Ukraine’s President Volodymr Zelensky (L} with Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen, Kiev, Feb. 16, 2023 The United States and Israel make quite a pair. They tango, they align, they scratch each other’s back, they can be bitchy toward each other, and have a Faustian deal but are also lone rangers — and Israel lets the …
Norway’s atonement for Nord Stream sabotage
Famous American journalist Seymour Hersh exposes the sabotage of Nord Stream gas pipelines by the US and Norway in Sept 2022 The meeting of the defence ministers of the Pentagon’s Ukraine Defence Contact Group in the “Ramstein” format in Brussels on January 14 failed to make any major announcement on the supply of offensive weapons …
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China-Iran ties on the right side of history
Chinese President Xi Jinping (L) held a welcoming ceremony for Iran’s President Ebrahim Raisi prior to their talks at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, February 14, 2023 The three-day state visit by Iran’s president Ebrahim Raisi to China on February 14-16 is a landmark event affecting regional politics and international security. The …
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Doval creates synergy in India-Russia ties
President Vladimir Putin (R) met top security officials of the region surrounding Afghanistan, Kremlin, Moscow, Feb 8, 2023 The scheduled visit of National Security Advisor Ajit Doval to Moscow on February 7-9 was in connection with the multilateral consultations of the secretaries of security councils and national security advisors regarding Afghanistan hosted by the Secretary of the Russian Security …
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Britain rebuilds ties with France
French President Emmanuel Macron (L) and the UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak ahead of a historic meeting during the COP27 summit at Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, 7 November, 2022 A Bloomberg report cited unnamed British ministers, diplomats and officials to the effect that Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has tasked senior ministers and officials to draw up plans …
Waiting for Biden’s definition of victory in Ukraine
A Ukrainian soldier adds wood to a fire to stave off the bitter cold, Bakhmut, Donbass (File photo) There was an air of magical realism in the daylong visit to Kiev last Friday by the EU’s policy commissioners comprising the executive branch of the group — the so-called College — led by the European Commission …
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Biden bullies China. But it won’t work
A Chinese balloon in the sky over Montana, USA, Feb 1, 2023 There is no question that the circumstances surrounding the “balloon affair” between the United States and China are dodgy. Burlesque does not belong to China’s diplomatic toolbox. China never used balloons to browbeat adversaries. Unsurprisingly, expert opinion largely tends to go along with …
The West sees Iran in a new way
A drone exploding over a Defense Ministry workshop in the central Iranian city of Isfahan, on January 29, 2023 The Wall Street Journal reported from Tehran on Wednesday that “a lethal crackdown and an ailing economy have quieted anti-government street demonstrations … organised protests have largely tapered off.” The paradox is, this interpretation is widely applicable …
Vietnam sees a shared future with China
Chinese President Xi Jinping (R) presents China’s Friendship Order to General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam Central Committee Nguyen Phu Trong, Beijing, October 31, 2022 The resignation of Vietnam’s President Nguyen Xuan Phuc a fortnight ago had an inevitability about it. The media was rife with speculation for weeks implicating Phuc’s close family members …
Russia’s gas union eyes Pakistan, India
The Uzbek grid prepares to receive gas supplies from Russia Pakistan’s acute energy crisis is the immediate backdrop against which Foreign Minister Bilawal Zardari’s forthcoming talks with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in Moscow today need to be understood. But then, Lavrov is a ‘Renaissance man’ in the world of international diplomacy and is sure …