“Israel is climbing up a high horse,” Alex Fishman (the veteran Israeli Defence Correspondent) wrote in the Hebrew daily, Yedioth Ahronoth, last month, “and is approaching with giant steps a ‘war of choice’: Without mincing words, it’s an initiated war in Lebanon.” In Fishman’s article, he notes: “Classical deterrence is when you threaten an enemy not to…
In the slideshow that is Middle Eastern politics, the series of still images seldom add up to make an enduring narrative. And the probability is high that when an indelible image appears, it might go unnoticed – such as Russia and Saudi Arabia wrapping up huge energy deals on Wednesday underscoring a new narrative in…
Russia’s public response to massive Israeli strikes on Syria last Saturday including on T4 airbase where Russian troops are perhaps still stationed was rather subdued. The Ministry of Defence said nothing at all and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs only offered the terse statement that “creation of threats for Russian military personnel in Syria is…
So, finally, the suspense is over. Kind of. The US Treasury has finally released the list of Russian entities and individuals which could (conditionally!) be sanctioned by the US Treasury in compliance with the H.R.3364 – Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act. These two short excerpt from the report show why I say “could”: and…
The Russian government, media, and public don’t know what to make of the US Treasury’s “Kremlim list.” The Treasury list contains the names of the top echelon of Russian government and business leadership. The Russians understand that the list is unfriendly and furthers Washington’s policy of worsening the relationship between the two major nuclear powers,…
Russian President Vladimir Putin has weighed in on the US Treasury’s recently released ‘Kremlin List,’ saying the action borders on “stupidity” because it shows inconsistency in Washington’s policies. “The dogs bark, but the caravan moves on,” Putin said on Tuesday, several hours after the report featuring the entire Russian government and scores of prominent Russian…
