Putin’s victory is a geopolitical reality

Thousands of people gathered on Moscow’s Red Square to celebrate  President Vladimir’s election victory, March 18, 2024 The Russian presidential election has vividly brought out the fault lines in international politics in a way that seldom happens. That is because the political personality of President Vladimir Putin fills the global stage today like a Colossus. …

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 …

‘Novorossiya’ rising from ashes like phoenix

Russian President Vladimir Putin took a meeting on development of southern/Azov sea regions, Moscow, March 6, 2024 The Russian President Vladimir Putin’s meeting on Wednesday in Moscow with top officials of economic ministries and leaders of the southern and Azov sea regions — ‘Novorossiya’ historically — signifies a major initiative in the Kremlin’s geo-strategy, with global …

Is ground beneath Biden’s Russia policy shifting?

In a surprise development, US Undersecretary of State for Political Affairs Victoria Nuland to retire from the foreign service The resignation of the US Undersecretary for Political Affairs Victoria Nuland, the third highest ranking diplomat in the Biden administration, came as a bolt out of the blue on Monday.  An easy explanation could be that …

Putin signals interest in Ukraine talks

Russian President Vladimir Putin (R) with American journalist Tucker Carlson (L), The Kremlin, Moscow, February 9, 2024 The great beauty of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s interview with the famous American journalist Tucker Carlson is that there is something in it for almost everyone — be it historians who memorialise the past; diplomats who isolate history …

Nuland leaves sense of foreboding in Kiev

US Undersecretary of State Victoria Nuland in Kiev, Ukraine, January 31, 2014 The commencement of political upheavals in world affairs sometimes lies with a seemingly obscure event. This is not to say that the shooting down of a Russian Ilyushin-76 military transport plane carrying dozens of Ukrainian prisoners of war over the territory of Belgorod …