Eurasia

At the latest Astana Group meeting on Syria, Russia and Iran tried to soothe Turkey by rejecting the Kurdish-led self-rule in northern Syria in a joint declaration this week. Turkey failed to garner Russian and Iranian backing for a fresh military intervention against Syrian Kurdish forces at the meeting of …

Discussions between Turkey, Finland and Sweden about the Nordic countries’ proposed NATO membership have ended inconclusively as Ankara showed no signs of abandoning its hardline position. Discussions between Turkey, Finland and Sweden about the Nordic countries’ NATO membership held in Brussels today ended inconclusively as Ankara showed no signs of …

Holed up in a bombed-out house in eastern Ukraine, Ukrainian troops keep a careful accounting of their ammunition, using a door as a sort of ledger. Scrawled in chalk on the door are figures for mortar shells, smoke shells, shrapnel shells, flares. Despite the heavy influx of weapons from the …

Vladimir Putin looked very much at ease. In a much-viewed video this month, the Russian president settled deep into his armchair, wearing an expression of bored nonchalance. In a matter-of-fact tone, he likened himself to a modern-day Peter the Great, the empire-building Russian czar, and suggested that the conquest of …

The United States and Iran had their latest near miss Monday, after three vessels controlled by Tehran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps buzzed two American ships at what the U.S. military called “dangerously high speed.” The USS Sirocco, a Cyclone-class patrol ship, and the USNS Choctaw County, a fast transport vessel, …

As the U.S. pursues a maritime strategy that prioritizes a blue-water navy, Russia appears to be betting on smaller, missile-laden vessels to help it slowly gain territory and influence, according to military analysts. Smaller Russian warships like corvettes and frigates aren’t built for fights with the U.S. Navy. Instead, they …

Pentru că viața noastră de zi cu zi este în principal preocupată de chestiuni lumești într-o lume care pare relativ stabilă și prosperă – chiar și oamenii săraci nu mor de foame în Occident și dispun de facilități de bază – , cei mai mulți dintre noi nu conștientizează din …

A route had been found for exporting Serbian products to Russia, and goods will be shipped via Turkey, and some Baltic countries, Agriculture, Forestry and Water Management Minister Branislav Nedimović said on Sunday. Nedimović told the Serbian Broadcasting Corporation that the issue with apple exports had been resolved and that …

A seventh package of EU sanctions against Russia, including a ban on technology export, will be called for by Poland, Deputy Foreign Minister Marcin Przydacz told German newspaper Welt am Sonntag. The government will appeal for further sanctions at the EU Foreign Affairs Council meeting in Luxembourg on Monday, reports …

Italy is considering moving to a state of alert to ration gas consumption and increase gas storage following Gazprom’s gas supply cut, Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera reported. According to the Italian emergency protocol, the state of “alert” – which is the second level on a scale of three – …