August 21, 2023 Eurasia
President Biden wrote in the New York Times in June 2022 that the United States was arming Ukraine to “fight on the battlefield and be in the strongest possible position at the negotiating table.” Ukraine’s fall 2022 counteroffensive left it in a stronger position, yet Biden and his NATO allies …
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August 21, 2023 Eurasia
Prigozhin’s media empire was conceived as a contractor that would perform functions for the state while remaining under external management. But it turns out that receiving billions of dollars in taxpayers’ money is no guarantee of either effectiveness or loyalty. One of the consequences of businessman and mercenary leader Yevgeny …
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August 21, 2023 Eurasia, Iran, Middle Orient
Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian and his Saudi counterpart Faisal bin Farhan Al-Saud held talks in Riyadh on Thursday. They discussed the relations between Tehran and Riyadh, issues of mutual interest concerning the Muslim world, as well as regional and international developments. Heading a delegation, Amirabdollahian has traveled to Riyadh …
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August 21, 2023 Eurasia, South East Asia
The attempted armed mutiny in Russia on 23–24 June 2023 by the Wagner private military company, led by Russia’s controversial oligarch Yevgeny Prigozhin, is continuing to generate shockwaves domestically and internationally. While the coup has triggered debates about the survivability of Vladimir Putin’s regime, some preliminary conclusions can also be …
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August 21, 2023 Eurasia
Something Old: Twentieth-Century Warfare Is Not Disappearing Soon The war in Ukraine has reinforced the age-old lesson that geography is one of the most important variables in warfare. Any battle plan that Ukraine’s or Russia’s commanders might draw up remains subject to the dictates of space and terrain. As they …
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August 21, 2023 Eurasia, Middle Orient, Turkey
The United States imposed on Thursday sanctions on two Türkiye-backed Syrian armed groups and some of their leaders accused of human rights abuses in areas under their control. “The US Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) is designating two Syria-based armed militias and three members of …
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August 21, 2023 Eurasia, Iran, Middle Orient
Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei said the phrase “military options are on the table” to the IRGC’s deterrence power and capabilities has become “trivial, meaningless, and worthless.” Khamenei was speaking during a meeting with the Supreme Assembly of Commanders and Officials of the Iranian Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC), the first …
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August 21, 2023 Eurasia, Iran, Middle Orient
Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Iranian counterpart Ebrahim Raisi discussed Iran’s possible membership of the BRICS. “The parties discussed issues related to cooperation in international and regional affairs, particularly taking into account Iran’s full membership of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization and its interest in joining the BRICS group,” the …
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August 18, 2023 Africa, Eurasia, Iran, Middle Orient
The South African and Iranian foreign ministers have signed a cooperation deal ahead of the BRICS summit in Johannesburg, which Iranian President Ibrahim Raisi will attend. Iran and South Africa signed a cooperation agreement in Pretoria Thursday during Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian’s visit to his South African counterpart Naledi …
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August 18, 2023 Africa, Eurasia, Middle Orient, Turkey
Turkey’s efforts to expand its influence in Africa often align with those of Russia, with both Ankara and Moscow holding back from condemning military coups and seeking to capitalize on post-colonial resentments. A series of military takeovers in West Africa, the latest occurring in Niger last month, reveal the extent …
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