Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi addresses the Munich Security Conference via video link, Feb 19, 2022. The remarks by China’s State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi at the Munich Security Conference on Saturday constitute the first full statement on Beijing’s stance regarding Russia’s current tensions with the West and its sub-plot …
Moscow’s coercive diplomacy is working
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz gesturing at a joint press conference with Russian President Vladimir Putin , Moscow, February 15, 2022 The upshot of the Russian response, transmitted to Washington on Thursday, regarding security guarantees may look as if the stalemate is heading toward a war. Moscow has rejected the US’ call for ‘de-escalation’ by pointing …
Iran Unbound. What it means.
Iran’s negotiator Ali Bagheri says nuclear deal ‘closer than ever’ The negotiations in Vienna over the revival of the Iran nuclear deal, known as JCPOA, are almost certainly close to an agreement. The surest sign is that crude oil futures were sharply lower in mid-morning Asian trade Feb. 17 despite bearish developments due to the rising …
Why QUAD is irreplaceable
QUAD provides an umbrella to huddle together behind closed doors and give vent to their grouse against China in hushed tone — a safety valve for pent-up frustrations. The scheduling of the QUAD ministerial meeting in Canberra on February 9 right in the middle of the Ukraine crisis and cascading U.S.-Russia tensions served to highlight …
Biden dials back belligerence toward Russia
US President Joe Biden spoke with Russia’s President Vladimir Putin from his retreat at Camp David, Maryland, February 12, 2022 The White House readout of US President Joe Biden’s conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Saturday conveys the impression that its leitmotif was Washington’s threat of sanctions against Russia if it attacked Ukraine. But …
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US war hysteria over Ukraine won’t gel
Breakaway Donbass region prepares for attack by Ukrainian extreme nationalist forces emboldened by western support The two takeaways out of the French President Emmanuel Macron’s visit to Moscow and his six-hour long talks with President Vladimir Putin have been the assurance held out by the latter that Russian forces would not ramp up the crisis …
Pakistan in the eye of the Storm
New trends that have appeared in regional security since the Taliban takeover in Afghanistan are highly consequential for regional politics. The joint statement issued on February 6 following the four-day visit by the Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan to China has been an exceptional gesture by Beijing underscoring the highest importance attached to that country …
Moscow confronts ‘good cop, bad cop’
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz (L), French President Emmanuel Macron (C) and Polish President Andrzej Duda (R) met in Berlin on February 8, 2022 in the format of the so-called Weimar Triangle. Americans use the slang “lockstep” recalling a characteristic trait of their prisons of the 19th century when inmates had to shuffle step due to …
China’s support is a game changer for Russia
During the visit by President Vladimir Putin to Beijing on Friday, the world attention was focused on how far China would go in support of Russia in the latter’s standoff with the US and NATO. From the joint statement issued after the visit, China has given fulsome support to Russia, endorsing Moscow’s demand for security …
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US plays QUAD card during Beijing Olympics
Protest against Beijing Olympics in New Delhi, Feb 4, 2022 The appalling decision by the External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar to huddle together with his QUAD colleagues bang in the middle of the Beijing Winter Olympics may have unpleasant consequences. China sees QUAD as a US-led clique working to “contain” it. An action-reaction syndrome has once …
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