The opening of a sizable U.S. consulate in Erbil represents a strategic shift in Trump's approach to Iraq, one that places a higher priority on long-term diplomatic influence concentrated in more stable geographic regions than on direct military engagement
In an initiative that goes beyond conventional diplomacy, the United States opened a sizeable consulate building in Erbil, the capital of Iraqi Kurdistan, on Wednesday, December 3. This opening has significant political and security ramifications...
On December 8, 2025 the International Information Agency “Rossiya Segodnya” press center hosted the RIAC roundtable titled “Syria: New Government’s First Year Results”
On December 8, 2025 the International Information Agency “Rossiya Segodnya” press center hosted the RIAC roundtable titled “Syria: New Government’s First Year Results”. Experts discussed the situation in the country one year after the change of government and the evolving roles of Russia, US, Türkiye, and Israel. Special attention...
No clear-cut global order is in sight in the near term, but India-Russia ties are suited for any kind of world order that eventually develops
As the India–Russia Strategic Partnership marks its 25
th
year, Russian President Vladimir Putin visited India for the 23
rd
Annual Summit—his 10
th
visit to New Delhi. Countries around the world watched closely, as the visit came at a moment when global geopolitics may well be on the verge of significant change, for better or for worse.
Alexey Kupriyanov:...
In South Asia’s naval realm, new U.S.-India framework risks disturbing that balance by having advanced technology flows and blue water operational dependencies
The announcement on October 31, 2025, of a new ten-year
Defense Framework
between the United States and India at Kuala Lumpur marks a decisive turning point in the Indian Ocean strategic landscape. This Pact comes as a culmination of earlier
foundational agreements
namely, the Logistics Exchange Memorandum of Agreement (LEMOA, 2016), Communications...
Valdai Discussion Club Report
The idea of new security architecture in Eurasia is becoming a key concept in Russia’s foreign policy. It was first outlined in the Presidential Address to the Federal Assembly in February 2024. [
1
] Later that year, it was included in the agenda of the Russian President’s summits with the leaders of China and India, discussed by CIS foreign ministers, and further developed within the Union State of Russia and Belarus. Russian diplomacy consistently incorporates the...
The nuclear factor has once again begun to play a significant role in international relations
Autumn is usually a busy season in the nuclear sphere, and 2025 was no exception. In October, NATO held its Steadfast Noon nuclear exercises, followed by the U.S. Global Thunder drills and Russia’s strategic nuclear forces exercises. Developments did not end there: against the backdrop of these exercises, Russia
announced
tests of the
Burevestnik
nuclear-powered cruise missile and the
Poseidon
nuclear-powered...
Burevestnik (as is Poseidon) is a means of neutralizing prospective—conditionally “day-after-tomorrow”—enemy air- and missile-defense capabilities over the medium to long term
In October, important updates emerged regarding two innovative systems developed by the Russian military-industrial complex—the Burevestnik missile and the Poseidon UUV (nuclear-armed uncrewed underwater vehicle). Their development was first announced by President Putin in March 2018. Now, both systems, each equipped with...
US-UK actions in Yemen bore all the hallmarks of a large-scale neocolonial military campaign
The structure of the Yemeni crisis developed gradually throughout the entire period following the unification, in May 1990, of two republican states—the Yemen Arab Republic (YAR) and the People’s Democratic Republic of Yemen (PDRY)—into a unitary state. The unprepared and forced merging process of the administrative bodies and armed forces of two states with different socio-political systems and ideologies...
The international community cannot simply allow events to unfold according to the “law of the jungle”
The world is entering a period marked by frequent wars and conflicts. Since the Napoleonic Wars, the international security domain system has undergone several transformations—from the Vienna System to the Versailles and Yalta Systems—each attempting, in its own way, to prevent the recurrence of war. From the early twentieth century, as social, political,...
The deal may pause Syria-Israel tensions, but core issues like Golan, sovereignty and trust are still missing
As attention in the Middle East continues to gravitate toward unfolding crises in Gaza and the broader Arab-Israeli landscape, a less visible yet potentially consequential development may be quietly emerging between Syria and Israel. Whispers of a limited, U.S.-mediated security agreement between Damascus and Tel Aviv have begun circulating among diplomats and analysts, suggesting the possibility...
