Latest Articles about Foreign Policy
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Armenian-Turkish Earthquake Diplomacy
On February 6, a 7.7-magnitude (Mw) earthquake hit Turkey’s Southeastern Anatolia Region with its epicenter at Pazarcık, Kahramanmaras. Less than 12 hours later, a second 7.6-Mw earthquake, centered on Elbistan, Kahramanmaras, followed. As a result of three major earthquakes in total, tens of thousands of... MORE
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Russia’s Crisis of Restoring Manpower
On March 13, a draft law on increasing the age of conscription for military service in Russia was introduced to the State Duma. The planned increase, from 18 to 26 years old (“before 27 years old” as worded in the current law) to 21 to... MORE
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Four Complications for the Rushed Putin-Xi Summit
Chinese President Xi Jinping’s state visit to Moscow, which starts today and is expected to go for three days, is certain to be rich in pomp and ceremony. Yet, its content remains rather uncertain. Russian President Vladimir Putin, in most cordial terms, invited his Chinese... MORE
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After Two Sessions, Xi Turns Focus to U.S. Challenge
On March 10, at the first session of the 14th National People’s Congress (NPC), Xi Jinping was unanimously "reelected" president (主席) of the People’s Republic of China (PRC), with 2,952 delegates in the rubber-stamp legislature voting in his favor and zero abstaining or voting against... MORE
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How China Prolongs Myanmar’s Endless Internal Conflicts
Introduction Since 1949, Myanmar has experienced the world’s longest ongoing armed conflict. Following the February 2021 coup, which overthrew the government of Aung San Suu Kyi, fighting has intensified, with nearly 3,000 people killed (Reliefweb, January 30). In addition, roughly 1.5 million people have been... MORE
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Planned Rail Connection With China Will Elevate Kyrgyzstan’s Strategic Importance
For many years, the successive leaders of Kyrgyzstan could not capitalize on their country’s strategic location along the shortest route connecting China to Central Asia and further onward to the Middle East and Europe. Now, hopes are cautiously mounting that this might be changing. Current... MORE
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Belarusian-Chinese Ties Draw Heightened International Attention
From February 28 to March 2, Belarusian President Alyaksandr Lukashenka paid a state visit to China. Somewhat unexpectedly, the visit attracted enormous international media and political attention (Belta, March 2). The reason for that, however, had more to do with Russia’s war against Ukraine than... MORE
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Caspian Sea Trade Between Russia and Iran Booming
Russian President Vladimir Putin has made the opening of a north-south trade route between the Russian Federation and the Indian Ocean via Iran a priority for more than a decade. But the project has run into increasing difficulties on both of the two possible land... MORE
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Russia’s Military Failures in Ukraine a Direct Threat to Abkhazia and ‘South Ossetia’
In February 2023, on the one-year anniversary of its re-invasion of Ukraine, Moscow stepped up relations with the two occupied regions of Georgia—Abkhazia and the so-called “South Ossetia” (Tskhinvali region). For example, mutual working visits have become more frequent. The leaders of the puppet regimes... MORE
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Can a Deal Be Negotiated With Belarus’s Lukashenka?
From January 24 to February 3, Chatham House conducted another (14th) online national survey of Belarusians. The analyzed sample consisted of 813 urban respondents. “Despite the fact that our sample has been weighted to accurately reflect the make-up of Belarusian society, it is possible that... MORE