Geopolitics

George Perkovich Carnegie As negotiations and debate proceed over a comprehensive nuclear agreement with Iran, comparisons will inevitably be made with the 1994 Agreed Framework that sought to end North Korea’s (the DPRK’s) nuclear weapons program. That earlier agreement failed due to a combination of factors. Many observers …

James L. Schoff U.S. NEWS & WORLD REPORT As Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe prepares to visit the United States next week, attention is focused on the historic nature of the trip. Abe will be the first Japanese leader to speak before a joint session of Congress, an …

By Nasser Arrabyee Despite its stated aims, the main beneficiary of the Saudi-led Operation Decisive Storm at least so far  is Al-Qaeda and its jihadist followers, writes Nasser Arrabyee in Al Ahram Weekly. It has been about one month since Saudi Arabia started airstrikes on all Yemeni provinces …

Azeri Daily: The European Union’s foreign policy chief has expressed hope Iran can play a constructive role in a renewed United Nations push to restart negotiations to end Syria’s four-year civil war, RFE/RL reports. Federica Mogherini was speaking in New York on April 28 ahead of talks with …

Trend: The regulatory authorities in TAP’s host countries – Greece, Italy and Albania – have released a joint opinion, prolonging the validity period of TAP’s exemption from certain provisions of the EU Gas Directive. TAP’s exemption has been updated in line with the planned commencement date of Shah Deniz …

Azer News: Though the world powers and Iran have reached a framework accord on Tehran’s decade-old nuclear dispute, experts and analysts are skeptical on the success of the nuclear negotiations. They don’t believe that the P5+1 and Iran could achieve a final nuclear deal by the July 1 …

Representatives of the far-right Ukrainian nationalist political movement Right Sector are due to picket the administrative building of President Poroshenko in central Kiev later on Wednesday. The far-right Ukrainian nationalist political movement Right Sector will be picketing near the building of President Petro Poroshenko’s administration in central Kiev later in the day, …

By Christopher Kozak Institute For The Study Of War The following is an excerpt of the upcoming report from the Institute for the Study of War titled “An Army in All Corners — Assad’s Campaign Strategy in Syria.” Written by ISW Syria Analyst Christopher Kozak, this study examines Syrian …

WILLIAM MACLEAN REUTERS Saudi Arabia’s new foreign minister, a U.S.-educated connoisseur of Washington’s diplomatic scene and longtime adviser to the kingdom’s rulers, is an articulate spokesman for his country’s new assertive approach to the Middle East’s growing conflicts. A well-known figure in Washington government circles and on U.S. …