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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US pips regional states at race for Kabul
UN SG António Guterres: “Afghanistan is hanging by a thread.” In a hugely consequential advisory, the US Treasury Department quietly signalled on Wednesday that it was “tweaking” the sanctions against the Haqqani Network. The international banks can transfer money to Taliban, including Haqqani Network without fear of breaching sanctions. Washington simply issued clarifications dilating on the …
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Why Russia-China partnership is effective
President Vladimir Putin (R) hosts Chinese President Xi Jinping on state visit at the Kremlin, Moscow, June 5, 2019 The cascading tensions between Russia and the United States brought into play the Russian-Chinese “comprehensive strategic partnership of cooperation”. The topic has been the stuff of animated discussion among strategic thinkers lately. But opinions varied. The …
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