International security is inherently a secretive business. Governments and militaries like to hide their capabilities and plans from their rivals. Yet in the post-Cold War years, states began to become more transparent about their military postures, aiming to create a new sense of international cooperation and openness. This process has now gone into reverse, with post-Cold War transparency arrangements in sharp decline.
President Joe Biden on Friday announced he’s nominating one of his top national security aides as ambassador to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, aiming to underscore his administration’s commitment to the Pacific region.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Friday that his country is “not favorable” toward Finland and Sweden joining NATO, indicating Turkey could use its membership in the Western military alliance to veto moves to admit the two countries.
Ukraine’s foreign minister said Friday that his country is willing to engage in diplomatic talks with Russia to unblock grain supplies and to achieve a political solution to the war in Ukraine but won’t accept ultimatums from Moscow.
Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said the Ukrainian government had received “no positive feedback” from Russia, which he alleged “prefers wars to talks.”
Les confréries soufies ont souvent été présentées comme des alliées du Protectorat français (1912-1956). Mais la réalité est plus complexe et nuancée. Récit.
Sidi Mohamed Ben Slimane Al-Jazouli (1404-1466) est l’un des sept saints de Marrakech, des religieux soufis aujourd’hui encore vénérés dans l’islam populaire marocain. Ce fondateur de la zaouïa Jazouliyya s’est notamment illustré dans son combat contre l’occupation portugaise sur les côtes du littoral marocain.
Dans un communiqué, les autorités néerlandaises ont qualifié le plan d’autonomie marocain sur le Sahara occidental de « contribution sérieuse et crédible ».
À l’occasion de la neuvième édition du sommet interministériel de la coalition mondiale contre Daech, qui se déroule ce 11 mai à Marrakech, les Pays-Bas ont reconnu le plan d’autonomie marocain comme une « contribution sérieuse et crédible au processus mené par l’ONU pour trouver une solution à cette question ».
Just as the commentariat was hailing Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s Westward pivot, he announced today that Finland and Sweden’s bid to join NATO was not such a great idea.
On May 2, 2022, a statement was made by Mali’s military spokesperson Colonel Abdoulaye Maïga on the country’s national television, where he said that Mali was ending the defense accords it had with France, effectively making the presence of French troops in Mali illegal. The statement was written by the military leadership of the country, which has been in power since May 2021.
The holder of the highest seat in the Catholic Church, Pope Francis, said that the West is partly to blame for the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
In an interview with the Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera, the Pope said “that barking of NATO at the door of Russia” has pushed Vladimir Putin to invade Ukraine, which was not a part of the alliance.
The bottom line
While Russia has made slight progress in the Donbas, the line of control has hardly budged and the Kremlin’s campaign has largely stalled.
The Ukrainian counteroffensive near Kharkiv remains strong, with Russian forces being pushed back toward the Russian border.