OPINION

Kazakhstan’s veteran leader Nursultan Nazarbayev celebrates his 75th birthday on Monday, in good shape and vastly popular, but the expected fireworks and fanfare mask uncomfortable questions about the future of the second-largest post-Soviet economy. Nicknamed “Papa” and officially titled “Leader of the Nation,” he extended his 26-year reign in April by another five years, “apologising” to his critics for cornering 97.7 …

Economic integration will dominate the agenda at the BRICS summit, where the New Development Bank will hold its inaugural meeting. Expansion of SCO to include India and Pakistan is most likely on the cards. India looks to increase its economic and strategic multilateral cooperation with Russia at the …

Saudi Deputy Crown Prince and Minister of Defense Prince Mohamed ben Salman met Russia’s President Vladimir Putin for two hours June 18 in what could be a turning point in the ties between the two countries. Bilateral and regional issues, particularly Syria and oil prices, were discussed in …

The main problem with a recently published “proposed strategy” for Syria, recommending the establishment of safe zones, is that it seems to give Syrian opposition areas the name of “safe zone” without changing the actual status quo. The proposed strategy circles back to the same questions of sending …

Whatever it is, the show is on, and we have still some time before we hear “That is all, folks”. According to eyewitnesses in Gaziantep, the small but key town on Turkish-Syria borders, Erdogan already sent 35 tanks to the border region. What is discussed in Ankara is …

The voice of the Emir of Kuwait in his comments after bombing a Shia mosque June 26 should echo all over the Middle East. “We do not have Sunnis and Shias. We have only Kuwaitis”, the Emir said in a warning to all who incite religious hatred in …

German foreign policy is guided by an outdated philosophy of taking the lead from the United States, when it needs to be articulated by new leaders who stand against NATO muscle flexing and opt for improving relations with Russia, left-leaning website Scharf Links reported.  The media outlet claims …

The new US-Russian Cold War could be far more dangerous than the preceding 40-year conflict, Stephen F. Cohen stresses, noting that Obama’s policy of isolating Russia has facilitated the development of a multi-polar world order.  While the Minsk II agreement is falling apart at the seams, neglected by both the …

Russian President Vladimir Putin and US President Barack Obama exchanged opinions on regulating the Syrian crisis in a telephone conversation, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Tuesday. Russia confirmed its position during the conversation, the Kremlin spokesman said.Obama said on Monday that he believed that the situation in Syria could only be …