The global clout of OPEC, never one of the world’s most admired institutions, reached a nadir in April when a dispute between Saudi Arabia and Russia triggered a price war just as global oil demand was collapsing due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Developments in the Eastern Mediterranean region are unfolding at a breakneck pace. Blink an eye and one is bound to miss a new multilateral initiative, an impressive military exercise or even the creation of an international organization.
Four years ago, at a Track II dialogue between German and American diplomats and analysts, a German colleague of mine explained his firm belief that his country—and, by extension, Europe as a whole—could use geoeconomic tools to regulate and blunt Russia’s geopolitical ambitions.
Europe’s need for natural gas, he said, was balanced by Russia’s need to sell. A European strategy of energy diversification would therefore give the West leverage over Moscow, which would not want to risk its access to European markets by making bold political plays.
Vladimir Putin și-a pregătit pas cu pas ziua atacului. Astfel, joi 24 februarie, la ora 06.00 dimineața, a fost postat pe site-ul președinției, un mesaj către ruși. În discursul său, liderul rus vorbște despre „amenințări fundamentale care an de an, pas cu pas, sunt create cu grosolănie și fără ceremonie de politicienii iresponsabili din Occident în raport cu țara noastră“.
Milorad Dodik, the Serb member of tripartite BiH Presidency, has slammed German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock over her alleged stance on the country’s troubles.
After Russia unilaterally declared that it would recognise the independence of the two Ukrainian breakaway regions of Donetsk and Luhansk, Germany heavily condemned the move and pledged support to Ukraine.
At the end of a bitter and bellicose speech in which he took aggressive aim at Kyiv and the West, Russian President Vladimir Putin said he was recognizing the Moscow-backed separatist entities that control parts of eastern Ukraine as independent countries — and quickly signed a decree making it official.
Over the past few days, the Iraqi people have reiterated their rejection of the Iranian products being sold in the country, culminating in the launch of an awareness-raising campaign — the second in two years — on social media platforms.
In the Republic of Serbia, regular presidential elections, extraordinary parliamentary elections and regular local elections for the capital of Belgrade and 12 towns and municipalities are scheduled to take place on 3 April 2022.
To induce Ukraine to give up the nuclear weapons inherited on the dissolution of the Soviet Union, the U.S., Great Britain and Russia agreed to provide assurances. If Washington were to allow Russia to gobble up the rest of Ukraine, it would tell non-nuclear states they must have nuclear arsenals because they cannot rely on the nuclear weapons powers for security.