Turkey reboots Arab Spring with Palestinian resistance

Turkish President Recep Erdogan (C) met a high-level delegation of Hamas led by Ismail Haniyeh (L), Istanbul, August 22, 2020 Turkey has made its first move on the regional chessboard after the recent deal between the UAE and Israel, when on August 22, President Recep Erdogan received in Istanbul a high-level delegation of the Palestinian …

A high-flying US senator warns Modi against Putin

Russian Ka-226T helicopter to be produced under ‘Make in India’ is advantageous in high-altitude environments. (File photo)  The Nikkei Asian Review, well-known for its anti-China reportage, featured an article in the weekend titled India should ignore Putin’s offer to broker accord with China. The author is none other than Marco Rubio, the high-flying Republican senator …

China sees Biden as tough but predictable

Democratic presidential candidate former Vice President Joe Biden arrives to give his acceptance speech at the Democratic National Convention, Chase Center, Wilmington, Delaware, August 20, 2020. Joe Biden’s acceptance speech at the Democratic National Convention on August 20 has been widely acclaimed in America and it enhances the growing perception that he is likely to …

Iran “snapback” sanctions is a pantomime. Spectacle to watch is Trump-Putin summit.

As expected, the Trump Administration delivered letters on Thursday to both the UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and to the president of the Security Council Dian Triansyah Djani notifying them that the United States is initiating the restoration of virtually all UN sanctions on Iran lifted under UN Security Council Resolution 2231.  This process, if successful, …

Israel-UAE deal doesn’t herald a geopolitical formation

Libya’s Prime Minister Fayez al-Sarraj (C) met with Turkish Minister of Defence Hulusi Akar (R) and Qatar Defence Minister Khalid bin Mohamed Al Attiyah (L), Tripoli, Libya, August 17, 2020  Sweeping geopolitical assumptions are being made regarding the Israel-UAE agreement to establish diplomatic relations. Basically, the deal legitimises a previously existing two-decades old relationship. See …

Russia takes Europe’s support to calm Belarus

Opposition protests in Minsk, Belarus, Aug 16, 2020 The mercurial Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko has not been an easy ally for the Kremlin. But the growing interference by Belarus’ “New European” neighbours is setting the stage for a “colour revolution” with potentially anti-Russian orientation. Poland, egged on by the US, has convinced itself that it …

Snapback sanctions on Iran isn’t open-and-shut case

UN Security Council resoundingly defeated a US resolution to indefinitely extend UN arms embargo on Iran, with only Dominican Republic endorsing the American move, New York, 14 Aug, 2020 The Iran nuclear issue moves to centerstage of international security with US President Donald Trump’s remarks Saturday that Washington “will be doing a snapback” against Iran …

Israel, UAE legitimise their relationship

The UAE Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed Bin Zayed: Palestinian leadership has accused UAE of ‘stabbing them in the back’ by establishing diplomatic relations with Israel. Success has many fathers, but failure is an orphan. The controversial peace deal between Israel and the United Arab Emirates has two fathers already — US President Donald Trump and …

We are all Americans!

Senator Kamala Harris, the first Indian-American candidate to make a serious run at the American presidency. (File photo) On several templates, the Democratic candidate in the November election in the US Joe Biden’s choice of Senator Kamala Harris as his running mate becomes an extraordinary development. Biden, the consummate politician, has made a thoughtful choice …