There is a notion among some mainstream Indian strategic analysts, including some who held top positions in the security establishment in past regimes that what is unfolding in Ukraine is quintessentially “a war between Europeans over the European security order.” No matter the basis of this notion, such contrived naïveté can do incalculable damage …
Biden wings his way to the borderlands of Ukraine
US President Biden (L) and Polish President Andrzej Duda (R) By a queer coincidence, former US Secretary of State Madeline Albright passed away while President Joe Biden was travelling in Air Force 1 en route to Europe on what is probably the most crucial diplomatic mission of his presidency. The general expectation is that 80-year …
Continue reading “Biden wings his way to the borderlands of Ukraine”
Holy wars have no timeline
An injured European who volunteered to fight in Ukraine being evacuated at the sprawling base at Yavoriv 25 kms from Polish border following a predawn Russian cruise missile attack on Sunday A French presidency official said on Saturday that Russian President Vladimir Putin “did not show a willingness” to end the special operation in Ukraine …
Zelensky rubbishes Biden’s war on Russia
Happy hour: US President Biden (R) meets with Ukraine President Zelensky in the Oval Office, Washington, September 2011 What was the need for all that happened in the period since mid-December when Russia transmitted to Washington its demands for security guarantee? This question will haunt US president Joe Biden long after he retires from public …
India shouldn’t miss world war pointer
Prime Minister Narendra Modi (L) and Russian President Vladimir Putin had a phone conversation on February 24, 2022 The transition of India’s foreign-policy mindset during the post-cold war period from an international outlook to a national one, and then its colossal drop to a ‘mofussil’ thinking, is a tragic phenomenon. One outcome of it has …
Ukraine’s hybrid war is mutating
Ukraine president Zelensky gave a video address after midnight on February 25, 2022 disclosing a Russian offer of talks The first signs of the dual track in Russia’s hybrid war in Ukraine have surfaced. By Thursday evening, the Kremlin held out an olive branch to the Ukraine president Volodymyr Zelensky. Succinctly put, President Vladimir Putin expressed …
Putin crosses the Rubicon. What next?
People wave Russian national flags celebrating Moscow’s recognition Donetsk and Lugansk, eastern Ukraine, Feb 21, 2022 Russia’s recognition of the ‘people’s republics’ of Luhansk and Donetsk in the eastern Ukrainian region of Donbass on Monday is a watershed event. In a manner of speaking, by this decision President Vladimir Putin crossed the Rubicon. But a …
India, China in Europe’s crisis
Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi addresses the Munich Security Conference via video link, Feb 19, 2022. The remarks by China’s State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi at the Munich Security Conference on Saturday constitute the first full statement on Beijing’s stance regarding Russia’s current tensions with the West and its sub-plot …
Moscow’s coercive diplomacy is working
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz gesturing at a joint press conference with Russian President Vladimir Putin , Moscow, February 15, 2022 The upshot of the Russian response, transmitted to Washington on Thursday, regarding security guarantees may look as if the stalemate is heading toward a war. Moscow has rejected the US’ call for ‘de-escalation’ by pointing …
Biden dials back belligerence toward Russia
US President Joe Biden spoke with Russia’s President Vladimir Putin from his retreat at Camp David, Maryland, February 12, 2022 The White House readout of US President Joe Biden’s conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Saturday conveys the impression that its leitmotif was Washington’s threat of sanctions against Russia if it attacked Ukraine. But …
Continue reading “Biden dials back belligerence toward Russia”