(‘End of Cold War’ monument in Malta marking Bush-Gorbachev summit, Dec 3, 1989) The Saturday, December 3, 1989 when the Malta Summit took place between US President George HW Bush and Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev, was a cold and Gothic night. So much so that the second round of talks followed by dinner had to …
Continue reading “Post-cold war era barely lasted 1144 days”
(Ayatollah Khomeini waves to followers from the balcony of his headquarters in Tehran, Feb 2, 1979, on second day of return from exile.) The annual event known as the Ten Days of Dawn marking the political celebration of the Islamic Revolution in Iran on February 11 has begun. This year’s anniversary is a special occasion …
(Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov greeting Taliban officials at Moscow peace conference, November 2018) The Ministry of External Affairs spokesman’s remark on Thursday in New Delhi that “it is important that the presidential election in Afghanistan takes place as per the schedule” is the first major Indian comment on the current peace talks in Qatar between …
(Eye of the storm: Venezuela’s famed Orinoco Oil Belt) Russia is doing the right thing by switching tack from strident ‘anti-American’ rhetoric to focus on tamping down the tensions over Venezuela. China had counseled such an approach right from the outset when the crisis erupted last week. On day one of a looming US-Venezuelan standoff …
The portions relating to the regional security scenario in South Asia in the report titled “Worldwide Threat Assessment” by the US intelligence community presented to the US Senate Select Committee on Intelligence in Washington on January 29 make grim reading. The overall security scenario is bleak, especially in India-Pakistan relations. The past trend of regional …
(Satellite images suggest Saudi Arabia testing missiles capable of delivering nuclear weapons) Saudi Arabia launched a mammoth National Industrial Development and Logistics Program (NIDLP) Monday focusing on a dozen sectors in the economy including energy, petrochemicals, mining and the automotive industry. The powerful Saudi Minister of Energy, Industry and Mineral Resources Khalid al-Falih claimed that …
(Russian President Vladimir Putin (R) and Turkish President Recep Erdogan following joint press conference at the Kremlin, Moscow, Jan 23, 2019) The much-awaited meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and his visiting Turkish counterpart Recep Erdogan in Moscow last Wednesday focused on the the withdrawal of US troops from Syria. The timeframe of the US …
Continue reading “Putin’s firewall around Russia-Turkey partnership”
Dramatic news is filtering in from Qatar where the United States Special Representative for Afghanistan Zalmay Khalilzad and his delegation were huddled together with the representatives of the Taliban for four consecutive days since Monday. The duration of the talks unmistakably signifies that complex negotiations have taken place. Things are moving almost entirely in the …
The White House disclosed in Washington on January 19 that President Trump’s second summit with the North Korean leader Kim Jong-un “will take place near the end of February”. One month is a very long time in politics but the White House disclosure came at the conclusion of three-day working level talks between senior officials …
In a curious twist to Sri Lanka’s famous “debt trap”, Colombo has approached New Delhi and Beijing in panic to help it somehow meet the unprecedented foreign debt obligations. Eyebrows will be raised. How come Beijing? Yes, it is about Beijing helping Colombo to tackle its real “debt trap” – namely, repayment of maturing loans …
