A technical round of the so-called “Joint Task Force” on the crisis in Syria, launched on the initiative of Turkey and Russia, was held in Kazakhstan’s capital Astana, on February 6 (Syrian Arab News Agency, Sputnik News, February 6). Participants included experts from Russia, Iran,... MORE

The conflict between Russia and Belarus reached a high water mark in the scandalous pronouncements of President Alyaksandr Lukashenka to the press earlier this month (see EDM, February 6). And these tensions along the Moscow-Minsk axis remain the major focus of the Belarusian media. Lukashenka’s... MORE

After Iran tested another missile, on January 29, in violation of several United Nations resolutions, the White House declared that Tehran was “on notice” and imposed new sanctions on the Middle Eastern country. In addition, the Donald Trump administration signaled it would seek to sever... MORE

The arrest of a travel-blogger Alexander Lapshin, a citizen of Russia, Israel and Ukraine, by Belarusian authorities and his extradition to Azerbaijan (1news.az, February 7) is an interesting case for a number of reasons, and particularly in the context of the unresolved Karabakh conflict. His... MORE

The annual Munich Security Conference will take place later this week (February 17–19). And it was ten years ago at this forum that President Vladimir Putin delivered an inflammatory speech detailing Russia’s deep dissatisfaction with the world order. A decade hence, Russian official media is... MORE

President Vladimir Putin ordered a snap military exercise of the Russian Aerospace Forces (Vozdushno-Kosmicheskye Sily—VKS), on February 7. The VKS was placed at top battle readiness: the missile- and anti-aircraft-defense radar network and interceptor missile batteries, together with the air force, including long-range strategic bombers... MORE

Vladimir Putin has something to be proud of. Only a year and half has passed since the Russian president called for the creation of a broad anti-terrorist coalition of the civilized world, in his last speech at the United Nations General Assembly. The Kremlin apparently... MORE

In early January China’s Foreign Ministry published a White Paper on “China's Policies on Asia-Pacific Security Cooperation” signaling an intensification of China’s effort to establish itself as the dominant power in Asia and dislodge U.S. influence (FMPRC, January 11). Building on the country’s economic strength,... MORE

President Alyaksandr Lukashenka held a record-long press conference for the Belarusian press corps, on Friday, February 3 (TV.rain.ru, YouTube, February 3). It lasted 7 hours and 20 minutes. Lukashenka’s central message was in response to a dramatic worsening of Belarus’s relationship with Russia (see EDM,... MORE

On February 1, Russian and then Belarusian media reported some unexpected news: Moscow decided to set up a border zone between its Smolensk, Bryansk and Pskov regions and Belarus (RIA Novosti, February 1). The decision was met with an immediate negative reaction in Minsk, where... MORE