(Khyber Pass) The 2nd Afghanistan-China-Pakistan Foreign Ministers’ Dialogue, which took place in Kabul on Saturday, largely covered familiar ground – reaffirming the commitment of the three countries to strengthen their relations, resolutely fight terrorism, support Afghan reconciliation, extend support to Afghan-owned and Afghan-led peace process, exhort Taliban to come to peace talks, foster security …
Russian deployment to Venezuela served the purpose
(Russian Tu-160 strategic bombers in Venezuela, Dec 10) The brief deployment of two Russian Tupolev Tu-160 ‘Blackjack’ strategic bombers to Venezuela last week became a sensational event. Indeed, it is a display of the growing Russian military prowess that has been restored under President Vladimir Putin’s watch. Blackjack has appeared on the Syrian skies more …
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Turkey threatens to pull the plug on US
(Who controls what in Syria, October 2018) An impression has been gaining ground lately that the Trump administration is making overtures to Ankara to revive the original US-Turkish project on regime change in Damascus. The recent visit to Ankara by James Jeffrey, the US special representative to Syria, was seen in that light. Prior to …
Robber barons kidnap Chinese princess for ransom
(Huawei HQ, Shenzhen, China) The best thing about US President Donald Trump is his transparency. It immensely helped the world community through this past two-year turbulent period to see America’s real face. Behind the veil of ‘exceptionalism’, the US statesmen right down to Barack Obama took care to camouflage American intentions and motivations. But Trump …
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The gulf within GCC is only widening
The annual summit meeting of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) in Riyadh on Sunday was particularly important for Saudi Arabia as a display of its regional leadership. But the short meeting of the GCC leaders behind closed doors, lasting for less than an hour, ended highlighting the huge erosion of Saudi prestige lately. The litmus …
India should close ‘Tibetan file’ and move on
(17th Karmapa, Ogyen Trinley Dorje and the Dalai Lama) At times, good things happen due to bad reasons – such as the “indefinite postponement” of the 13th Religious Conference of the Schools of Tibetan Buddhism and Bon Tradition, scheduled to take place on 29-30 November in Dharamsala. According to media reports (here and here), quoting …
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OPEC and Russia reset oil market ignoring Trump’s urgings
(Energy minister of Russia Alexander Novak and Saudi counterpart Khalid al-Falih) Belying most predictions by analysts and energy experts, OPEC and Russia and its allies have agreed on Friday on a larger than expected cut in oil production to the tune of 1.2 million barrels a day. The deal aims to mop up the oil …
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If US quits INF Treaty, Europe loses
(Mikhail Gorbachev & Ronald Reagan signing the INF Treaty, Washington, December 1987) The statement issued by the North Atlantic Treaty Organization on December 4 regarding the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty following the meeting of the foreign ministers of the alliance in Brussels puts the seal on the US decision to withdraw from the pact. …
Trump’s fawning over Saudi ties backfires
(Russian President Putin ‘high fives’ with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Argentina, Nov 30, 2018) The G20 is an economic club and it has traditionally stuck to that groove. And Saudi Arabia has traditionally been represented at G20 events by government ministers, usually the oil minister. But this time around, the Crown Prince Mohamed …
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US will return to Vibrant Gujarat provided Modi wins 2019 poll
(Former US Secretary of State John Kerry at Vibrant Gujarat Summit, 11-13 January 2018) Curious, isn’t it, that Prime Minister Narendra Modi began his five-year term with a visa ban on him by the United States and is now ending it with an American ‘boycott’? The snub publicly administered by Washington by refusing to participate …
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