FILE PHOTO: US troops patrol in Logar province, Afghanistan. The sensational disclosure by the New York Times on June 26 that Russia’s military intelligence agency paid bounties to Afghan militants to kill American and NATO troops in Afghanistan, opens a can of worms. It pollutes the air of US-Russian relations with a powerful stench. The …
US leverages Delhi-Kabul nexus. But what’s in it for India?
India’s National Security Advisor Ajit Doval (L) and External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar (C) met the US Special Representative for Afghan Reconciliation Zalmay Khalilzad (R), Delhi, May 7, 2020 The two-hour stopover in Delhi on May 7 by the US special representative for Afghanistan Zalmay Khalilzad, accompanied by the White House official in charge of …
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Russia-China entente deepens in the shadow of the pandemic
Richard Lugar Public Health Centre in Georgia, which Russia alleges to be a Pentagon laboratory for biological weapon development. Beijing has called on the US to respond to Russian concerns. The Russian-Chinese entente emerged as one of the most significant templates of international politics in the recent period since the hugely consequential developments in Ukraine …
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Trump’s threat to Iran has a hollow ring. It betrays angst.
Afghan President Asraf Ghani (C) received Iran’s special envoy Mohammad Ebrahim Taherian at the presidential palace, Kabul, April 20, 2020 A tweet by the US President Donald Trump on April 22 said, “I have instructed the United States Navy to shoot down and destroy any and all Iranian gunboats if they harass our ships at …
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Turkey, Iran and Malaysia spoke up on J&K. Here’s why.
Panorama of an endless Oil Palm plantation in Malaysia (File photo) The report in the Economic Times that India has signed a contract with a Turkish firm to build fleet support vessels for the Indian Navy at the Vizag-based Hindustan Shipyard Limited gives much food for thought. Prima facie, the report is a motivated one. …
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Russia cannot do without Turkey’s cooperation in Syria
People fleeing the conflict zone in Idlib, northwest Syria. File photo. The former Soviet Union was a satiated world power. It didn’t have to prove anything. The Great Patriotic War (1941-45) spoke for itself. Thus, triumphalism was never a diplomatic tool in the Soviet inventory. The removal of the US nuclear missiles from Turkey in …
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Iran loathes Pompeo’s Chabahar gift
India-Iran Joint Commission meeting co-chaired by Foreign Minister Mohammed Javad Zarif (L) and Indian counterpart S. Jaishankar (R), Tehran, December 22, 2019 Sometimes a crisis is needed to judge the efficacy of a country’s regional policies. The US-Iran confrontation is one such moment for Delhi. In retrospect, the India-US meeting of foreign and defence ministers …
Bereft of soft power, India stands diminished in Hindu Kush and Central Asia
Bagh-e Babur (Garden of Babur) in Kabul, Afghanistan The dichotomy between the regime policy and public opinion is nowhere near as sharp as in the world of diplomacy. And nowhere in the contemporary situation is this maxim so sharply visible as in the dalliance of the West Asian oligarchies with Israel. The romance began at …
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‘Howdy Modi’ is a win-win. But does it matter?
The Houston Texans football stadium where Prime Minister Modi will address a rally on September 22, 2019 PM Modi takes to the stage Sunday at the NRG Stadium at Houston, Texas, in an event billed Howdy Modi, sponsored by “hundreds of Indian-American groups”. The event was choreographed to celebrate Modi’s return to America after what …
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With eye on Trump, India scrambles for Russian support
Prime Minister Narendra Modi (L) and Russian President Vladimir Putin (R) at informal meeting in Sochi in May 2018 Within a week of National Security Advisor Ajit Doval’s consultations in Moscow on August 21, External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar is travelling to the Russian capital for talks with his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov on Tuesday. Prima …
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