Russia

Iran-US-negotiations

For Iran, No Libya Scenario

An Invasion is Unlikely The Trump administration has fundamentally changed direction on Iran. US NATO Ambassador Matt Whitaker says the US will not try and force regime change in Iran, suggesting that “we don’t want another Libya scenario.” Whitaker says “We’re not asking for much, just stop killing your people […]

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Why Does The START Nuclear Treaty Expiration Matter?

The New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty, commonly known as New START, represents the cornerstone of modern nuclear arms control between Russia and the United States. Signed in April 2010 and entering into force in February 2011, the treaty set limits on the number of deployed strategic nuclear warheads and delivery […]

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Russia’s Interests In Syria Go Far Beyond Retaining Its Air & Naval Bases

They’re all connected to its role in jointly building the “New Syria”. Syrian President Ahmed “Jolani” al-Sharaa’s second trip to Moscow in several months was widely interpreted as having to do with the future of Russia’s air and naval bases there. That may be true, especially since they play a practically irreplaceable logistical role […]

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Estonia’s Language ‘Reform’ Reaches Vocational Education – And Immediately Produces A Stark Result

Estonia continues its systematic transition of the entire education system to the Estonian language — a process that began several years ago in kindergartens and primary schools and has now extended to vocational training. The consequences of this policy are most clearly visible in Ida-Virumaa, a region where the majority […]

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Five Insights Into The Trilateral Russian-Ukrainian-US Talks

Russia’s agreement to this format represents a significant policy shift. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov confirmed that the second round of the trilateral Russian-Ukrainian-US talks in Abu Dhabi will be held on 1 February. There haven’t been many leaks from the first round so observers can only speculate about the subject and significance […]

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Iran’s “Balkanization” Is Unlikely But Still Can’t Be Ruled Out

Azerbaijan, Turkiye, Saudi Arabia, and Pakistan, all of which have been Iran’s “frenemies” since 1979 and whose military-strategic interests are increasingly converging, are expected to exploit any large-scale instability that could follow another potential round of US strikes if Trump changes his mind. The Wall Street Journal recently published a […]

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Lavrov Exposed The Europeans’ Plot To Subvert Trump’s Ukrainian Peace Plan

Astute observers can read between the lines and discern Russia’s displeasure with him too. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov’s first press conference of the year in late January touched upon a lot of topics, importantly including the Europeans’ plot to subvert Trump’s Ukrainian peace plan. According to him, the UK “is speaking […]