Kosovo has lately ceased to generate angst-ridden headlines in international media. The situation in and around the Western Balkan country appears to be stable. After a violent standoff in the northern village of Banjska in September 2023, tensions with Serbia have gone down a notch or two. In recent weeks, …
Read More »How Trump Could Fix Bosnia’s Flawed Peace Deal
The US Senatorial model can pave the way for constitutional reform in Bosnia and Herzegovina that satisfies European human rights law and the concerns of the fractious parties. Instead of abolishing the country’s House of Peoples – the Senate-like upper chamber designed to protect collective rights – a Trump Plan …
Read More »Kosovo-Serbia Dialogue: A Litmus Test for the EU’s Geopolitical Ambitions
Success in the Serbia-Kosovo dialogue would demonstrate the EU’s relevance as a strategic actor, just as it is being questioned elsewhere. At a critical geopolitical juncture, the European Union finds itself navigating crises on multiple fronts. In Ukraine, its influence remains secondary to that of the US and Russia; tensions …
Read More »Spotlight on Iran and the Shiite Axis (May 14-21, 2025)
Senior Iranian regime officials condemned Israel for the escalation of attacks in the GazaStrip. Iran’s Supreme Leader called Israel “a dangerous and deadly cancerous tumor that mustbe uprooted.” The Iranian foreign minister met with a Hamas delegation and condemned theinternational community’s impotence in the face of Israel’s actions. Iran’s ambassador …
Read More »Spotlight on Syria (May 14-21, 2025)
Israeli security officials reportedly held direct talks with representatives of the Syriangovernment in Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan; the IDF denied the meeting. Syrian PresidentAhmed al-Sharaa (Abu Muhammad al-Julani) reportedly approved the transfer of the Syrianarchive on the late Mossad agent Eli Cohen to Israel as a goodwill gesture. Syrian …
Read More »Russian Foundation, Aimed at Helping ‘Compatriots’ Abroad, Supports Spies, Criminals, and Propagandists
Under the banner of human rights work, a state-backed Russian organization has spent years advancing the Kremlin’s geopolitical agenda across the world — including by funding the legal defense of alleged spies, criminals, and propagandists. Among the recipients of its grants is a taxi driver convicted of espionage, a man …
Read More »Europe ‘Shocked’ as Trump Hands Putin ‘Win’: Experts
President Donald Trump’s lengthy phone call with Vladimir Putin yielded no major breakthrough and led some European officials to accuse the U.S. president of handing his Russian counterpart a win. The leaders spoke for two hours on Monday as part of Washington’s latest attempt to bring the three-year conflict with …
Read More »Trump Tells Syria to Expel Foreign Fighters, But Sharaa Gives Them Army Divisions
“Tell all foreign terrorists to leave Syria,” President Donald Trump told interim leader Ahmad al-Sharaa in Riyadh on May 14 — just after lifting all U.S. sanctions on Syria. Yet on May 18, Syria’s Defense Ministry welcomed the Turkistan Islamic Party (TIP), an al-Qaeda-linked Uyghur jihadist group active in Afghanistan …
Read More »Lebanon Should Take a Cue from al-Sharaa – and Talk to Israel
A joke has it that Syria’s self-proclaimed president, Ahmad al-Sharaa, offered to build a Trump Tower in Damascus to make up for the two New York towers that Al-Qaeda, al-Sharaa former organization, destroyed on 9/11, killing 2,753 Americans. Times are changing. Since October 7, Iran has been begging America for …
Read More »India-Myanmar: Volatile Border – Analysis
On May 14, 2025, at least 10 suspected Kuki National Army-Burma (KNA-B) militants were killed in a gunfight with Assam Rifles in New Samtal village in Khengjoy tehsil (revenue unit) in the Chandel District of Manipur near the Indo-Myanmar border. Seven AK-47 rifles, one Rocket-Propelled Grenade (RPG) launcher, one M4 …
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