Latest Articles about Foreign Policy
![](/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/Picture-1-8-640x423.png)
Expanding China’s Central Asia Playbook to Afghanistan
Introduction For almost 30 years, the People’s Republic of China (PRC) has deployed various strategies to increase its economic and political influence in Central Asia. In 1994, then-Premier Li Peng suggested a plan to develop economic connectivity and “revive the old Silk Road” (Xinhua, December... MORE
![](/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/Picture-1-9-640x377.png)
‘Lips and Teeth’: The Enduring China-North Korea Relationship
Introduction The leaders of China and North Korea marked the 60th anniversary of the China-North Korea Treaty of Friendship, Cooperation and Mutual Assistance (Peking Review, July 11, 1961) on July 11, and pledged to renew the treaty for another 20 years (UPI, July 7). "Despite... MORE
![](/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/Azerbaijan-Turkey-Pakistan-tripartite-parliamentary-meeting-July-27-640x378.jpg)
Azerbaijan Boosts Trilateral Cooperation With Pakistan and Turkey
On July 27, the parliamentary speakers of Turkey, Azerbaijan and Pakistan signed a strategic partnership document—the “Baku Declaration”—in Baku, Azerbaijan, which creates a new format for political cooperation between the three states (Azertag, July 27). The foundation for this grouping was originally laid in 2017,... MORE
![](/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/Belarusian-protests-2020-640x360.jpg)
Summing Up: One Year Since the Disputed Presidential Elections in Belarus
On August 9, 2021, exactly one year since the ill-fated last presidential election, President Alyaksandr Lukashenka conducted a press conference that lasted more than eight hours. On online social networks, the favorite though overused joke of his detractors has been: Did they all (meaning the... MORE
![](/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/Russia-Siberia-forest-fires-640x360.jpg)
August Anniversaries in Russia: A Litany of Bad Memories
Each August witnesses some critical and usually unhappy events for Russia, and this year is particularly rich with round anniversaries. Sixty years ago, on August 13, 1961, the Soviet leadership ordered the construction of a wall to separate West Berlin from the Socialist East Germany,... MORE
![](/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/Belarus-church-NY-640x450.jpg)
Moscow Worried Orthodox in Belarus and Moldova May Gain Autocephaly
Moscow is increasingly anxious about potential new moves in Belarus and Moldova in the coming weeks toward achieving autocephalous status for the local Christian Orthodox churches. Such an outcome would further undermine President Vladimir Putin’s efforts to promote his “Russian World” (“Russkiy Mir”)—an ideological concept... MORE
![](/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/Dmitry-Kozak-640x360.jpg)
Kremlin Responds to New Moldovan Leadership’s Overtures
The Kremlin has wasted no time reacting to the positive signals from Moldova’s new, Western-oriented leadership. On August 11, only five days after Moldova’s new government took office, the deputy head of Russia’s presidential administration, Dmitry Kozak, descended unexpectedly on Chisinau for talks with President... MORE
![](/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/Azerbaijani-soldiers-640x406.jpg)
The Pallone Amendment and US Military Assistance to Azerbaijan in Context
On July 28, The United States’ House of Representatives voted overwhelmingly in favor of an amendment to the Fiscal Year 2022 Foreign Aid Bill proposed by Congressional Armenian Caucus co-chair Frank Pallone to restrict US foreign military financing and training assistance to Azerbaijan. According to... MORE
![](/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/EU-foreign-ministers-trip-to-South-Ossetia-administrative-boundary-line-640x511.jpg)
Will the EU Shake off Its Lethargy Over the Protracted Conflicts in the Black Sea Region? (Part Five)
*To read Part One, please click here. *To read Part Two, please click here. *To read Part Three, please click here. *To read Part Four, please click here. Romania’s proposals, seconded by ten European Union member states, regarding the protracted conflicts in the Black Sea... MORE
![](/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/1219543-640x408.jpg)
Belarus Struggles to Circumvent Western Sanctions Against Its Oil Industry
On July 29, Belarusian President Alyaksandr Lukashenka appointed Mikhail Kostechko to serve as the new general director of the country’s main oil products trader, Belorusskaya Neftyanaya Kompaniya (BNK), and ordered him to maintain foreign market share regardless of the activity of the “Western scumbags” (President.gov.by,... MORE