December, 2025

• 22 December

  NATO Chief Says Ukraine Deal Must Not be ‘Repeat of Minsk II’

  

  The Secretary General of NATO, Mark Rutte, in an interview on Wednesday, said any peace deal struck with Russia over Ukraine must not be “a repeat of Minsk II” – which aimed at ending Russia’s limited invasion of Ukraine in 2015 but instead laid the groundwork for the full-scale Russian …

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• 22 December

  Democracy Digest: EU Summit Agrees €90 Billion Loan to Ukraine Without Central Europe

  

  The new Czech PM Andrej Babis joined his two Central European counterparts Robert Fico of Slovakia and Viktor Orban of Hungary in deciding not to take part in a 90-billion-euro loan to Ukraine, which will secure the embattled country’s funding for next year to continue its defence against Russia’s invasion. …

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• 22 December

  Across the divide: Living in the shadow of Israel’s expanding Golan Heights border

  For Syrians on both sides of the divide, life has changed immeasurably since Israel began expanding its occupation of the Golan Heights Majdal Shams/Beit Jinn – There are no Syrian flags anymore in the main square of Majdal Shams, a Druze village in the Israeli-annexed Golan Heights, nor were there …

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• 22 December

  After the ceasefire: In south Lebanon, Israel’s war never ended

  

  A year on from the ceasefire, displaced civilians in south Lebanon continue to live under near-daily Israeli airstrikes, drones, and military occupation South Lebanon – Ali Hammoud looked worn out, staring blankly at the little fire and the pot of boiling vegetables that would soon be his dinner. There is …

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• 22 December

  Damascus puts forward proposal to integrate SDF into army

  

  Reuters reported that Syrian, Kurdish, and American officials are racing against time to show progress, even if limited, on the March 10 agreement before the end of the year. The agency quoted several Syrian, Kurdish, and Western sources, involved in or briefed on the talks, as saying that negotiations had …

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• 22 December

  Jeffrey Sachs : La sécurité européenne inclut la Russie

  Dans une lettre ouverte publiée dans la Berliner Zeitung, l’auteur déclare au chancelier allemand que la paix en Ukraine ne peut être atteinte en faisant comme si les préoccupations sécuritaires de la Russie n’existaient pas. Vous avez maintes fois évoqué la responsabilité de l’Allemagne en matière de sécurité européenne. Cette …

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• 22 December

  Confusion at NATO: Rutte, Russia and Delusions about Trump

  

  It was a speech unhinged in millenarian zeal. It was unapologetically hysterical in urging war while claiming to protect peace. It was also delivered with a note of profound self-denial: the US administration’s 2025 National Security Strategy had belittled Europe’s efforts in terms of ensuring its own security, not least …

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• 22 December

  Israel and Egypt Sign Record $35 Billion Gas Deal

  

  Latest Developments Netanyahu Announces Massive Gas Deal: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced the signing of a gas deal with Egypt on December 17 valued at approximately $35 billion. Hailing the agreement as the “largest gas deal in Israel’s history,” Netanyahu asserted that the “deal greatly strengthens Israel’s status as …

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• 22 December

  Right Assessment, Wrong Tactics: Europe in the New National Security Strategy

  

  Unsurprisingly, the National Security Strategy (NSS) has set off a storm across the Atlantic. The German chancellor called parts of the document “unacceptable,” while the president of the European Council warned that Europeans must now “protect themselves even against the allies who defy them.” For Manfred Weber, head of the …

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• 22 December

  Is the Arab World Finally Discovering Collective Security and Multilateral Diplomacy?

  

  The Arab world was already badly divided when recent wars and military conflicts broke out between state actors and between them and nonstate actors in 2023. But paradoxically, these tremors have created conditions that led to almost unprecedented coordination and diplomatic activism among key Arab states, along with a willingness …

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