The G20 is dead. Long live the G20

US president Joe Biden (R) and Chinese president Xi Jinping met at Bali, Nov 14, 2022. Biden said they discussed their responsibility to prevent competition and find ways to work together. The seventeenth G20 Heads of State and Government Summit held in Bali, Indonesia, on 15–16 November stands out as a consequential event from many angles. The international politics …

A Biden-Putin meeting in Bali cannot be ruled out

The US President Joe Biden said in a CNN interview recently that Russian President Vladimir Putin  is a “rational actor who has miscalculated significantly” on Ukraine issue. The Russian-American summit meetings have a history of calibrated foreplay. As the G20 summit in Bali on November 15-16 draws closer, the big question is still hanging in the …

Two potentates meet up at St. Petersburg

A 19th century painting of Konstantinovksy Palace, St. Petersburg There was something profoundly meaningful that the President of the United Arab Emirates Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan undertook a visit to Russia amidst the gathering storms in Ukraine. Conscious of the symbolism, Russian President Vladimir Putin received Sheikh Mohammed on Tuesday in a grand setting befitting …

Frank talk with Biden on Ukraine may help

Ukrainian soldiers walk nonchalantly in Bakhmut city, a strategic hub, amidst Russia’s attacks, Donetsk, Oct. 2, 2022 The inconclusive outcome of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s phone call with Ukraine President Vladymyr Zelensky on Wednesday could have been easily foretold. The initiative simply didn’t make sense.  Before Modi’s call, Zelensky had already sought a fast-track NATO …

Fascism returns to Europe’s centerstage

The troika leading the far-right coalition that won Italy’s election: Giorgia Meloni (R), Silvio Berlusconi (C) and Matteo Salvini (L) The stunning victory of a far-right coalition in Italy’s parliamentary election on Sunday is largely seen from the distinct prospect of Giorgia Meloni becoming the country’s next prime minister, whose hardline views on immigration and …