Belarus just suspended the shipment of light oil products from Russia to the West in the latest escalation of the unprecedented dispute between these two “Union State” “allies” in a move that might very well mark the beginning of the end for their strategic partnership. “Pulling A Ukraine” Belarus just “pulled a Ukraine” by suspending…
Today (26 April) is a big day for Korea. The first face-to-face summit of Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korean Leader Kim Jong-un takes place. At the same time the 2nd annual Belt and Road Forum kicks off in Beijing. This meeting between Putin and Kim has been in the works for a while…
One of my old friends’ father was at one time something of a Cold Warrior: he did something or other for the US defense establishment – nuclear submarine-related, if I recall correctly. This work activity apparently led him to develop a particularly virulent form of Russophobia; not so much a phobia as a pronounced loathing of…
The announcement by India’s Oil Minister that his country will replace US-sanctioned Iranian oil imports with those from “major oil-producing countries” despite the dramatic Bollywood show that New Delhi has made up until this point out of “defying” US sanctions makes one seriously wonder whether India’s preparing to ditch Russia next if the US imposes…
Freedom of Navigation is most important, and the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea lays down that “The high seas are open to all States, whether coastal or land-locked. Freedom of the high seas is exercised under the conditions laid down by this Convention and by other rules of international law.” The generally accepted definition of…
The moment the 54-year-old walks up to the car, it is obvious something is terribly wrong. The way he drags his feet, then stamps them on the ground and marches forward like a toy soldier, head lowered; then the way he looks up at you from beneath dark brows, in both greeting and concern. Taamy Wahab Mohamed al-Yasaari should…
