Etiket arşivi: Ukraine war

The Munich Security Conference

February 18, 2026

The 62nd  Munich Security Conference took place from February 13 to 15, 2026. With the war in Ukraine and strains in transatlantic relations, the conference attracted global attention. Starting with Chancellor Merz, as the leader of the host country, many other European leaders, Secretary of State Rubio, and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi addressed the meeting. All Western participants who delivered remarks agreed that the so-called “international rules-based order” has ceased to exist. They also agreed that if there had been a unipolar moment following the collapse of the USSR, with the rise of China, that too was over.

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The Myth of the Rules-Based Order

February 9, 2026

Only a few years ago, the “rules-based international order” was the northern star of American foreign policy, a recurrent theme in policy statements by senior officials of the Biden administration.

In an interview with  Andrea Mitchell of MSNBC on May 6, 2021, Secretary of State Blinken said, “… we are determined to uphold the so-called rules-based international order that we’ve invested so much in over so many decades and that has been good for us and good for the world, and I think even good for China.”[i] (emphasis added)

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Ukraine’s Options Narrowing Down

December 22, 2025

Last Friday, European Union leaders, after having failed to reach a consensus on using frozen Russian assets, decided to provide Ukraine with a 90-billion-euro loan over the next two years.

“We committed, we delivered,” said European Council President António Costa. “At the same time, we gave a mandate to the Commission to continue working on the Reparation Loan based on Russian immobilized assets. On top of that, we have agreed to roll over our sanctions against Russia.”

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2025: A Year of Disappointments                

December 15, 2025

In two weeks, the year 2025 will be behind us. The end of a year is a moment of reflection on the achievements, disappointments, and failures of the past twelve months and whether different paths could have been taken. In international relations, those who choose between “new chapters” and “the same old story” are world leaders, primarily among them the leaders of major powers. And “new chapters” are not easy to start writing.

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The Contradiction Between Trump’s Policies in Ukraine and Gaza

August 25, 2025

In an article published in The New York Times on March 13, 2014, John J. Mearsheimer, a professor of political science at the University of Chicago, explained the background of the Ukraine conflict as follows:

“…The taproot of the current crisis is NATO expansion and Washington’s commitment to move Ukraine out of Moscow’s orbit and integrate it into the West. The Russians have intensely disliked but tolerated substantial NATO expansion, including the accession of Poland and the Baltic countries. But when NATO announced in 2008 that Georgia and Ukraine “will become members of NATO,” Russia drew a line in the sand. Georgia and Ukraine are not just states in Russia’s neighborhood; they are on its doorstep. Indeed, Russia’s forceful response in its August 2008 war with Georgia was driven in large part by Moscow’s desire to prevent Georgia from joining NATO and integrating into the West…”[i]

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President Trump’s Secondary Tariffs

August 11, 2025

As the relationship between China and the US started to sour after the Nixon-Kissinger years, Washington paid more attention to expanding its cooperation with India as a counterbalance to China. Many visits were exchanged at the highest levels.[i]

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President Trump’s New Deadline for Peace in Ukraine

August 4, 2025

Last week, President Trump said that Russia could be so wealthy, but Moscow spends everything on war, which makes no sense. He also said he decided to reduce the 50-day deadline he had given Russia to end the Ukraine conflict to 10 to 12 days, or face new, punishing sanctions.

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The Onerous Task of Bringing Peace to Ukraine

February 24, 2025

Today marks the third anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The war continues but the diplomatic picture has changed dramatically. President Trump’s first month in office was frenetic, to say the least, and led to the fracturing of the US-Europe relationship as NATO and the EU were sidelined. The background to the conflict, and differing views on whether history could have been differently aside, Mr. Trump’s reversal of Washington’s policy has shocked allies. If his words were to be matched with action in the months ahead this would have lasting consequences for trust in the Trump White House, US foreign and security policy, relations with NATO allies, and relations with allies/partners in the Indo-Pacific.

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President Trump’s Diplomatic Agenda Unfolding

February 10, 2025

At a CNN town hall in May 2023, Mr. Trump said: “They’re dying, Russians and Ukrainians. I want them to stop dying. And I’ll have that done — I’ll have that done in 24 hours.” He said that would happen after he met with Ukrainian President Zelensky and President Putin. And he kept repeating the claim on the campaign trail.

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President Biden’s Foreign and Security Policy

January 16, 2025

Last Monday, at the US State Department, Mr. Biden delivered his last foreign and security policy speech as president.[i] His remarks were only words of praise for the achievements of his four years at the White House.  The following from his speech reflects his broad assessment: “Compared to four years ago, America is stronger, our alliances are stronger, our adversaries and competitors are weaker, and we have not gone to war to make these things happen…  During my presidency, I’ve increased America’s power in every dimension… And now, America is more capable and, I would argue, better prepared than we’ve been in a long, long time.” 

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