Russian president’s Special Representative on investment and economic cooperation Kirill Dmitriev had two days of consultations with US administration officials, Washington, DC, April 3, 2025 The visit by the head of the Russian Direct Investment Fund and special representative of the Russian president for investment and economic cooperation Kirill Dmitriev to Washington on April 2-3, the …
Trump-Putin parley is a bit under the weather
US president Donald Trump (L) with Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth in attendance, Oval Office, White House, March 21, 2025 (File photo) The Kremlin apparently came to the conclusion last week that it was about time to do some plain-speaking that US president Donald Trump’s quest for a 30-day ceasefire in the Ukraine war was a …
Continue reading “Trump-Putin parley is a bit under the weather”
A Third Way to end the war in Ukraine
Ukraine’s president Vladimir Zelensky (L) with European leaders and NATO chief at the European summit, Paris, March 27, 2025 In an unguarded moment, perhaps, ex-UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson blurted out recently in an interview that the ultranationalist elements who rule the roost in Kiev are a formidable obstacle to ending the war in Ukraine. For …
India’s public diplomacy falls flat
Does the Narendra Modi government have a stance on the Ukraine conflict at all? All things taken into account, the Raisina Dialogue 2025 turned out to be a wasteful extravaganza. Someone in authority should order an auditing. Public diplomacy is not about event management. The MEA may be favouring some non-official agency for reasons best …
A détente struggling to be born
The New Indian Express, March 28, 2025 A détente struggling to be born Trump wants a reset with Russia. But the US Deep State and Europeans are making the Ukraine endgame tougher. In private, Putin is indicating he is ready to deal M K Bhadrakumar Donald Trump’s strategy of focusing on a limited ceasefire in …
Talk of US-Iran war is all a load of baloney
The US special envoy for Middle East Steve Witkoff has disclosed that Tehran has made back channel contacts following a recent letter from President Trump (L) addressed to Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei (R) suggesting talks. The air is thick with the prognosis that a military confrontation between the US and Iran is now …
Continue reading “Talk of US-Iran war is all a load of baloney”
Modi presents himself on the landscape of history
As an avid follower of Lex Fridman’s podcasts, I can say that his 3-hour interview with Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been a fantastic media management success for the Indian establishment. Fridman is something of a celebrity himself to celebrities like Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, Kanye West and Tucker Carlson. Donald Trump interrupted his presidential …
Continue reading “Modi presents himself on the landscape of history”
Trump hypes up tensions with Iran
On Iran nuclear issue, Chinese foreign minster Wang Yi (C) held a joint meeting with Russia’s deputy foreign minister Sergey Ryabkov (L) and Iran’s deputy foreign minister Kazem Gharibabadi, Beijing, March 14, 2025 On Saturday, US President Donald Trump ordered the Pentagon “to launch a decisive and powerful military operation” against the Houthis of Yemen …
Trump’s presidential diplomacy is surging
The United States President Donald Trump (R) received the Secretary-General of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation Mark Rutte, White House, Washington, March 13, 2025 The US President Donald Trump by far outstrips any of his predecessors in post-cold war era in the transparency of his foreign policy agenda and in his attempt to connect the …
Continue reading “Trump’s presidential diplomacy is surging”
Trump invites Putin to a roller coaster ride
Top US and Ukrainian diplomats held talks, Jeddah, March 11, 2025 The political optics of the joint statement issued after the US-Ukrainian talks at Jeddah on March 11 lasting nine hours is hard to tell since President Donald Trump prides himself on his ability to strike deals. Prima facie, the optics are that Ukraine caved …
Continue reading “Trump invites Putin to a roller coaster ride”