As Russian President Vladimir Putin visits China for the first time since beginning a new term, he and Chinese President Xi Jinping have been at pains to underline their “long and strong” friendship, and a strategic partnership that has been described as having “no upper limits.” “I have emphasized on …

What a difference a few weeks can make. Earlier this spring, the Kremlin appeared to be yielding so many of its positions in the South Caucasus—or at least was on the defensive—that some Russian commentators discussed how Moscow may have entirely and permanently “lost” the region to the West (see …

The manner in which Brussels has meted out €1 billion to Lebanon smacks of opportunism and a reward for flouting reforms, writes Benjamin Fève. Bad behaviour certainly has its rewards. That is, at least, if you are among Lebanon’s political elite, who secured €1 billion in financial aid from the …