Chinese President Xi Jinping (L) held a welcoming ceremony for Iran’s President Ebrahim Raisi prior to their talks at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, February 14, 2023 The three-day state visit by Iran’s president Ebrahim Raisi to China on February 14-16 is a landmark event affecting regional politics and international security. The …
Continue reading “China-Iran ties on the right side of history”
President Vladimir Putin (R) met top security officials of the region surrounding Afghanistan, Kremlin, Moscow, Feb 8, 2023 The scheduled visit of National Security Advisor Ajit Doval to Moscow on February 7-9 was in connection with the multilateral consultations of the secretaries of security councils and national security advisors regarding Afghanistan hosted by the Secretary of the Russian Security …
Continue reading “Doval creates synergy in India-Russia ties”
French President Emmanuel Macron (L) and the UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak ahead of a historic meeting during the COP27 summit at Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, 7 November, 2022 A Bloomberg report cited unnamed British ministers, diplomats and officials to the effect that Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has tasked senior ministers and officials to draw up plans …
A Ukrainian soldier adds wood to a fire to stave off the bitter cold, Bakhmut, Donbass (File photo) There was an air of magical realism in the daylong visit to Kiev last Friday by the EU’s policy commissioners comprising the executive branch of the group — the so-called College — led by the European Commission …
Continue reading “Waiting for Biden’s definition of victory in Ukraine”
A Chinese balloon in the sky over Montana, USA, Feb 1, 2023 There is no question that the circumstances surrounding the “balloon affair” between the United States and China are dodgy. Burlesque does not belong to China’s diplomatic toolbox. China never used balloons to browbeat adversaries. Unsurprisingly, expert opinion largely tends to go along with …
A drone exploding over a Defense Ministry workshop in the central Iranian city of Isfahan, on January 29, 2023 The Wall Street Journal reported from Tehran on Wednesday that “a lethal crackdown and an ailing economy have quieted anti-government street demonstrations … organised protests have largely tapered off.” The paradox is, this interpretation is widely applicable …
Chinese President Xi Jinping (R) presents China’s Friendship Order to General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam Central Committee Nguyen Phu Trong, Beijing, October 31, 2022 The resignation of Vietnam’s President Nguyen Xuan Phuc a fortnight ago had an inevitability about it. The media was rife with speculation for weeks implicating Phuc’s close family members …
The Uzbek grid prepares to receive gas supplies from Russia Pakistan’s acute energy crisis is the immediate backdrop against which Foreign Minister Bilawal Zardari’s forthcoming talks with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in Moscow today need to be understood. But then, Lavrov is a ‘Renaissance man’ in the world of international diplomacy and is sure …
Russian soldier keeping vigil to prevent attempts by Ukrainian military to cross Dnieper River in Kherson area Bang in the middle of the brouhaha over the decision by the US and its European allies to supply Abram and Leopard battle tanks to Ukraine, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov messaged to Washington on Thursday that …
Russian T-90M Proryv (Breakthrough) main battle tank in action on the Donbass front lines recently The first anniversary of Russia’s special military operation in Ukraine falls on February 24. The Russian strategy of attrition war has not yet produced the desired political outcome but has been a success nonetheless. The delusional “westernist” notions of …
Continue reading “Ukraine war’s first anniversary and beyond”
