Author: M Barbu

Putin’s Search for Greatness

Will Ukraine Bring Russia the Superpower Status It Seeks?

On Saturday, Russia invaded and effectively annexed Crimea, a Ukrainian peninsula in the Black Sea. In doing so, Russian President Vladimir Putin shrewdly took advantage of the political uncertainty that arose when Viktor Yanukovych, Ukraine’s former kleptocratic president, took flight last week and was swiftly replaced by a hastily formed provisional government in Kiev. Russia might justify its behavior by speaking of a need to protect ethnic Russians but, in reality, the move was a thinly veiled attempt to forward Putin’s real agenda: reestablishing Russia as a resurrected great power.

Iran’s Top Nuclear Negotiator Holds Talks In Moscow

Ali Baqeri, Iran’s deputy foreign minister and lead negotiator in the talks on the revival of the 2015 nuclear deal, held talks with Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov in Moscow.

The twitter account of Russia’s diplomatic mission in Vienna said in a post that Baqeri and Ryabkov held a meeting in Moscow on July 1.

How The Iranian Regime Interferes In Foreign Countries

For more than four decades, the Iranian regime has been perfecting its strategies for infringing on the sovereignty of foreign nations. It exerts influence and interferes in other countries’ domestic affairs in order to advance its political, revolutionary and ideological interests.

Russia Has Failed Challenging EU-US Relations

Contrary to Russia’s expectations, the Ukraine war and entailing crises not only did not damage EU-US relations but also improved them to the extent that France proposed “strategic autonomy” for Europe is now consigned to oblivion.

As in the Cold War, Russia sought to exploit the rift in transatlantic relations under Trump and weaken the political and economic Europe-US alliance. However, except for some limited success in Serbia and Hungary, Moscow has failed to achieve its goals.

Putin’s War Economy Leading To Decline In Russians’ Standard Of Living

Between the fourth quarter of 2021 and the first quarter of 2022, the number of Russians classified by the Russian government as poor rose by 8.5 million, according to Russian government statistics, Maksim Blant of Radio Liberty reports (svoboda.org/a/armiya-bednyh-kak-voyna-vliyaet-na-urovenj-zhizni-rossiyan/31895963.html).

Russia claims control of pivotal eastern Ukrainian province

Russia claimed control Sunday over the last Ukrainian stronghold in an eastern province that is key to achieving a major goal of Moscow’s grinding war.

The General Staff of Ukraine’s military reported that its forces had withdrawn from Lysychansk in Luhansk province. President Volodymr Zelenskyy acknowledged the withdrawal but said the fight for the city was still raging on its outskirts.

Iran Intervenes To Stop Turkish Invasion of Northern Syria

Syrian Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad thanked Iran Saturday night for helping to reduce tension between Damascus and Ankara. Turkey has been threatening in recent weeks to invade northern Syria, launch a military operation against Kurdish militias in the area, and establish a 30-kilometer buffer zone along the border by removing Kurdish-led fighters.

Ukraine Asks Turkey to Detain Russian Ship Allegedly Carrying Stolen Wheat

Ukraine has asked Turkey to detain a Russian-flagged cargo ship it says is carrying Ukrainian wheat. The Russian-flagged cargo ship Zhibek Zholy is carrying 4,500 metric tons of Ukrainian grain taken from the Russian-occupied port of Berdyansk, Ukraine’s foreign ministry has charged, according to Reuters. The Ukrainian prosecutor general’s office has charged that the cargo ship is carrying 7,000 metric tons of cargo and is heading to the port at Karasu, Turkey.