On February 24, China published its "Position on the Political Settlement of the Ukraine Crisis." It pledged that China is willing to assume "a constructive role in this regard." Rather than accepting a powerful partner with influence and a recent track record of...
Is France Beginning To Steer an Independent Course?
Is it time to put Freedom Fries back on the menu? Back in 2003, french fries became freedom fries in the US in disgust with "our so-called ally, France" who took an independent "self-serving" course and refused to support US policy on Iraq. Having...
China: The Rock Upon Which the US-Led Alliance Breaks
In March, Chinese President Xi Jinping visited President Vladimir Putin in Moscow, where they not only "reaffirm[ed] the special nature of the Russia-China partnership," but "signed a statement on deepening the strategic partnership and bilateral ties which are...
The War in Ukraine and How Africa Surprised the West
On March 20, Russian President Vladimir Putin met with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Moscow. The meeting, at which the two leaders "reaffirm[ed] the special nature of the Russia-China partnership" may be a crucial moment in the emergence of the new multipolar...
Vladimir Putin vs. the International Criminal Court
On March 17, the International Criminal Court issued a warrant of arrest for Russian President Vladimir Putin as a war criminal for allegedly deporting and transferring children from Ukraine to Russia. The Nuremburg Tribunal declared that "To initiate a war of...
The Myth of a Stronger NATO
Putin badly miscalculated, the US often claims, and his invasion of Ukraine has made NATO stronger and more united than ever. "He thought NATO would fracture and divide. Instead, NATO is more united and more unified than ever – than ever before," Biden said...
Reapers and Red Lines: The Downing of an American Drone
On March 14, A Russian jet collided with a US drone, leading to the downing of the drone in the Black Sea. The US says that the drone was flying in international airspace when two Russian Su-27 fighter jets made nineteen high-speed passes near the drone before dumping...
The Minsk Deception and the Planned War in Donbas
There is a historically possible world in which the Minsk Agreement never needed to be made. In 2014, a US supported coup removed the democratically elected Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych, with his eastern base, and replaced him with a West leaning president...
Does Canada Support Regime Change in Russia?
It may have been "a Freudian slip of the tongue," as Russia’s ambassador to Canada called it, but at a press conference on March 10, Canada’s Foreign Affairs Minister, Mélanie Joly, raised the possibility of regime change in Russia. Addressing...
China Brokers Agreement Between Iran and Saudi Arabia, Sidelining the US
Until it happened, it was unthinkable. The US has for decades guarded its role as the sole negotiator in the Middle East. It has insisted on being the chief arbiter of agreements and the architect and decider of partnerships. But on March 10, China emerged as the...