(Moscow conference on Afghanistan, Nov 9, 2018) Political transition has been a recurring feature of Afghanistan’s modern history. Once in every 10-20 years, transitions appeared – the coup d’etat against King Zahir Shah in 1973, the violent takeover by the communists in 1978 (“Saur Revolution”), the collapse of the communist government and its replacement by …
Russia keeps Israel’s Netanyahu in anteroom
It is over a month since Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had announced that he was going to Moscow to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin with a view to open a new page in the relations between the two countries following the incident over Syrian skies on September 17 when a Russian reconnaissance plane was …
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US, China tiptoeing toward trade deal
(US-China Security & Diplomatic Dialogue, Nov 9, 2018) The joint press conference in Washington on Friday after the second US-China 2+2 (“Diplomatic & Security Dialogue”) throws much light on the tango between the two big powers. Delhi must draw some serious conclusions. Broadly, the American side is adopting a two-track approach – on the one …
A game changer for India-China relations
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 …
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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 …
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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 …
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