The peace accords signed between conservative Arab states and Israel are the start of an inevitable opening for the Middle East, and the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan means a new post-American, post-oil future.
Tag: diplomacy
A German politician lashed out after Angela Merkel spoke on the phone with Belarus strongman Alexander Lukashenko. But like in other hot spots, avoiding the worst along the Belarus-Poland border means casting aside moral superiority and naiveté.
The post-Brexit row of fishing rights is the last straw for not only France, but all of the European Union, who must put an end to the whims of Britain’s prime minister, who seems ready to toss out years of negotiations for the divorce between the UK and EU.
Asia has become the new center of the world because of China’s growing power, which in Washington’s eyes has turned Japan from an important ally to the most important. But is Tokyo ready for the newfound responsibility?
Whether out of cynicism, greed or basic lack of knowledge, the West has willingly embraced the fabricated vision of the Islamic Republic of Iran as a slightly unruly, but essentially legitimate government with which it can do business.
Russia has decided to cut off relations with the Western military alliance. But Moscow says it was NATO who really wanted the break based on its own internal rationale.
By turning its back on regional integration, the conservative government of Jair Bolsonaro is putting ideology above the country’s long-term economic and political interests.
-Essay- PARIS — I’ll admit it straight away: As a bilingual journalist, the growing use of Franglais by French politicians makes my skin crawl. Not because I think this blend of French and English is a bad thing in and of itself (it is!), or because the purity of the French language should be preserved […]
Welcome to Wednesday, where tensions build between Algeria and Morocco, WHO reports that global COVID cases plateau, and Rolling Stones lovers mourn the passing of drummer Charlie Watts. Meanwhile, New Delhi-based daily The Wire looks at the patriarchal prejudices still surrounding motherhood and so-called “non-custodial mothers” in India.
In the wake of the July 7 assassination of President Jovenel Moïse, Haitian writer Yanick Lahens revisits the history of the island, addressing its fractures, but also seeing a reason for cautious optimism.
With new targets, the United States is trying to impose more of the same binary thinking that set the Middle East on fire.
Joe Biden’s Geneva meeting with Vladimir Putin cannot avoid the Nord Stream 2 pipeline standoff. Kyiv will be watching every step.
More than two years after the opposition leader proclaimed himself the country’s ‘legitimate’ leader, the man he was hoping to oust — President Nicolas Maduro — is still very much in charge.
While most of the attention around Iran is related to its nuclear program, an open ended deal may give China the legal foundations it needs to take a controlling stake in Iran’s economy, and in time, undermine its independence.
Rather than ratchet up spending on America’s already bloated military, the U.S. president should take a broader view of national security and help develop economies elsewhere.
The usually hushed words of international diplomats is a reflection of our real-time communication age, but also of rising tensions on an unsettled geopolitical chessboard.
As close as the two countries may appear, for Russia, Iran is simply a pawn in its chess game with the West.
The Democrat Joe Biden may not sound as aggressive as Trump in protectionist policy to support American firms global competitors, but will broadly follow his policies.
With Joe Biden, Cairo’s relations with Washington are undergoing an uncomfortable reboot.
The coup? What coup? China remains extremely cautious about upsetting its delicate relationship with Myanmar, given the important economic and strategic elements at stake.
Russia may not be heading toward a full-blown revolution, at least not yet. But the current wave of protests shouldn’t be dismissed either.
In a rush to bolster its image, the Modi government is giving away coronavirus vaccines that will do little for the country’s international standing and would be better served at home.
Since 1979, Iran’s presence on the African continent has been part of a push for ideological expansion and anti-Americanism, to the detriment of economic and political relations.
Democrats who reach the White House do not necessarily play into the hands of Europeans. It is up to them to unify their voice to pass their agendas.
Iran’s clerical regime is boosting its military and nuclear activities, perhaps in a bid to bolster its position ahead of possible talks to revive the 2015 nuclear pact.
Donald Trump’s departure renews the possibility of talks between Washington and Tehran. But the Iranian leadership has reasons to be wary of the incoming administration in Washington.
Will Biden guarantee warmer relations with historic allies and tougher stances on human rights? A region-by-region wrap up by Le Monde.
-Analysis- NEW DELHI — It was mid-September 2014, India was abuzz with the visit of Chinese president, Xi Jinping and his wife, folk singer Peng Liyuan. Televisions channels played an extended video loop of Prime Minister Narendra Modi sitting on a swing with Xi on the banks of the Sabarmati River, while excited anchors foretold an era of Sino-Indian peace, forged between the two strongmen who had come to power within two years of each other. Six years later, the Modi-Xi relationship lies in tatters, as do ties between New Delhi and Beijing. With Chinese soldiers having marched across the […]
As Israel and the Arab world roll toward a major rapprochement, Iran continues to resist pressure to start talking to its own nemesis, the United States.
The bombastic president seems to have little regard for precedence or decorum. But is he just an anomaly? And if not, what happens if he loses?
Mediation may well be what Venezuela needs to climb out of its deep political crisis, but it can’t come from Cuba.
PARIS — In diplomacy, there’s always room for talk, even when the window for negotiation seems all but shut. Such is the scenario that Emmanuel Macron faces in wake of the assassination by the United States of Ghassem Soleimani, an act that has kicked up a whirlwind in the Middle East, with consequences that remain […]
The U.S. president’s abrupt decision to withdraw troops from northern Syria was short-lived. But backpedal as he might, the damage is already done.
It would not be the first time Brazil and Argentina vie to clinch privileged ties with Washington, though for its economic weight and its president’s conservative fervor, Brazil may be ahead in this game.
-OpEd- TOKYO — The United States has turned to inward-looking politics, while the unifying force of Europe has waned due to rampant populism and confusion in Britain, Germany and France. The pillars that have sustained global stability are seemingly fading away. Given the situation, we cannot but be wary of confusion stemming from the intense […]
WASHINGTON — My first encounter with China was, oddly, at the top of the Empire State Building. I was a young student, and climbing to the top of the Manhattan landmark was the last thing I did before returning home from my first visit to the U.S., where I now live. I was not particularly […]
The UN culture and patrimony organization’s new chief, Audrey Azoulay, a former French culture minister, shares her vision for reviving UNESCO after the U.S. and Israel have announced their withdrawal.
-Analysis- MOSCOW — The list is long: the scandal around the poisoning of former Russian spy Sergei Skripal, an unprecedented expulsion of Russian diplomats, sanctions leading to the fall of the ruble and a hit on aluminum giant Rusal, retaliatory sanctions, strikes on Syria and over-the-top rhetoric of official Moscow during and after all-the-above crises. […]
The U.S. president will cast a long shadow over the upcoming Summit of the Americas gathering in Lima, Peru — even if he decides not to show up.
Categories
Mother Russia And Us, What Now?
The result came as no surprise: Vladimir Putin won yesterday’s Russian presidential election and will serve a fourth term. More importantly for the Kremlin leader, he obtained the comfortable result he was seeking, with 76.6% of the vote, up from 63.3% in the last election six years ago. Yes, nearly two decades after emerging from […]