German Chancellor Olaf Scholz announced in Bundestag a big leap in armament programme, Berlin, Feb 27, 2022 Germany’s military build-up is a poignant issue in European politics, and what trajectory it will take once the dust settles, only time can tell. Three developments in the past week herald a profound shift in European politics. It …
Why Russian operation focuses on Donbass, Black Sea regions
Firebombed German city of Dresden after horrific British- American aerial bombing in the closing phase of World War II A veteran Indian journalist and world class war correspondent, recently wrote with a touch of humour that when BBC’s Lyse Doucet landed in Kiev a week ago, he was reminded of the howling cry of monkeys …
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We’re Europeans, Christians, Whites!
Ukrainian ‘refugees’ wait at a train station in Zahony, Hungary, a border town with Ukraine, February 26, 2022 (Photo: AP) Racist Ukraine coverage in mainstream Western media. Notice the racist overtones. 1. BBC “It’s very emotional for me because I see European people with blue eyes and blonde hair being killed” – Ukraine’s Deputy Chief …
Ukraine sparks EU, US rush to Iran deal
Iran’s president Ebrahim Raisi telephoned Russian president Vladimir Putin to discuss NATO expansion and Iran nuclear issue Will the US-Russia confrontation over NATO expansion and the situation around Ukraine derail the Iran nuclear negotiations in Vienna? Apparently, the Iran issue has been pushed somewhat from the centre of world attention lately. But that is a …
Ukraine makes strange bedfellows
The world community is aghast over the acute tensions between the United States and its NATO allies on one side and Russia on the other, which is poised critically on the brink of a military confrontation, the like of which the world didn’t see in the entire Cold War era. The shocking part is that …
German military on the rebound
In a historic decision after the defeat in World War 2, Germany is setting up a special fund to rebuild its military. €100 billion investment, including drones, fighter jets, are on the agenda. Military spending will be raised above 2% of GDP permanently, by far outstripping France or UK. Whichever way the U.S.-Russian tensions pan …
India shouldn’t miss world war pointer
Prime Minister Narendra Modi (L) and Russian President Vladimir Putin had a phone conversation on February 24, 2022 The transition of India’s foreign-policy mindset during the post-cold war period from an international outlook to a national one, and then its colossal drop to a ‘mofussil’ thinking, is a tragic phenomenon. One outcome of it has …
Germany Can No Longer Be Put Down
Whichever way the U.S.-Russian tensions pan out — or, get protracted — Germany hopes to be the net winner. Prima facie, it may seem German Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s inexperience in world politics showed in his first appearance at the Munich Security Conference on Saturday when he was dismissive about a remark by Russian leader earlier …
Pope, Putin and Ukraine in crisis
Russian President Vladimir Putin after a papal audience with Pope Francis, Vatican, June 10, 2015 Papacy is back in global politics — that is, assuming it ever left. The gesture by Pope Francis to visit the Russian Embassy in Rome on Friday undoubtedly makes a notable event, for a variety of reasons. Pope Francis has …
Ukraine’s hybrid war is mutating
Ukraine president Zelensky gave a video address after midnight on February 25, 2022 disclosing a Russian offer of talks The first signs of the dual track in Russia’s hybrid war in Ukraine have surfaced. By Thursday evening, the Kremlin held out an olive branch to the Ukraine president Volodymyr Zelensky. Succinctly put, President Vladimir Putin expressed …