Video image of a Hezbollah anti-tank guided missile hitting a radar dome at Israeli air base on Mount Meron, Jan. 6, 2024 The diplomatic arena of the Middle East was dominated in the past week by the US Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s regional tour to Türkiye, Jordan, Qatar, the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Israel, the West …
Blinken’s window dressing tour of Arab capitals
Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (R) met with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken in AlUla, January 8, 2023 The expectation raised by the United States in allowing a UN Security Council resolution on Gaza pass through on December 22, 2023 without having to exercise its veto — albeit a watered-down one that stopped …
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India-Russia ties get a makeover
India’s External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov (L) and President Vladimir Putin (R) in Moscow during a five-day visit to Russia (Dec 24-29, 2023) The visit by External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar to Russia on December 24-29 presented an extraordinary spectacle reminiscent of the halcyon days of Indo-Soviet relations. There …
Putin lifts the fog of war in Ukraine
A victorious Russian soldier patrolling in Maryinka settlement in Donetsk, Ukraine, which was liberated on December 25, 2023 Russia’s special military operation in Ukraine is entering a new phase. President Vladimir Putin lifted the fog of war and hinted at what can be expected going forward in a landmark speech at the National Defence Control …
India’s turnaround on Palestine has more than meets the eye
A Palestinian man carries his daughter’s body near Al-Shifa hospital, Gaza after she was killed by an Israeli airstrike Indian diplomacy is ending 2023 with a momentous turnaround. What began as a course correction necessitated by the torrential flow of events in West Asia is assuming strategic overtones. Truly, the aberration in India’s policies can …
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US’ war on terror against Houthis is smoke and mirrors
A November 20, 2023 file photo of a Houthi military helicopter flying over Galaxy Leader cargo ship in the Red Sea The United States has hosted the first meeting of the new working group on terrorism in the Quad format in Honolulu, Hawaii, on December 19-21. The QUAD working group on terrorism was constituted in …
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Ukraine joins NATO’s Arctic projects against Russia
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky (3rd from Left), addresses a press conference after the Nordic Summit, Oslo, Dec 13, 2023. In a plea earlier this month to Republicans not to block further military aid to Ukraine, US President Joe Biden warned that if Russia is victorious, then President Vladimir Putin will not stop and will attack …
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Putin: “Odessa is a Russian city”
‘Uneasy lies the head that wears the crown.’ Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in a handout photograph released by the Ukrainian Presidential Press Service on December 6, 2023 At the year-end news conference on Thursday lasting four hours, Russian President Vladimir Putin made some key remarks on the conflict in Ukraine which throw light on the …
Diplomatic blow to India as Biden turns down invite
Happy Days: Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi (L), US President Joe Biden (C) and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau (R) at 48th summit of G7, Bavarian Alps, Germany, June 26-28, 2023 It is easy at once to exaggerate or underestimate the sensational case of the aborted assassination attempt on Sikh separatist leader and US citizen, Gurpatwant …
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Russia readies for a brave new world
The ceremony marking presentation of Gold Star medals to Heroes of Russia, St George Hall, Kremlin, Moscow, December 8, 2023 The announcement on Friday by Russian President Vladimir Putin that he will seek reelection for a fifth term in office came as no surprise. That he chose the occasion of a Kremlin ceremony conferring the Hero of Russia …