Foreign Ministers of Shanghai Cooperation Organisation at Dushanbe with Tajikistan President Emomali Rahmon, July 14, 2021 The ministerial meeting at Dushanbe last week of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) and the SCO contact group with Afghanistan left a trail of disappointment. The SCO statement on Afghanistan was a baby step — significant, nonetheless, considering the …
US-German Nord Stream 2 deal has a third partner
The undersea Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline is nearly complete The joint statement issued in Washington and Berlin on Wednesday signifies that the two countries have struck a compromise deal over the controversial Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline. Both the US and Germany were eager to simmer down the controversy. For President Joe Biden, the …
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Pegasus Project: Why I am hesitant to defend the government but must
Pegasus Project: Activists, journalists, politicians have been spied on allegedly using mobile phone malware developed by Israel. The so-called Pegasus Project, which hit media headlines, has highlighted India in a clutch of countries where snooping of the telephones of citizens is widely practised as state policy. The Washington Post, which spearheaded the Pegasus Project, proposes …
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Pakistan’s geo-economics is working well
When the whole world is lamenting that the US is quitting Afghanistan in ignominy, the Biden Administration is snatching victory from the jaws of defeat. What an audacity of hope! The agreement reached in principle in Tashkent on Friday between the representatives of the United States, Uzbekistan, Afghanistan and Pakistan “to establish a new quadrilateral …
Transitional period ahead in US-China relations
German Chancellor Angela Merkel (L) paid an ‘official working visit to White House and held talks with President Joe Biden (R), July 15, 2021 The ‘official working visit’ by the German Chancellor Angela Merkel to the White House on July 15 has been most conspicuous for its subdued tone regarding the most fateful topic of …
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China explains its Afghan motivations
The ministerial meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) and the meeting of the SCO-Afghanistan working group at Dushanbe on July 13-14 have thrown light on the templates of China’s approach to the evolving situation in Afghanistan. The elucidation of China’s intentions and motivations by China’s State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi is timely …
US-Russia ties warming up. Is it for real?
In many ways in their mindset, the US and Russia are similar. A “thaw” has appeared in the US-Russian relations. The unanimous vote by the United Nations Security Council last Friday extending a cross-border aid operation into Syria from Turkey must be regarded as an important moment. It stemmed out of a compromise in last …
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Takeaways for Russia, India from Merkel’s US visit
German Chancellor Angela Merkel to visit White House on July 15, will be the first European leader to do so during Biden presidency A caveat must be added to the famous line by Lord Hastings Lionel Ismay, NATO’s first Secretary General and Winston Churchill’s chief military assistant during the Second World War, that the purpose …
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China opens the SCO pathway to Kabul, India should go along
Amidst reports that Taliban fighters have entered Kandahar City, Afghan forces guarding a road, Afghanistan, July 9, 2021 The untimely remarks by External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar on the situation in Afghanistan during a joint press conference with his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov at Moscow on Friday does no good for his reputation as a …
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Biden avoids diplomacy with Russia
The guided-missile destroyer USS Ross enters the Black Sea to participate in Sea Breeze 2021 exercises, June 26, 2021 The Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov exhorted today in an extraordinary statement that the state authorities and the society at large must mobilise their resources amid the West’s pressure. Addressing an audience in Vladivostok, Lavrov said, …