Hockey diplomacy: Can Putin and Trump revive a Cold War tradition?

Putting out a provincial newspaper under fire with little paper while your neighbors are dying is not an easy job

Why is Trump being so agreeable to Russia? And why is Putin so eager to end the war through peace dealings, contrary to people’s perception of him wanting to conquer Ukraine?

‘The Kremlin’s Cold War Bid for Global Power.’ The subtitle of Sergey Radchenko’s book makes it sound like an aspirant bestseller from the height of America’s Red Scare. But don’t be misled by the spin or put off by the fact that you may already have a dozen books on the Cold War on your shelves. Both Radchenko’s and Vladislav Zubok’s new books are ones you want to read. They make comprehensible a Russian perspective on a key question of 20th-century history that we generally see only from the American side. A ‘Russian perspective’ is quite different from a pro-Russian bias, which neither book has. It means showing how things look from the other side, and thus avoiding the confusions that arise from misunderstanding.

There is a serious risk that even if the political establishment of Ukraine (Parliament and Government) came to the conclusion that only a surrender could save the country from complete annihilation, the ultra-right wing with its willingness to kill their […]

In current rhetoric about the Ukraine War peace negotiations, a lot’s being reported about Crimea. But it’s worth questioning how much of it is truthful or accurate.

Will Russia go from adversary to business partner?

It doesn’t really pay for a liberal to see through propaganda because you either alienate yourself from all your liberal friends who are wallowing in it, or you sit in crushing silence out of fear of being ostracized.

For the record, it was the U.S., starting with Clinton and continuing through Biden, that provoked the Ukrainian tragedy through NATO eastern expansion, the bloodiest military conflict after WWII that could escalate into nuclear WWIII.

The Trump Admin is sounding very optimistic about an end to the war in Ukraine, with Middle East Envoy Steve Witkoff claiming there’s a “relatively short distance to a full ceasefire” ahead of plans for US-Russia talks in Saudi Arabia on Monday.

The whole damn thing penetrated and perverted the western politics for the last eleven years, counting from 2014 Crimea.

Tuesday, 18 March, is being presented in many quarters as a setback, if not a disaster,, for Donald Trump’s swashbuckling brand of diplomacy. It could be argued that he had made a promising start, reviving the Israel-Hamas ceasefire, persuading President Zelenskiy to sign up to an unconditional ceasefire in Ukraine, and cajoling Russia’s President Putin to do the same.

Edward Lozansky was a Soviet nuclear physicist who during the height of the Cold War became a dissident.

It was only a few weeks ago that Russian President Vladimir V. Putin and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian met to ink the historic Russo-Iranian Treaty on Comprehensive Strategic Partnership. The pact itself was a milestone, so much so that commentators around the world are still widely discussing its implications. Perhaps one of the most striking elements of the treaty is the major focus on Eurasia. Although Western analysts tend to focus on Russo-Iranian cooperation in the Middle East, the treaty indicates that Eurasia is of even more immediate geopolitical significance to both Moscow and Tehran. To historians and long-time observers of Iran and Russia, this is hardly a surprise. The Eurasian region – that is, the Caucasus, Central Asia, and the Caspian Sea – forms an integral part of the common Russo-Iranian neighborhood.

At yesterday’s Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing, Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) questioned Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL), President-elect Trump’s nominee for Secretary of State.

1982 was a banner year for Russian physicist Dr. Edward Lozansky and his wife, Tatiana — they and their daughter, Tania, were finally reunited in December 1982 after a grueling 6-year separation enforced by Soviet leaders. The Lozanskys, who are […]

Ceasefire talks could be a catalyst for advancing cooperation in the Arctic, but the climate crisis should not be forgotten.

The much-heralded Trump-Putin call has not produced a breakthrough in the Ukraine peace process, but it may have advanced it. Russia’s agreement to a 30-day mutual halt to attacks on energy infrastructure is a sign that Putin wishes to negotiate peace (naturally, on terms acceptable to Russia), and is prepared to make a limited but significant concession in order to move the negotiations forward. Trump and Putin have also reportedly agreed on “immediate, technical-level meetings” to start drawing up the details of a comprehensive peace settlement.

This will be short and simple — Donald Trump’s reported threat to expand sanctions on Russia if it does not halt attacks on Ukraine is empty and meaningless. As you will see in the following videos, I am currently in Moscow and participating in some public diplomacy seminars. What I have gleaned as a result of conversations with some well-informed Russian analysts is that the era of the United States being able to bully or coerce Russia is over. Donald Trump now confronts a Russia, with a government, an economy and a military, that does not need a single thing from the United States beyond mutual respect. The Russian people are prepared to live a comfortable, productive life without having to deal with the United States. That is a truth that Donald Trump needs to grasp.

March 3 (Reuters) – The United States is drawing up a plan to potentially give Russia sanctions relief as President Donald Trump seeks to restore ties with Moscow and stop the war in Ukraine, a U.S. official and another person familiar with the matter told Reuters.

DEFEATING THE NEW COLD WARS – Jonathan Power’s weekly column on foreign affairs