The race is already on to build and extend Afghanistan’s shattered infrastructure as rival powers advance competing initiatives by Pepe Escobar with permission and first posted at Asia Times Over a week ago the excruciatingly slow Doha peace talks between the Kabul government and the Taliban resumed, and then they dragged on for two days observed by envoys from the EU, US and UN. Nothing happened. They could not even
By Zamir Awan for the Saker Blog The recent air strikes on the Taliban positions in Afghanistan is an open breach of the Peace Treaty signed between the Taliban and Trump administration in February 2020. Pentagon officials said earlier this month that the commander of U.S. forces in the region, Central Command’s General Kenneth “Frank” McKenzie, would retain the authority to call for airstrikes in support of Afghan forces until
by Naresh Jotwani for the Saker Blog Washington Post recently ran an article with headline which contained the two phrases “civilized nations” and “deter Beijing and Moscow” (see a review here). Use of the latter phrase in the headline shows clearly that the phrase “civilized nations” here has undisguised, in-your-face geopolitical motivation. But “civilized” and “deter” is in fact a very strange combination of words, tempting and encouraging us to
https://www.english.alahednews.com.lb/61144/385 Translated by Staff The Secretary-General of Hezbollah, His Eminence Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, delivered a speech at the opening session of the Renewing Media Discourse and Managing Confrontation Conference on July 5th, 2021 I seek refuge in Allah from the accursed Satan. In the name of Allah the Most Gracious the Merciful. Praise be to Allah, Lord of the Worlds, and prayers and peace be upon our Master and Prophet,
https://www.mid.ru/en/foreign_policy/news/-/asset_publisher/cKNonkJE02Bw/content/id/4825996 On July 22, 2021, the Russian Federation filed an interstate complaint against Ukraine to the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) invoking Article 33 of the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (ECHR). This step is long overdue. The current situation in Ukraine leaves Russia no choice but to involve international courts. We are referring to the discrimination against the Russian-speaking population, including their deprivation
Prosecutor General’s Office Of the Russian Federation July 22, 2021, 10:30 am On July 22, 2021, the Russian Federation filed an interstate complaint with the European Court of Human Rights against Ukraine under article 33 of the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms. The complaint concerns the following main groups of violations:: – responsibility of the Ukrainian authorities for the death of civilians, illegal imprisonment and
by Pepe Escobar with permission and first posted at Asia Times The annual MAKS aerospace show kicked off its 2021 installment at Zhukovsky Airport outside Moscow – not with a bang, but with multiple bangs. MAKS – whose name is an acronym for the Russian mouthful Mezhdunarodnyj aviatsionno-kosmiches, literally international aviation and space show – is famous for showing off the latest hits in aerospace and defense technology from major Russian
Staff Writer What was this? An insurrection? (Or ‘a failed insurrection’ according to the President using western talk of “a deliberate, coordinated and well-planned attack on our young democracy, on our economy and our people’s livelihoods.”) Up until now, he has done nothing much to assist ‘our people’s livelihoods.’. But the Defense minister Mapisa-Nqakula said it was her view that the military was not seeing signs of a coup or
By Batko Milacic for the Saker Blog Just a few months since Joe Biden’s election, the Western idea of terrorism has radically changed. With the media having spared no effort making people believe that the real terrorists are indeed the armed supporters of the Republicans, who are ready to take on the crowd of BLM “looters” and express their right to protest by demonstrating that rights at the Capitol. As
Staff Reporter The US is manufacturing consent to coup Cuba. The language used is a clear give-away. After all these years, now suddenly the ‘Cubans want their Freedom! and of course, the US can give it to them, is the sub-text. On 23 June 2021, the UN General Assembly voted for the 29th year in a row, in favor of a resolution to demand the end of the US economic
Selections from Godfree Roberts’ extensive weekly newsletter: Here Comes China. You can get it here: https://www.herecomeschina.com/#subscribe Further selections and editorial and geopolitical commentary by Amarynth. Geopolitical moves: Most of the geopolitical space was taken up by the US withdrawal from Afghanistan. Soon Lavrov and his Chinese counterpart Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, moved in, boots ‘n all, with SCO. http://10.16.86.131/russia-china-advance-asian-roadmap-for-afghanistan/ A geopolitical story of note is the confirmed friendship between
By Francis Lee for the Saker Blog “The weak and ill-constituted shall perish: first principle of our philanthropy. And one should help them to do so … What is more harmful than any vice? Active sympathy for the ill-constituted and weak.’’ (1) The Beast awakens – Second Time Around Such were the sentiments – customarily referred to by Charles Darwin as the ‘’survival of the fittest’’ and of Friedrich Nietzsche’s
By Zamir Awan for the Saker Blog With the beginning of the 20th century, geopolitics was changing rapidly. The centries old, empires, Kingdoms, Dynasties were facing severe challenges, and many revolutions were witnessed. The biggest change was the Russian revolution in 1917, as the Marxist first country in the world. People fed up with imperialism, feudalism, capitalism, and Western Style liberalism, democracy, and colonialism were looking at the Russian revolution
Shanghai Cooperation Organization’s ‘facilitate, not mediate’ role could be the key to solving the Afghan imbroglio By Pepe Escobar, with permission and first posted at Asia Times Shanghai Cooperation Organization meeting of Foreign Ministers on Wednesday in Dushanbe, the Tajik capital, may have been an under-the-radar affair, but it did reveal the contours of the big picture ahead when it comes to Afghanistan. So let’s see what Russia and China
Joint statement by foreign ministers of the SCO countries following a meeting in the format of the SCO-Afghanistan Contact Group, July 14, 2021 We, foreign ministers of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) member countries, Advocating the development of Afghanistan as an independent, neutral, united, peaceful, democratic and prosperous state, Realising that peace and stability in that country is one of the main factors in ensuring security in the SCO region,
by Batko Milacic – Independent analyst – for The Saker Blog The events in the Middle East have made a large number of interstate relations of the former “allies” very complicated due to the large-scale operation “Arab Spring”. After the failure of the original idea of creating the Great Middle East, a project in which the main role was played by Washington, in alliance primarily with the Gulf monarchies but
By Chris Faure for The Saker Blog Part 1 The riotous looting has reduced but is still continuing into Wednesday. We don’t really know what is left to loot and burn but whatever is standing is still being looted and burnt. This clearly was a planned initiative as the looter vehicles, cars and trucks have their number plates removed or covered with black plastic bags, the movement of the mobs
By Fabio Reis Vianna for The Saker Blog Even if the rhetoric and the interim security strategy of the Joe Biden administration itself tries to give a multilateralist veneer to the idea that the benevolent hegemon would be back, the reality imposed by the increase in competitive pressure, which deepens after the outbreak of the pandemic, and acquires dramatic contours in the so-called “vaccine war”, reveals a challenging scenario for
Russia-China-Iran alliance is taking Afghanistan’s bull by the horns By Pepe Escobar with permission and first posted at Asia Times Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi is on a Central Asian loop all through the week. He’s visiting Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan. The last two are full members of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, founded 20 years ago. The SCO heavyweights are of course China and Russia. They are joined by
http://en.kremlin.ru/events/president/news/66181 July 12, 2021 During the recent Direct Line, when I was asked about Russian-Ukrainian relations, I said that Russians and Ukrainians were one people – a single whole. These words were not driven by some short-term considerations or prompted by the current political context. It is what I have said on numerous occasions and what I firmly believe. I therefore feel it necessary to explain my position in detail and share my assessments of today’s situation. First of all, I would like to emphasize that the wall that has emerged in recent years between Russia
