The constructive oped in today’s New York Times by three experienced analysts, Oded Eran, Giora Eiland and Emily Landau, concludes that the key to a tougher Security Council Resolution is Russia and that this provides an opening for Barack Obama to offer Moscow a grand bargain: the US to suspend or even cancel its Eastern [...]

The Presidency conclusions of the Brussels, 11-12 December meeting states that Ireland would hold a second referendum before the end of the present Commission’s mandate provided that, first the Commission shall continue to include one national of each Member State, and second, the necessary legal guarantees will be given on three points. • Nothing in [...]

My post of 5 November sought to identify influences behind Barack Obama’s thinking, particularly in foreign policy. The main conclusions were: George Marshall for his inspiration for the renewal of the global order Rheinhold Niebuhr, the American theologian I have just carried out a similar exercise for Hillary Clinton, only to discover that she too [...]

The prospects of a lasting two-state solution are rapidly fading.  Both sides have divided and weak leadership.  Neither side seems to believe any longer in the attainment of a fair, stable peace.    The Israeli elections take place on 10 February: its likely results will not be peace-encouraging. Barack Obama takes office on 20 January, [...]

The initiative ‘Global Zero’, launched in Paris on 9 December, has received insufficient publicity.  More than 100 international leaders are supporting a campaign to eliminate nuclear weapons.  Not surprisingly, a new worldwide poll shows overwhelming support for getting to zero nuclear weapon.Although the signatories are mainly former leaders, all current major leaders seem to support this [...]

The atmosphere in this week’s annual Central Economic Work Conference, held in Beijing, was the reverse of last year, when Premier Wen Jiabao succeeded against opposition in adhering to tightening credit.  This year, Wen Jiabao and his colleagues have decided to invest an additional 4 trillion yuan before 2010.  This decision has not been universally [...]

My recent blog was headed, somewhat melodramatically:”Will the Dalai Lama wreck the Sino-European relationship?” Two happenings have increased my concern.First, Beijing is clearly not ready to begin to normalise relations with France.  On the contrary, China has again strongly protested to France over President Sarkozy’s meeting with the Dalai Lama in Gdansk. Sarkozy responded that [...]

China’s policies in the face of the global financial and economic crisis are vitally important both to China itself and to the rest of the world.  Identifying and understanding these policies is difficult, both because of the lack of transparency of the decision-making process and the absence of frank, open discussions with other leading countries.  [...]

I’ve posted blogs recently on “The shadow of the Dalai Lama” (25 November) and “Lyon EU-PRC summit off: what happened to proportionality? (26 November). Beijing has made it clear that this “postponement” of the summit does not affect the ongoing meetings and discussions at all levels between China and the EU.  Beijing is ‘punishing’ Sarkozy and [...]