Russia, China have a shared vision for North Korea

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un (R) and Russian Defence Minister Sergey Shoigu at a pavilion displaying North Korea’s newest 3-stage solid-fuelled ICBM Hwasong-18, Pyongyang, July 26, 2023  The three-day state visit on July 25-27 by Russian Defence Minister Sergey Shoigu, accompanied by a military delegation, to Pyongyang is the first-ever such high-level visit from Moscow …

Storm clouds gathering in the Black Sea

Turkish President Recep Erdogan (L) and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky (R) with President Biden & NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg (C), NATO Summit, Vilnius,July 11, 2023 The NATO Summit in Vilnius (July 11-12) signalled that there is absolutely no possibility of talks to settle the Ukraine war in a foreseeable future. The war will only intensify, …

Russia, US exchange glances as Prigozhin heads for Moscow

Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin leaves the Hqs. of Russia’s Southern Military District, Rostov-on-Don, June 24, 2023. Sometimes one wishes Winston Churchill had left behind an evergreen quote in regard of Russian diplomacy as well, similar to his epic one on Russian politics, which still remains unbeatable  — “Kremlin political intrigues are comparable to a bulldog …

The failed coup in Russia through American looking glass

The entrance lobby of the PMC Wagner Centre in St. Petersburg The former US president Donald Trump’s remarks regarding the failed coup attempt in Russia by Yevgeniy Prigozhin stood out for their sheer subtlety amidst the crass new western narrative that the dramatic events on June 23-24 highlighted “cracks” within the Russian system.  No one …