Recent talks in Geneva between Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and United States (US) Secretary of State Antony Blinken regarding the crisis over Ukraine achieved little. Russia asked for a written response to its demands, which include a halt to North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) enlargement.
Tensions between Ukraine and Russia, which has massed troops along their border, has drawn Washington and Moscow into a Cold War-style stand-off.Here is a timeline of the spiralling situation.Troop Movements On 10 November, 2021 NATO warns Moscow about taking "aggressive action" after Washington reports unusual troops movements near the Ukrainian border.Russian President Vladimir Putin accuses the West of "supplying modern weapons to Kyiv" and staging provocative
Five global nuclear powers pledged Monday to prevent atomic weapons spreading and to avoid nuclear conflict, in a rare joint statement setting aside rising West-East tensions to reaffirm a goal of a nuke-free world."We believe strongly that the further spread of such weapons must be prevented," said permanent UN Security Council members China, France, Russia, the UK and the United States, adding: "A nuclear war cannot be won and must never be fought."The statement was issu
Over the past year, tensions between Russia on one side and Ukraine and the West on the other, have flared, fuelling fears of another armed conflict. The two sides have exchanged accusations of provoking a military escalation and there has even been an ostentatious movement of troops towards the frozen theatre of war in eastern Ukraine.Despite the hostile posturing on both sides, for now, it seems the game of brinkmanship has ended in a stalemate.
Two dangerous flashpoints, in Europe and Asia, could bring the United States (US), Russia, and China into open conflict. The crises over Ukraine and Taiwan can be resolved, but all parties must respect the others’ legitimate security interests. Acknowledging those interests objectively will provide the basis for a lasting de-escalation of tensions. Consider Ukraine.
Russian sabre-rattling against Ukraine and an assertive China were top of the agenda as G7 foreign ministers met in Britain on Saturday, with calls for a united front against authoritarianism.The two-day gathering of top diplomats from the world's richest nations in Liverpool, northwest England, is the last in-person gathering of Britain's year-long G7 presidency, before it hands over the baton to Germany.Discussions were focused on Russia's build-up of troops on Ukraine's
President Joe Biden has said the United States (US) would come to Taiwan’s defence and had a commitment to defend the island China claims as its own, forcing the White House to clarify for the second time in three months that US policy on the subject has not changed.“Yes, we have a commitment to do that,” Biden said at a CNN town hall on Thursday night when asked if the US would come to the defence of Taiwan, which has complained of mounting military and political pressure from Beijing to acc
France on Saturday accused Australia and the United States (US) of lying in a crisis over a security pact that saw Canberra scrap a contract to buy French submarines in favour of American vessels."There has been lying, duplicity, a major breach of trust and contempt," French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian told France 2 television.
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and its partner countries in the Asia-Pacific are increasingly concerned about the challenges that an assertive China could pose to global security. Based on the report ‘NATO 2030: United for a New Era’ dated November 2020, these challenges are multi-domain. A political strategy is there but so are the hurdles.
Now that so many sad truths about Afghanistan are being spoken aloud, even in the major media - let me add one more: The war, from start to finish, was about politics, not in Afghanistan but in the United States (US).Afghanistan was always a sideshow. According to the official report, the 11 September 2001 terrorist attacks were launched from US soil, by people who trained in Florida.Most of the named perpetrators were Saudis.
A huge international airlift of foreigners and Afghans who worked with them continued on Tuesday as thousands of people terrified at the prospect of Taliban rule flocked to Kabul airport.NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said the alliance would send additional aircraft to bolster the operation after member states met on Tuesday, adding that evacuations were "gradually resuming" following chaotic scenes on Monday after commercial flights were halted.In addition to aircraft, the
In their latest communiqué, NATO leaders declared that China presents “systemic challenges to the rules-based international order.” The response from China’s mission to the European Union (EU) was clear: “We will not present a ‘systemic challenge’ to anyone, but if someone wants to pose a ‘systemic challenge’ to us, we will not remain indifferent.” Such a tit-for-tat rhetoric is unnecessary, and most of the world’s population probably does not want it to escalate.
