A large-scale NATO military exercise earlier this year. Credit…Davide Monteleone for The New York Times Viewed through the Cold War prism, the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation’s decision at its recent summit meeting at the Hague to boost the defence spending by member countries to 5 percent of national income may appear to a naive onlooker as …
Putin succeeds in engaging with Trump
Playing chess on phone: US President Donald Trump (L) and Russian President Vladimir Putin in deep conversation (File photo) The mystique of engaging with the US President Donald Trump will remain a hot topic. South African President Cyril Ramaphosa’s sensational visit is the latest instance underscoring that it can be dangerous to get too close …
Minerals deal resets geopolitics of Ukraine
Ukraine’s mineral resources, December 10, 2024 [SOURCE: NATO Energy Security Centre of Excellence] Moscow and Kiev have been vying with each other to curry favour with the new US administration. Just as Russian diplomacy appeared to be outstripping Kiev, things changed dramatically on April 30 with the signing of the so-called minerals deal between the …
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Trump unveils the Greater America project
U.S. President-elect Donald Trump addressing a press conference, Mar-a-Lago, Florida, January 7, 2025 On Tuesday, at a press conference at his Florida mansion, President-elect Donald Trump took his gloves off, after showing monumental patience in the face of the shenanigans by the lame duck president Joe Biden and his inner circle to “do an Obama” …
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Atlanticists mobilise to salvage NATO as Russia toughens its stance
Parts of the ballistic missile named Oreshnik (hazelnut) that Russia used in a strike on Dnipropetrovsk, Ukraine, November 22, 2024 The American film maker and philanthropist who created the Star Wars and Indiana Jones franchises, George Lucas, once said, “Fear is the path to the Dark Side. Fear leads to anger, anger leads to hate, …
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A defining moment in the Ukraine war
Russian President Vladimir Putin took a meeting of the Defence Ministry leadership, representatives of military-industrial complex and missile system developers, Kremlin, Moscow, Nov. 21, 2024 The Russian President Vladimir Putin issued a statement on Thursday regarding the two attacks by Western long-range weapons on Russian territory on November 19 and 21 and Moscow’s reactive strike on a facility within Ukraine’s …
Zelensky’s Victory Plan is his survival kit
President Volodymyr Zelensky presents (L) Hero of Ukraine award to military intelligence chief Kirill Budanov, Kiev, FEB. 9, 2024 Strana, one of the top online newspapers in Ukraine, which is banned in Russia since 2022, reported on Friday that Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky is planning to dismiss Defense Minister Rustem Umerov and the powerful military …
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Ukraine war turns into Russian roulette
An RAF Tornado GR4 aircraft carrying two Storm Shadow missiles under the fuselage. Photo: UK Ministry of Defence The UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer met with the US President Joe Biden in the White House on Friday with the question of the use of long-range missiles by Ukraine to hit deep inside Russia on their …
US woos estranged NATO ally Turkey
Shaded Relief and Radar Image of the narrow Bosporous Strait connecting Istanbul with the vast expanse of the Black Sea. Source: United States National Aeronautics and Space Administration Washington has dusted up its old toolbox to re-engage its cold-war ally Turkey and resuscitate their moribund alliance to serve the US’ geo-strategic interests in the …
France all dressed up and nowhere to go
French President Emmanuel Macron at a conference (file photo) Ever since its ignominious defeat in the Napoleonic wars, France is entrapped in the predicament of countries that get sandwiched between great powers. Following World War II, France addressed this predicament by forging an axis with Germany in Europe. Caught up in a similar predicament, Britain …