Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky made a working visit to the frontline positions in Luhansk region in May 2019 The ice in the frozen lake shifting is one of the coolest sounds you can hear. The air is cold but not freezing, and the woods are silent. The frozen lake looks like it’s been stopped in time, …
Continue reading “Ukraine remains the signpost of world politics”
(Comedian Vladimir Zelensky sweeps to victory as Ukraine’s next president, Kiev, April 21, 2019) Comedy, it is often said, is unusual people in real situations and farce is real people in unusual situations. No doubt, it can be said that by electing comedian Vladimir Zelensky as their new president in a landslide victory in Sunday’s …
(S-400 : Russia’s geopolitical missile targeting the US) The Turkish-American relations are at a crossroads. Unlike past history of their troubled relationship saw hiccups but the two NATO allies moved on eventually, this time around, they are barreling toward a clash. From an Indian perspective, it is of interest that the clash is over the …
Continue reading “If US sanctions Turkey, can India be far behind?”
After a successful mission to Turkey this weekend on US President Trump’s behalf, his leading Republican ally Senator Lindsey Graham is reportedly heading for Islamabad on a similar mission seeking rapprochement with another truculent erstwhile ally of the US. Senator Graham, interestingly, used to be a hardliner on Afghanistan who once believed that a US …
Continue reading “US officials converge on Pakistan seeking Afghan peace”
(Turkish tank convoy moving to Syrian border, Jan 14.) Through the past month since US President Donald Trump tweeted his fateful decision to withdraw troops from Syria, a familiar pattern began appearing – no sooner than Trump makes a foreign-policy decision, those around him scramble to try to delay that decision. However, in the Syrian …
The Russian President Vladimir Putin’s address to an expanded meeting of the Defence Ministry Board in Moscow on December 18 stands out as a tour d’horizon of the global strategic balance. The speech must be seen against the backdrop of the free fall in US-Russia relations, build-up of NATO infrastructure on Russia’s western borders and, …
(Mikhail Gorbachev & Ronald Reagan signing the INF Treaty, Washington, December 1987) The statement issued by the North Atlantic Treaty Organization on December 4 regarding the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty following the meeting of the foreign ministers of the alliance in Brussels puts the seal on the US decision to withdraw from the pact. …
(Kerch Strait, Crimea, and Sea of Azov) The ‘frozen conflict’ in Ukraine has suddenly become active on Sunday with an encounter involving the naval vessels of Ukraine and Russia at Kerch Strait in Crimea, the entry point of the Sea of Azov from the Black Sea. The Russians have detained three Ukrainian ships that tried …
Continue reading “Rising Crimea tensions mar Trump-Putin meeting”
The US midterm results are out. In a nutshell, Republicans retain majority in the Senate, while Democrats have seized control of the House of Representatives after a gap of 8 years. On balance, the midterm results constitute a setback for President Donald Trump insofar as while Senate confirmations for his executive and judicial appointments will …
Continue reading “Trump’s unchecked hold on power comes to an end”
