... fragmentation, with various interest groups covering for themselves without taking into account the interests of all participants. The organisation worked exactly as long as its decisions brought benefits primarily to the developed countries like the USA and Europe. Similar stories can be told about almost any of the multilateral institutions, where the membership of the “older” states of the “golden billion” is combined with the rest of the world. Suffice it to recall that already in 2018,...
On Middle Eastern states’ pragmatic approach and neutrality
Today’s world, with its current architecture of international relations, has entered a new phase of transformation, one that will take years. As a rule, such developments transpire through an overhaul of the old system with a new one being established instead, which is typically a painful process. The Middle East, being largely a litmus test of changes in the world, entered the transformation stage some 10 years ago, anticipating global...
For both sides, the stakes in the current crisis are higher than they were 60 years ago
Today, it’s come to be trendy to draw parallels between the current state of U.S.-Russian relations and the famous Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962. All the more so, because we are on the cusp of the 60th anniversary of the Cuban Crisis: the decision taken by the John F. Kennedy administration to impose a blockade on Cuba was made at the White House in the evening of October 20, having triggered the acute phase...
The Russian president’s most recent address proclaimed an updated vision for the country
During his four terms at the helm of the Russian state, Vladimir Putin has made many landmark speeches. Several of them stand out as pivotal points in Moscow’s evolving foreign policy course.
Back in October 2001, addressing Berlin's Bundestag in German, Putin proclaimed Russia’s
“European choice”.
In February 2007, speaking at the Munich security conference, he lashed out at America’s global hegemony and laid...
Summary of talking points
There are quite a few things in common, as well as differences between the Cuban missile crisis of October 1962 and the present crisis between Russia and the West.
Aleksey Arbatov:
The Ukrainian Crisis and Strategic Stability
Now it is a crisis engineered by the US at Russia’s doorstep with Moscow holding the advantage of the scene close to its territory. So, now is Russia’s turn to go emotional/ballistic. It is more than a purely military threat (US biolabs in Ukraine...
How to kickstart strategic dialogue between Russia and the United States, given the collapse of all official channels and communication systems?
A plethora of fora organized by international institutions this fall, above all by the United Nations with its “ministerial week” involving heads of states and governments and foreign ministers, is a suitable occasion to explore the prospects of a new international order. Or, perhaps, this could be a good chance to transform the existing system of international...
From the point of view of Russia, everything that is happening is rather sad and telling
What is telling about what is happening now in transatlantic relations is that a great power, in relations with its weak allies, inevitably faces the challenge of its own egoism, writes Valdai Club Programme Director Timofei Bordachev.
In the event that we agree now with the most obvious origin of the terrorist attack on the Nord Stream international gas pipeline, then this extraordinary event can be a good...
It is safe to assume that any use of nuclear weapons could quickly lead to an escalation of a local or regional conflict into a global one
It is safe to assume that any use of nuclear weapons could quickly lead to an escalation of a local or regional conflict into a global one.
As Henry Kissinger
wrote
in 2014, “The demonization of Vladimir Putin is not a policy; it is an alibi for the absence of one.”
I have commenced my work on this article for two reasons. Firstly, this October will mark sixty...
...
has once again increased in importance. Not only in support of diplomacy and its foreign policy narrative, but also to ensure national security and the very survival of the state. The EWS in Ukraine shows that the use of force is induced by the refusal to fulfill obligations under signed international agreements, such as Minsk-2. That is, the international legal principle of
pacta sunt servanda
is violated and what is commonly called
good faith
is missing from the signing of agreements.
19. The ...
While Xi Jinping may respect the legitimacy of Russia’s actions to protect its national interests and security in the face of external forces, he has a greater interest in having a bird’s eye view of China’s greatest costs of war
During the Cold War, the Soviet Union and the United States competed for global supremacy numerous times by waging proxy wars around the world; Afghanistan, Vietnam, and Angola being the most notable. Today, Russia has been relegated to a secondary power position with...
