On February 27, speaking at the extraordinary assembly in the Bundestag, Chancellor Olaf Scholz stated that Germany is planning to build two liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminals, in Brunsbüttel and Wilhelmshaven (RIA Novosti, February 27), which would help decrease the country’s reliance on Russian natural... MORE

Last month, U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris spoke briefly with Taiwanese Vice President Lai Ching-te at the inauguration of President Xiaomara Castro in Honduras (Taiwan News, January 28). When asked about the public interaction between Harris and Lai, People’s Republic of China (PRC) Ministry of... MORE

On December 17, 2021, Russia published draft “proposals” on security guarantees with the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and the United States. Moscow expressed dissatisfaction with NATO’s eastward enlargement, Western assistance to Ukraine, the deployment of strike weapons in countries bordering Russia, as well as... MORE

On Wednesday, January 26, the United States’ ambassador in Moscow, John Sullivan, personally delivered a memorandum to the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs containing the official US reply to earlier Russian demands on security guarantees. Simultaneously, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) handed over to... MORE

The guns have so far remained silent on the snow-covered Russian-Ukrainian border, but there is certainly no peace there; a rather unusual war is in progress. It is unlike any other wars waged by Russia under the lengthy rule of President Vladimir Putin, who began... MORE

Introduction In December, a war of words raged across the Pacific over the very meaning of the word “democracy” (China Brief, December 14, 2021). The United States held its Summit for Democracy, inviting other democracies of various stripes, while China convened its own competing “Dialogue... MORE

Introduction After striking a deal to terminate the U.S.-European Union bilateral dispute over steel and aluminum tariffs, U.S. President Joseph Biden hailed the opportunity to curb imports of “dirty steel” from China (Straits Times, October 31). The U.S. and EU jointly agreed to support sustainable... MORE

On December 8, the third president of Georgia, Mikhail Saakashvili, called on opposition parties to hold consultations on the formation of a temporary coalition council that would prepare the country for new elections and regime change. “We need a universal political amnesty and a roundtable... MORE

The December 7 video-conference between Presidents Joseph Biden of the United States and Vladimir Putin of Russia raised many questions, as both sides were scarce with details. The official read-outs of the meeting confirmed the previously voiced positions, leading many observers to conclude that the... MORE

The topics of Russia’s plight and future prospects came up again and again last week, in the December 7 video-conversation between Presidents Joseph Biden and Vladimir Putin, at the Summit of Democracies that the Biden administration organized and hosted on December 9–10, as well as... MORE