The “extended Troika” on the Afghan problem comprising the United States, Russia, and China — and Pakistan — have announced in Doha on Friday a road map in consultation with the Ashraf Ghani government and Taliban as regards the way forward in immediate terms for reaching a peace settlement. The announcement followed consultations in Doha …
China, Russia team up for final frontier
Chinese lunar capsule Chang’e 5 landed on moon’s surface on December 1, 2020 and returned to earth a fortnight later with the first fresh samples of rock and debris from the moon in more than 40 years. In the old Frank Sinatra song, flying to the moon meant “playing up there with those stars” and …
The Sino-Russian Alliance Comes of Age — Part 3
Russian President Vladimir Putin (R) and Chinese President Xi Jinping (R) signed the statements on the “comprehensive strategic partnership of coordination for a new era” and on “strengthening contemporary global strategic stability”, Moscow, June 5, 2019 The first part of the three-part essay is here. The second part is here. Discourse of shared legacies The …
Continue reading “The Sino-Russian Alliance Comes of Age — Part 3”
US-Russia tensions flare up on multiple fronts
Russian Su-27 Flanker jets crossing within 100 feet of the nose of a nuclear-capable US B-52 bomber in Black Sea, August 28, 2020 Amidst the escalating tensions with China, the United States should have kept the troubled relationship with Russia on an even keel. But the opposite is happening. For the first time since the presidential …
Continue reading “US-Russia tensions flare up on multiple fronts”
Iran “snapback” sanctions is a pantomime. Spectacle to watch is Trump-Putin summit.
As expected, the Trump Administration delivered letters on Thursday to both the UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and to the president of the Security Council Dian Triansyah Djani notifying them that the United States is initiating the restoration of virtually all UN sanctions on Iran lifted under UN Security Council Resolution 2231. This process, if successful, …
Putin had a dream to reset the world order
Russian President Vladimir Putin delivered a speech at Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial center, Jerusalem, January 23, 2020, to mark 75 years since the liberation of Auschwitz Moscow has a way of signalling to the White House on critical issues from time to time through public statements calibrated to catch President Trump’s attention. It happens usually …
Continue reading “Putin had a dream to reset the world order”
Putin keeps us guessing on his future plans
What happened in the Russian parliament on March 10 wore the look of a pantomime but took everyone by surprise. President Vladimir Putin made a surprise visit to the Russian Duma and in his very presence, a constitutional amendment was mooted which was passed on the same day which limits the presidential terms to two …
Continue reading “Putin keeps us guessing on his future plans”
A Sino-Russian firewall against US interference
A sit-in at Hong Kong international airport, Aug 9, 2019 China has explicitly accused the United States and Britain for fomenting the “pro-democracy” protests in Hong Kong. Beijing has taken up the matter via the diplomatic channel demanding that the US intelligence should stop inciting and abetting the Hong Kong protestors. Last week photographic evidence …
Continue reading “A Sino-Russian firewall against US interference”
Rising Crimea tensions mar Trump-Putin meeting
(Kerch Strait, Crimea, and Sea of Azov) The ‘frozen conflict’ in Ukraine has suddenly become active on Sunday with an encounter involving the naval vessels of Ukraine and Russia at Kerch Strait in Crimea, the entry point of the Sea of Azov from the Black Sea. The Russians have detained three Ukrainian ships that tried …
Continue reading “Rising Crimea tensions mar Trump-Putin meeting”
It’s time for Trump to revisit Afghan strategy
(Russia, Central Asia and Afghanistan) Surely, the recent Moscow conference on Afghanistan (November 9) brought to light that the peace talks will get a big fillip if the US and Russia work in tandem. (See my column in SCF titled US Can Avoid Afghan Quagmire with Russia’s Help, Nov 15, 2018.) Everything depends on the …
Continue reading “It’s time for Trump to revisit Afghan strategy”