish: ethnic …
Read More »Eastern Libyan forces say senior local IS militant captured
Forces of Libya’s eastern military strongman said they arrested a suspected senior local Islamic State fighter on Sunday in a southwestern town known to be a militant hideout. Mohammed Miloud was once an IS leader in the coastal city of Sirte, held by the group before they were driven out …
Read More »Egypt says Turkey must lay ground for normalising ties with actions
Turkey’s actions must show alignment with Egypt’s principles and goals for relations between the two countries to return to normal, Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry said on Sunday. Shoukry confirmed contacts between Cairo and Ankara after years of tensions but indicated that dialogue was limited.
Read More »Yemen’s Houthis say attacked southern Saudi airports with drones
Yemen’s Houthi movement said on Monday it had fired armed drones at an airport and air base in southern Saudi Arabia, and the Saudi-led coalition fighting the Iran-aligned group said it had intercepted an explosive drone. This appears to be the first news of Houthi drones being fired into Saudi …
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