Eurasia

Moscow’s Struggle to Sustain Its War in Ukraine In April, just weeks after he launched the invasion of Ukraine, Russian President Vladimir Putin maintained that the West could never strangle Russia’s economy. The barrage of American and European sanctions had not succeeded and would not succeed in bringing his country …

A prudent regard for the tragic, unexpected turns history can take would urge leadership in Washington, Moscow, and Beijing to weigh carefully the trajectory they are on and how seriously they want to test moving in another direction. EVEN BEFORE the Russo-Ukrainian War, confusion prevailed among those sketching where an …

Despite the West’s containment strategy, Moscow is deepening its convergence with China and maintaining strong ties with India. The next iteration of Russia’s quadrennial Vostok exercise has just begun in its far east region, involving more than 50,000 troops, 140 aircraft and 60 warships. Vostok (which means “east” in Russian) …

The return of a two-bloc world that plays by the rules of realpolitik means that the West will need to dial back its efforts to expand the liberal order, instead returning to a strategy of patient containment aimed at preserving geopolitical stability and avoiding great power war. GREAT POWER competition …

Остановка «Северного потока» на неопределенный срок заставляет переосмыслить всю текущую ситуацию в газовых отношениях России и ЕС. До сих пор РФ, пользуясь высокой зависимостью Европы от своих энергоресурсов, могла успешно добиваться одностороннего изменения газовых контрактов (переход на рубли) и одновременно поэтапно снижать объем поставок, взвинчивая цены на газ в ЕС. …

Al-Qaeda’s Yemen branch released a video on Saturday showing a United Nations worker who was abducted in the war-torn country more than six months ago, the SITE Intelligence Group reported. Five UN staff members were kidnapped in Yemen’s southern province of Abyan in February while returning to the port city …

Israeli soldiers killed a Palestinian who belonged to the Islamic Jihad militant group on Monday during clashes in the occupied West Bank, Palestinian officials and Islamic Jihad said. Israel’s military said security forces had arrested five people suspected of what it called terrorist activity in and around the city of …

Chief of the Israeli Mossad, David Barnea, described the emerging Iranian nuclear deal signed between Iran and world powers as “a strategic disaster” for Israel, and that “Israel has already begun preparations for a military strike against Iran if such action is deemed necessary.” Israel’s Times of Israel newspaper quoted …

Erdoğan said that Turkey would freeze Finland and Sweden’s NATO membership bids if the Nordic countries do not come into line with Turkey’s “fight against terrorist organizations.” That might be a tough task for Finland and Sweden. In 2019, Erdoğan notoriously called half of Turks (those who do not vote …

China aims to expand its influence in the “Lithium Triangle” as a component of a broader campaign to construct a near-monopoly in the global lithium market. The Lithium Triangle, comprising Argentina, Bolivia, and Chile, accounts for approximately 56% percent of global lithium supply. Beijing’s acquisition of multiple Argentinian, Chilean, and …