Russia has recently set its sights on the African continent, signing various political and military deals. Moscow’s renewed interest has been linked to the latest spate of coups as it seeks to gain a foothold.
In early January, hundreds of Russian military advisors were deployed to Mali. The contractors from the controversial Wagner Group were invited to “help Mali train its security forces,” according to the Malian army.
Over 1 million immigrants from the former Soviet Union live in Israel, and many are concerned about another war breaking out between Russia and Ukraine. Loyalties, however, aren’t as straightforward as you might imagine
The Ukraine crisis is a no-win situation for Israel, caught between America and Russia. But the impact of the crisis on Israel’s national security goes far further – taking in Iran, the Gulf and China
For most Israelis, Ukraine’s frigid, snow-shrouded expanses are far away, out of sight and out of mind.
Ukraine-Russia conflict: Biden needs to assure his Indo-Pacific allies that the United States is capable of managing simultaneous crises in both Europe and East Asia. So far, he’s doing it
In a matter of weeks or months, Joe Biden may face the perfect foreign policy storm: three crises in three places of strategic importance – Europe, the Indo-Pacific and the Middle East. If all goes badly, this convergence may generate tectonic shifts in the international system. If managed competently, it could reassert American supremacy, even if temporarily.
Israel faces a perfect storm of problems if Russia chooses large-scale military aggression against Ukraine, Israel’s quiet but critical partner
3,000 kilometers separate Jerusalem and Kyiv. And that distance is probably why most Israelis don’t know how much their normal everyday life is already connected to Ukraine, or how much of what they take for granted actually depends on peace and stability in Ukraine.
The U.S. aim is to keep them from trading with China and Russia
The Iron Curtain of the 1940s and ‘50s was ostensibly designed to isolate Russia from Western Europe – to keep out Communist ideology and military penetration. Today’s sanctions regime is aimed inward, to prevent America’s NATO and other Western allies from opening up more trade and investment with Russia and China. The aim is not so much to isolate Russia and China as to hold these allies firmly within America’s own economic orbit. Allies are to forego the benefits of importing Russian gas and Chinese products, buying much higher-priced U.S. LNG and other exports, capped by more U.S. arms.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson is in Brussels today for a meeting with NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg about the ongoing crisis in Ukraine. Their meeting follows a busy diplomatic week full of high-level meetings aimed at preventing the outbreak of war near the European Union’s borders. But with the week drawing to a close, it remains to be seen how much closer to a peaceful resolution of the crisis the parties have come.
Vladmir Putin’s recent visit to China, to attend the opening of the Winter Olympics in China and display solidarity with Xi Jinping against the Western diplomatic boycott of the games, was hailed as an economic as well as diplomatic success. The support of the economic giant next door is an important reassurance to Russia, against the threat of crippling Western sanctions in the event that Russia invades Ukraine. As the political scientist and columnist George Bovt put it: “[The solidarity on display] will allow the Russian leadership to feel a bit more confident in the upcoming new rounds of talks with the West, as well as to more soundly assess the consequences of the implementation of the numerous sanctions’ threats, via which attempts are being made to prompt Moscow to make concessions on Ukraine.
The Black Sea basin has become a flashpoint due to Russia’s interventions in Georgia and Ukraine. This has implications not only for European security, but also for Mediterranean security as well. As the prospect of a larger conflict between Ukraine and Russia looms, close attention should be paid to its possible effects on the Middle East and North Africa (MENA). The ties between the conflict in Ukraine and the MENA region are more complex than they may seem at first glance. Regional states have a direct interest in preventing escalation and, in the case of heightened conflict, in minimizing its consequences as quickly as possible.
White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan said that a Russian military invasion of Ukraine could begin at any time and urged Americans in Ukraine to leave now.
The U.S. State Department has ordered almost all of the embassy staff in Kyiv to depart. Consular services will also be suspended on Sunday, according to an advisory. In January, the department had ordered family members of embassy staff to leave Ukraine.