(Speaker of the Saudi Shura Council Abdullah Ibrahim Al Al-Sheikh being received by Iraqi Parliament Speaker Mohammed Al-Halbousi at Baghdad International Airport, Iraq, April 20, 2019) To be sure, the conference of speakers of parliament in Baghdad on April 20 was an extraordinary event invested with heavy symbolism both in terms of Iraq’s role in …
Continue reading “Iraq hopes to ease Saudi-Iranian tensions”
(In the eye of the storm: US’ F-35 multirole ‘stealth’ jet and Russia’s S-400 anti-aircraft defense system) Even as the countdown has begun before the first batch of Russian-made S-400 missiles will arrive in Turkey — expected in coming ten weeks from now — a crisis situation envelops the Turkish-American relationship. No doubt, this crisis, …
Continue reading “Trump, Erdogan seek reset of US-Turkey ties”
CPEC lurches toward Iran Imran Khan’s visit to Iran on Sunday can be seen as vindicating Tehran’s nuanced approach to the relations with Pakistan. Surely, border security will top the agenda of the discussions in Tehran between the two leaderships. Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei will be receiving Imran Khan. Tehran is indeed seeking a much …
(Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan receiving Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, Islamabad, August 31, 2018) The visit by Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan to Iran on April 21-22 will be a major event in regional politics. Whether it will be remembered as a landmark event, time only will tell. At its most obvious level, …
Continue reading “Pakistan-Iran ties set for makeover — Part I”
(Indonesian President Joko Widodo meeting supporters at a campaign rally.) The reports from Jakarta indicate that the incumbent president Joko Widodo has won the election on April 17 and secured another five-year term in office. Widodo draws comparison with Prime Minister Modi. Both are charismatic figures. Both surged in national politics as rank ‘outsiders’. They …
Continue reading “How Widodo won the election — and Modi could too”
The 7-year old conflict in Syria that is drawing to a close turned out to be a geopolitical struggle ultimately, although it began with the Arab Spring. For all protagonists involved in the conflict, geopolitical concerns were the overriding factor. For example, Tehran gave primacy to the geopolitical struggle because it has implications for its …
(A transfer case containing the remains of Staff Sgt. Christopher Slutman at Dover Air Force Base, Del. who was among 3 American soldiers killed near Bagram base, Afghanistan on April 8, 2019) Henry Kissinger wouldn’t have approved the way Zalmay Khalilzad, US Special Representative for Afghanistan Reconciliation, handles the Afghan peace talks. Even if Tweeter …
Continue reading “Who’s afraid of Afghan peace talks – Kabul and Delhi?”
(Russian President Vladimir Putin (right) and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi react while walking near the Constantine Palace, St. Petersburg, June 2017.) The Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree in Moscow on April 12 conferring on Prime Minister Narendra Modi Russia’s highest state award, the Order of St Andrew the Apostle the First-Called. This …
Continue reading “Putin votes for Modi. Can he help Modi win?”
(Protestors in front of Army Headquarters, Khartoum, Sudan, April 11, 2019) The Arab Spring has returned to the Middle East after nearly six years in exile. It was in July 2013 that reversing the tide of democracy in Egypt that swept away the dictatorship of Hosni Mubarak, army chief General Abdel Fattah el-Sisi led a …
Continue reading “Arab Spring returns home to uncertain welcome”
Doublespeak is commonplace in statecraft. A celebrated case is of the former US President Barack Obama who was facing re-election in 2012. Battered by criticism by his Republican contender Mitt Romney for being “soft” on Russia, Obama sought a private understanding with the Kremlin leadership that he couldn’t afford to be seen by the American …
