The National Security Advisor Ajit Doval is heading for China for the Special Representatives talks on November 23-25 with the Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi. This will be the last round of talks in that format during the Modi government’s remaining term in office. The format provided a unique opportunity to cover …
UAE, Saudi sense convergence with Syria
(Turkey & the Persian Gulf) The reported plan by the United Arab Emirates to reopen its embassy in Damascus shortly leads to a startlingly new alignment on the map of the Middle East. At the most obvious level, it signals the realization among the Gulf States that the brutal war to overthrow the Syrian government …
Trump’s unchecked hold on power comes to an end
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”
India has historic role in Moscow format on Afghanistan
(Taliban heads for peace talks) Many a slip between the cup and the lip may be possible when it comes to the Afghan peacemaking, but with the caveat added, prospects for the second Moscow conference on Afghanistan slated for coming Friday have significantly improved with the expected participation by officials of Afghanistan’s High Peace Council …
Continue reading “India has historic role in Moscow format on Afghanistan”
India should stay the course on Iran oil
The new kids on the block are unaware that not a year had passed since the Islamic Revolution in Iran 40 years ago when US sanctions against that country wasn’t a fact of life. Iran has weathered multiple rounds of sanctions before. As a BBC commentary put it, “Iranians will be forced into finding creative …
US doublespeak hinders Afghan peace
Within hours of the announcement on Saturday by the Russian Foreign Ministry that the second meeting of the Moscow format of consultations on Afghanistan will take place on November 9, the US government-funded Radio Free Europe and Liberty has announced that the Afghan government will not participate in the forthcoming meeting. The text of the …
Modi buries India’s ‘unipolar predicament’
This weekend held out surprises on two counts. One, the spectre of a US-China New Cold War met sudden death as President Trump phoned President Xi Jinping on Thursday to turn the clock back to happier times. Trump openly sought to end the trade war and to mend fences with China. As a realist, he …
Continue reading “Modi buries India’s ‘unipolar predicament’”
Rethink on Sri Lanka’s Rajapaksa is timely. Make Sri Lanka a playfield of ‘China-India plus one’
(Mahinda Rajapaksa) India has done the right thing by keeping a line open to the newly appointed Sri Lankan prime minister Mahinda Rajapaksa. It is not in India’s interests to lend credence to the western narrative of Rajapaksa being “pro-China”. The well-known public figure and BJP parliamentarian Subrahmanyam Swamy who hosted Rajapaksa in Delhi in …
US takes leap of faith toward Taliban, al-Qaeda
According to reports, the Taliban disclosed on Tuesday that five former Guantanamo inmates from their leadership hierarchy have joined their political office in Qatar. This dramatic development signals that the talks between the Taliban and the US are getting under way seriously in search of an Afghan settlement. The five former Guantanamo inmates were top …
Continue reading “US takes leap of faith toward Taliban, al-Qaeda”
Istanbul summit on Syria was successful but caveats remain
The four-nation Turkey-Russia-Germany-France summit on Syria on October 27 in Istanbul had an impressive outcome. All participants – each with own interests – has some ‘takeaway’ from the summit, which itself is a measure of the success of the event. This is also important because the participants now have a reason to work together. …
Continue reading “Istanbul summit on Syria was successful but caveats remain”