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Iran prefers the EU’s discretion and apparent respect for its ideological red lines, in contrast with Donald Trump’s ostentatious and menacing style. So the growing rift between the U.S. and EU over resolving the Ukraine-Russia war may be a welcome chance for Tehran to revive secret contacts it loves so much with an EU in search of diplomatic clout.
After walking the 50 kilometers that separate the Ukrainian city of Kharkiv and the Russian border, Spanish reporter Unai Aranzadi arrives in the small village of Kozacha Lopan. Places like these are perhaps the ones where it will be most difficult to heal the wounds of all that has been suffered to date.
Europeans are coming to grips with a harsh reality: The United States is no longer the guardian ensuring the continent’s security — worse, it may have even turned into an outright adversary. Nothing underscores this shift more than the U.S. vote at the United Nations on Ukraine, siding with Russia and standing against EU nations.
It’s as if, before our very eyes, the president of the United States were reading a script written by the Kremlin. French political analyst Dominique Moïsi, says the reversal on Ukraine is an ally’s betrayal of historical proportions.
French President Emmanuel Macron spoke of a “turning point” after his discussions with his U.S. counterpart at the White House on Monday. But Donald Trump did not confirm. The United States remains ambiguous, especially as, at the United Nations, it voted with Russia and against the European Union and Ukraine — an unprecedented move.
As Russia negotiates exclusively with the U.S., Putin aims to redraw spheres of influence, pulling former Soviet states back under Moscow’s control. All of this, paradoxically, continues to leave the fate of Ukraine as the vital issue for our times.
French President Emanuel Macron is on a whirlwind visit to Washington in a bid to avoid a U.S.-Russia deal at the expense of Ukraine and European security. It’s as much a transatlantic mission of psychology as politics, but Macron believes he can persuade the U.S. president.
It is now clear that Germany needs to invest a lot more money in defense. Friedrich Merz, who is likely to be Germany’s next chancellor, has yet to come up with a plan to do this.
In Syria, LGBTQ+ individuals are being stripped of their freedom, dignity and right to defend themselves. Only a few voices and organizations working in secrecy attempt to shed light on the violations against them in an environment that is increasingly hostile toward anyone who dares to advocate for marginalized groups.
The daily spectacle of Donald Trump and his minions striking at institutions and backstabbing allies may be depressing, but the United States is more than that. Once the fever subsides, that vibrant, inclusive country will recall that greatness does not rest on meanness, thuggery or wealth.
The war in Ukraine has reached a stalemate, and a ceasefire appears increasingly likely. Painful compromises with the aggressor may be inevitable. But what comes next?
Ahead of Germany’s crucial national elections Sunday, Russia is actively working to destabilize the country through cyberattacks, agents, and disinformation campaigns. Can anything be done to stop or at least counter these attacks?
Vladimir Putin says he is “ready” to talk with Volodymyr Zelensky. But it’s a feigned openness to dupe Trump, since he continues to question the legitimacy of the Ukrainian president and does not alter one iota his demands for a kind of capitulation by Kyiv and a reversal of Baltic entry into the Atlantic Alliance.
In the span of just a few hours last week, Donald Trump turned Putin’s Russia from a pariah state to a partner. For French political analyst Dominique Moïsi, the “useful idiot” role that Trump is playing does however raise a fundamental question for Europe about its own global autonomy in the future.
Around the world, the left and progressive media are serving Russia’s interests against the West when they lambast Israel. Since the Cold War, Russia has exploited and distorted the Palestinian cause to serve its ideals. And Iran is pursuing it on a smaller scale and with its own proxies, as Moscow’s geopolitical tool in the region.
Washington increasingly lukewarm. EU security is not a priority, so the future of NATO is at stake. Trump asks allies to increase military spending but the EU remains disoriented and uncertain.
Ukraine isn’t backing down after the Trump-Putin exchange. It’s fighting to ensure that any negotiated plan includes strong security guarantees to prevent another Russian attack — and that Europe, sidelined by Trump, has a seat at the table.
U.S President Donald Trump appears to be pushing forward his pledge for a quick peace in Ukraine, following his surprise call Wednesday with Russian President Vladimir Putin. But what would a ceasefire look like? And how doe we get there?
Donald Trump spoke with Vladimir Putin for 90 minutes and announced “immediate” negotiations on Ukraine. But will Ukraine be a topic of discussion or an active participant in these talks? Will Europe have a seat at the table? And what security guarantees will remain for a Ukraine left diminished by the outcome?
In a major move for sovereignty, the three Baltic states have cut their electricity supply from Russia and connected to the European grid. A collateral casualty of this shift is the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad, now cut off from Russia and forced to generate its own power.
Donald Trump suggested that U.S. aid to Ukraine could be secured through the country’s rare earth deposits — those precious metals over which China holds a global monopoly. In reality, the idea was first pitched by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who knew exactly what kind of argument would resonate with Trump.
The collapse of the Assad regime in Syria freed thousands detained in the country’s prisons. But it has also revealed potential rights violations by international children’s NGOs, which received children whose parents were detained in Assad’s prisons. The situation echoes similar violations in Canada and Russia.
In another sign of changing power relations in the ‘post-Western’ world, the BRICS group of emerging economies could frustrate the United States’ bid to sink communism in Cuba by strangling its economy.
DeepSeek has become the most downloaded free app in the U.S. just a week after it was launched. Its sudden rise has triggered shockwaves on Wall Street, where U.S. stocks dropped sharply on Monday. With equivalent performances to rival ChatGPT but at the fraction of the cost, the startup is threatening the aura of invincibility surrounding the U.S. technology industry.
As a candidate, Donald Trump promised to end the war in Ukraine within his first 24 hours in office — a deadline the US president has now missed. Even so, negotiations to end the three-year conflict are expected to accelerate. What are Russia, Ukraine and the United States’ current positions? And what do experts think will happen?
Both Russia and Ukraine are waiting to see what stance the new U.S. president and his administration will take on the war and aid to Kyiv. Within Russia’s pro-war factions, some are eagerly anticipating a potential shift in U.S. policy. But regardless of Washington’s decisions, Ukraine’s main allies are those ensuring Moscow’s military is corrupt and inefficient.
Iranian officials have been unnerved by the Assad regime’s collapse, with one top general admitting the country was “defeated very badly” in Syria. A shaky ceasefire in Gaza follows 15 month of war in which Tehran’s proxy Hamas was decimated. Will unrest in the region spill over to Iran, where problems — both foreign and domestic — are piling up for the regime?
Drones and other new technologies are important, but the foundation of success remains the mobilization of the economy, numerical superiority, and artillery. A military expert reflects on three years since Russia’s invasion.
Kursk is becoming synonymous with a nightmare for Vladimir Putin, a dynamic that the Kremlin prefers not to talk about, a flaw in the apparently invulnerable Russian shield.
With the unpredictable Donald Trump returning to the White House in January, what will global politics be like in 2025? In addition to major issues like the war in Ukraine, the conflicts in the Middle East and China, there’s another nagging question: What about Europe?
The previous world order, based on the domination of a few superpowers, has been turned upside down in 2024. Will this be the year of explosions, or the year of reactions? French political theorist Jacques Attali explains the theory of order through noise.
It is a gas and electricity war that extends from Moldova to Slovakia to Finland, with very real consequences for millions, which is ultimately a reflection of how Russia is waging a hybrid war with any means to bring both Ukraine and Europe to its knees.
Donald Trump, Vladimir Putin and Israel are reshaping the Middle East in a possible, bigger deal involving a peace deal in Ukraine. With the regional militias and Syria out of the strategic equation, is the next step removing the Tehran regime?
The debate over a possible ceasefire in Ukraine has shifted from territorial defense to securing guarantees for Kyiv. A new formula that involves NATO might be the most realistic hope now that Trump is arriving at the White House.
Russia’s Parliament has approved a law that would limit migrant children’s access to schools. It contradicts basic decency, international law and the Constitution. It is also bad for Russians.
While Russia had to negotiate with former Syrian rebels for the withdrawal of around 500 Russian soldiers trapped in Damascus, Vladimir Putin remained silent on the crushing defeat he suffered in Syria. Instead, he has threatened the West, as if to show he is not weakened by the fall of his ally Assad.
Replacing the dominant roles of Russia and Iran exerting influence over Syria, following the downfall of President Bashar al-Assad, Turkey and Israel are best positioned to divide up their respective roles on the territory of the shared neighbor.
The unprecedented assassination of the head of the Russian army’s chemical weapons division is an act of war that is hard for Ukraine’s allies to defend. Still, Ukrainians can’t be faulted for fighting for the nation’s very existence, especially as the West shows signs of slowing down its support.
Bashar al-Assad’s fall raises short-term questions about the fate of Russian generals sent to Syria after failures in Ukraine, but also deeper reflections on Moscow’s war on multiple fronts.
Amid the chaos of the collapsing Assad regime, the businessmen who were close to power know they are at risk.