India’s External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar (L) met Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, Jakarta, September 6, 2023 Any longtime observer of Russian politics would know that the state of play in the Russian-American tango is best assessed from subplots, often obscure and unnoticed, away from its amphitheatre where gladiators cross swords. Therefore, two alleys on …
Continue reading “Ice cracking sounds on frozen lake of US-Russia relations”
Volodymyr Zelenskiy, Rishi Sunak and Joe Biden at the Nato summit in Vilnius, Lithuania, on 12 July, 2023 The NATO Summit in Vilnius on June 11-12 turned out to be an anti-climax with the fractured relationship between the regime in Kiev and the Western powers surging. What is happening is more of an implosion than …
Continue reading “Ukraine war takes its toll on UK politics”
Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin leaves the Hqs. of Russia’s Southern Military District, Rostov-on-Don, June 24, 2023. Sometimes one wishes Winston Churchill had left behind an evergreen quote in regard of Russian diplomacy as well, similar to his epic one on Russian politics, which still remains unbeatable — “Kremlin political intrigues are comparable to a bulldog …
Continue reading “Russia, US exchange glances as Prigozhin heads for Moscow”
The entrance lobby of the PMC Wagner Centre in St. Petersburg The former US president Donald Trump’s remarks regarding the failed coup attempt in Russia by Yevgeniy Prigozhin stood out for their sheer subtlety amidst the crass new western narrative that the dramatic events on June 23-24 highlighted “cracks” within the Russian system. No one …
Continue reading “The failed coup in Russia through American looking glass”
The CNN, followed by the New York Times, broke the story on Sunday that the US and western intelligence were indeed aware of the failed coup attempt on Friday night by Yevgeny Prigozhin, head of the Wagner Group of Russian military contractors, “for quite some time and making preparations for such a move, including by …
Germany’s far-right protesters fly national flag at demonstration The political class in Germany is stunned by the findings of a YouGov poll published on Friday that 20 percent of German voters would give their vote to the far-right AfD (Alternative for Germany), making it the second-strongest party behind the centre-right CDU (28%) and ahead of …
Continue reading “The rise and rise of far-right in Germany”
Russian President Vladimir Putin (R) met China’s State Councillor and Defence Minister Li Shangfu (L), Moscow, April 17, 2023 The power dynamic in Northeast Asia is undergoing a dramatic change against the backdrop of the “no limits” strategic partnership between China and Russia. The collapse of Kiev’s counteroffensive” and abject defeat in the war with …
Continue reading “Asia-Pacific is where China-Russia “no limits” partnership will be put to test”
Quiet flows the Dnieper: Water runs through a breach in the Nova Kakhovka hydro-electric dam, Kherson, Ukraine, June 6, 2023 The breach in the Nova Kakhovka dam on the Dnieper River in war-ravaged Ukraine on Tuesday is no doubt a catastrophe of colossal proportions, a veritable ecological and human disaster that may outlive the war itself. …
Jubilant crowds outside the Presidential Complex to celebrate President Recep Erdogan’s election victory, Ankara, May 28, 2023 Among the host of implications for international security stemming out of Turkish President Recep Erdogan’s election victory in the runoff on Sunday — be it in the Black Sea, Eastern Mediterranean, Transcaucasus, West Asia or Eurasian integration — …
Continue reading “Erdogan’s mediatory role on Ukraine cannot be wished away”
Family photo of Prime Minister Modi (4th from left) & special invitees to G7 Leaders’ Summit, Hiroshima, Japan, May 21, 2023 Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visits abroad are carefully choreographed events, given their optics domestically. Perhaps, this is even more so today as general elections loom ahead and in Hiroshima, Modi was taking the stage …
Continue reading “Modi at Hiroshima — optics, politics, reality”
