Eurasia

Putin Wants to Rewrite the End of the Cold War

When the Soviet Union collapsed three decades ago, the European security architecture suddenly became uncertain, its future put in play. After all, much of the postwar balance of power in Europe—and the world—had rested on the icy pillars of the Cold War, pillars that in 1991 abruptly melted. It didn’t …

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Xi Sees the Ukraine War Through the Lens of the U.S.-China Rivalry

Not long after the commencement of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, I wrote that for China, binding itself tightly to Moscow would do harm to Beijing’s long-term interests. That is because, I wrote, an alliance between a superpower like China and a far less dynamic country like Russia, whose economy is …

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The War in Ukraine Is Testing China’s New Partnership With Russia

As Russia’s invasion of Ukraine continues to draw outrage and reprisals from the international community, China is maintaining the cautious distance from Moscow it has taken since the onset of the crisis, with many observers suggesting that Beijing may have been caught unaware by Russian President Vladimir Putin’s decision to …

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NATO Is Focusing on the Wrong Russian Threat in Eastern Europe

As NATO has focused its attention on Russia’s offensive military capabilities in Eastern Europe, an equally significant and, in practice, more problematic issue has been largely ignored: Russia’s preponderance of “anti-access, area-denial” capabilities in the borderlands between the Baltic and Black Seas. Is NATO focusing on the wrong Russian threat …

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As the U.S. Disengages, Russia Ramps Up Aid and Arms Sales to Sub-Saharan Africa

In early March, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov embarked on a five-country tour of sub-Saharan Africa. During his trip, Lavrov signed new trade agreements with Russia’s two long-standing partners in southern Africa, Angola and Mozambique. He also strengthened Moscow’s diplomatic ties to Zimbabwe’s new government and highlighted the role Russia …

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The EU Needs to Start Planning for ‘the Day After Putin’ in Russia

As Ukrainian society faced the shock of Russia’s seizure of Crimea in March 2014, separatist protests coordinated by Russian intelligence services in Donetsk and Luhansk generated mockery across much of Ukrainian social media. With every escalation of tensions around the Donbas region in the months that followed, demands from Russian …

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A New Iron Curtain Splits Russia From the West

Today’s standoff between Russia and the West over Ukraine can be traced back to 2004, a little more than a decade after the end of the Cold War. At the time, Russian President Vladimir Putin was just embarking on his second term, and he began nurturing a cult of personality, …

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NATO Finds a New Sense of Purpose in an Old Mission

NATO leaders gathered this week at a summit in Madrid to adopt a New Strategic Concept, a framework that sets out the alliance’s core priorities for the next decade. But the Madrid gathering was in other ways historic, ushering in further expansion of the alliance after Turkey lifted its veto …

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Top PKK terrorist killed in anti-terror op: Surrendered terrorist

A PKK terrorist who surrendered to Turkish security forces during Operation Eren Blockade-2 confessed that a “senior” terrorist has been killed, which has led many other terrorists to panic. In his testimony, the unidentified terrorist, who surrendered in the Hakkari province, told security forces that top PKK terrorist Rıdvan Alkan, …

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