Russia wades into oily waters of East Mediterranean

Turkish naval fleet accompanying drill ship, July 2019 in East Mediterranean. The cold war brewing in the East Mediterranean over the vast hydrocarbon reserves in the region is already ‘multipolar’. Egypt, Israel, Cyprus, Greece, the United States and Turkey figure as the main protagonists. Then, in mid-July, the European Union grew out of its observer …

US, Pakistan move in tandem to end Afghan war

President Donald Trump (R) speaks during a meeting with Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan, Washington, July 22, 2019 The US State Department chose Friday to announce the decision to approve a $125 million aid package providing technical support to Pakistan’s fleet of F-16 fighter aircraft. Ironically, the news reached Delhi on the 20th anniversary of …

Russia and China display strategic coordination in Asia-Pacific

Russian Tu-95 MS (above) & Chinese Xian H-6 strategic bombers. File photo An exciting new template has appeared in the geopolitics of the Asia-Pacific last week when Russia’s Aerospace Force and China’s Air Force carried out their first-ever joint air patrol in the region. Steadily and imperceptibly but profoundly, the regional alignments are transforming. Russia …

Kulbhushan Jadhav on re-trial. Future lies in India’s hands

Kulbhushan Jadhav, alleged Indian spy on death row in Pakistan, met his relatives from India, Islamabad, December 24, 2017 The External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar’s statement in the Parliament on July 18 regarding the judgment by the International Court of Justice on Kulbhushan Jadhav — he called it “certain important development — was noteworthy for …

If no CAATSA for Turkey, none for India too

Turkish Foreign Ministry: Removing Turkey from from US’ F-35 fighter jet program “will irreparably damage relations”, Ankara, July 17, 2019 President Trump’s statement on July 17 to block the sale of the advanced F-35 jet to Turkey and to remove Turkey altogether from the fighter jet programme marks an inflection point in the Turkish-American relations.  …

Turkey undeterred by US sanctions threat

Components of S-400 missile defense system are unloaded from a Russian plane at Akinci Air Base, near Ankara, July 12, 2019. The loss of Istanbul to an opposition candidate in Turkey’s recent local elections was hyped up by many American commentators, especially pro-Israeli analysts, as marking the end of President Recep Erdogan’s 17-year long dominance …