Can President Vladimir Putin’s gold hoard help the Russian economy to weather biting financial sanctions? Though there are limits to the yellow metal’s usefulness, it can function as an economic lifeline for an isolated economy. Read More Here
Although Vladimir Putin alone is responsible for the war in Ukraine, it is worth remembering that prominent Westerners played a key role in shaping Russia’s post-Soviet trajectory. They insisted that market reforms must take priority over political reforms, and we are still living with that choice. Read More Here
The Biden administration is in talks with economic powerhouses in Asia to gain their support for severe sanctions and export control packages against Russia as tensions mount over Russian troops deploying to breakaway regions in eastern Ukraine. Read More Here
Chinese lawmakers are making progress on legislation to retaliate for foreign sanctions amid the country’s growing rivalry with the U.S. A National People’s Congress committee filed the second draft of legislation aimed at countering sanctions imposed by foreign governments, the official Xinhua News Agency reported. Read More Here
This diplomatic process, which is crucial to avoiding further conflict in the Middle East and allowing President Biden to focus on competition with China, will falter unless the Biden administration moves quickly. American negotiators should list the sanctions that the United States is prepared to remove in exchange for Iranian compliance. Read Here | NYTimes
The US, EU, UK and Canada banded together to sanction Chinese officials over suspected human rights abuses in Xinjiang on Monday, a dramatic escalation in tensions with Beijing and a clear sign that the new Joe Biden administration plans to wield its alliances as a powerful tool to counter an increasingly assertive China. Read Here | South China Morning Post Also Read | Why […]
Even if only a partial ban, the prospective policy could cost Saudi Arabia billions of dollars in arms import deals. The potential restrictions threaten a tentative Saudi contract for up to 50 of Lockheed Martin’s F-35 fifth-generation stealth fighters, as well as earlier Saudi efforts to procure over a dozen U.S. armed drones. Read Here […]
When President Donald Trump finally followed through on his threats and withdrew the U.S. from the Iran nuclear deal in 2018, it looked like he was after something far more ambitious. Shortly after the announcement, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo outlined 12 conditions for the U.S. to lift the sanctions At the Group of Seven summit in France, […]
The news this week that the U.S. government blacklisted China’s telecommunications giant Huawei from its suppliers was received rather viscerally. It’s “the most insane decision,” the CEO of Huawei’s chipmaking subsidiary HiSilicon said in a memo that went viral on Chinese social media. In its own response, Huawei couldn’t help but scornfully add the words “so-called,” a familiar […]
Exactly one year after the Trump administration pulled out of the Iran nuclear deal, tensions between Washington and Tehran are escalating sharply amid confusion about what, exactly, the U.S. sees as its end goal. For Iran, uncertainty about what President Donald Trump wants to achieve and what he is prepared to do to get there […]
looking beyond borders 