(King Salman of Saudi Arabia & Afghan President Ghani) As surely as night follows day, in the wake of Saudi Arabia assuming the lead role in the Afghan peace talks, Tehran has unveiled an analogous peace process involving the Taliban. (See my article in Asia Times Saudi Arabia takes charge of Afghan peace talks.) The …
Continue reading “Iran challenges Saudi role in the Afghan endgame”
A German-French joint statement on Friday regarding Ukraine condemned Russia and demanded the immediate release of the sailors detained following the so-called Kerch incident in November. Moscow hit back in equally strong language summarily rejecting the Franco-German demand. The Franco-German motivation in provoking Russia remains unclear. Maybe, a combination of circumstances would be at play. …
Continue reading “Germany, France struggle with resurgent Russia”
The Syrian government forces have entered the northern town of Manbij on the Turkish border earlier today. The Syrian military command announced in Damascus that the operation stemmed from the commitment to “impose sovereignty to each inch of Syrian territories and in response to calls of locals of Manbij city.” The announcement reiterated Damascus’ twin …
Continue reading “Syrian Kurds throw Americans under the bus”
(Russian FM Sergey Lavrov receiving Pakistani FM Shah Mahmood Qureshi, Moscow, Dec 26 2018) With what mixed feelings Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi wound up on Wednesday his hurried 3-day regional tour of Kabul, Tehran, Beijing and Moscow, we will never know. What sticks out is that Islamabad’s newfound role as “facilitator” of the …
Continue reading “Pakistan’s Afghan jig irks regional states”
(Talibs as diplomats beckoning to peace.) Panic has seized the Indian analysts – mixed with fury and frustration – that the Americans are marching out of Afghanistan. Yet, the fact of the matter is that no such decision has been announced yet by President Trump, who actually has nothing to lose and everything to gain …
Continue reading “Delhi shouldn’t panic that Afghan war is ending”
(“We are going to appoint ‘Mad Dog’ Mattis as our secretary of defense,” Donald Trump, Jan 2017) Within the week, President Trump’s sudden announcement of “total” troop withdrawal from Syria has ripped apart the American political system and exposed its fault lines. Trump’s decision is intrinsically a sound one. He didn’t start the Syrian …
Continue reading “Why Mattis’ exit is a defining moment in US foreign policy”
(Stalingrad of Syrian war: ancient Syrian city of Raqqa after US bombing) On December 17, Ankara was notified of President Trump’s decision on troop withdrawal from Syria. During an earlier phone conversation between him and President Recep Erdogan on Dec 14, Trump had pointedly asked and elicited a positive response from the Turkish leader as …
(US bases in northeast Syria) The US President Donald Trump’s announcement on Wednesday regarding the withdrawal of American military from Syria has predictably run into strong headwinds in the Washington Beltway. A formidable coalition appeared overnight – comprising the Deep State, US defence and security establishment, leading members of the Congress, major media organs –branding …
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, …
(Recep Erdogan, Donald Trump at G20, Buenos Aires) The battle of wits between the US President Donald Trump and his Turkish counterpart Recep Erdogan is getting curioser and curioser. Trump fancies himself to be the ultimate deal-maker. But he is underestimating the wily Turkish leader who may be one up on him. In the latest …
Continue reading “There’s no quick fix to US-Turkish tensions”
