Eurasia

Clashes on Afghanistan’s border with both Pakistan and Iran signify an end to the relative wary regional calm that has prevailed since the Taliban returned to power in Kabul. Pakistan perceives that the Taliban de facto authorities of Afghanistan are sympathetic to Pakistani militants that threaten Pakistan’s stability. Any tensions …

The Wagner Group, a Russian private military contractor (PMC) that has been active from Syria to Ukraine, has continued to branch out globally, deploying troops to numerous countries in North and sub-Saharan Africa. Russia uses the Wagner Group in Africa to help achieve its foreign policy objectives and gain access …

As the Palestinian factions in the Gaza Strip compete to develop new advanced weapons, the Islamic Jihad’s military wing announced for the first time a new drone capable of carrying small-sized missiles. As part of their ongoing military preparations and less than a year after the Israeli war on the …

Russia has a nuclear doctrine known as “escalate to deescalate” or, more accurately, “escalate to win,” which contemplates threatening or using nuclear weapons early in a conventional conflict. It cannot be a good sign that Russia, China, and North Korea at the same time are threatening to launch the world’s …

Both powers are fostering a reconciliation between Armenia and Azerbaijan to promote greater stability in the region. Since Azerbaijani forces crossed into Armenia’s Syunik and Geghrkunik provinces in May 2021, border tensions between Armenia and Azerbaijan have continued to flare. After a gradual ebb in hostilities from mid-January, Armenia repeatedly …

This imaginary memo reviews the Russia–Ukraine war at its current stage through the eyes of an advisor to the General Secretary. From: OFFICE OF THE CENTRAL COMMISSION FOR MILITARY-CIVIL FUSION DEVELOPMENT, BEIJING Subject: THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION’S SPECIAL MILITARY OPERATION IN UKRAINE Chairman and General Secretary, The war in Ukraine is …

Rumours of the demise of the Bretton Woods system are exaggerated and it will continue to underpin the Western-led order. A world without the US dollar is a near impossible thought. But spurred on by the Russia–Ukraine conflict and the extension of sanctions, many now see a fast-growing challenge to …

Fyodor Lukyanov, editor-in-chief of Russia in Global Affairs, chairman of the Presidium of the Council on Foreign and Defense Policy Ministry of International Situation, and one of Russia’s most incisive foreign policy analysts wrote a trenchant column for Kommersant titled the Ministry of the International Situation. In the column he …

Delivering good cheer — and gallons of ketchup — Jill Biden on Friday thanked U.S. troops deployed to Romania for serving as a check against Russian aggression as she opened a two-country European trip to learn about the refugee crisis caused by Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine. The U.S. first lady …

The Biden administration sought Friday to downplay the role of American intelligence in the high-profile sinking of the Russian missile cruiser Moskva, distancing itself from any direct role in one of the greatest embarrassments for Russia since it attacked Ukraine. A day after an American official confirmed that the U.S. …