What is the SCO? The Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) has, to the surprise of many, emerged as a force to be reckoned with in Central Asia. The ‘Shanghai Five’, founded in 1996, became the SCO in 2001.  Its members are China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan.  India, Iran, Mongolia and Pakistan are Observers.  Belarus [...]

Three days ago, 39 commuters were killed by two female suicide bombers in the Moscow metro system.  Hillary Clinton, the US Secretary of State, told Canadian network CTV, “Whether you are in a Moscow subway or a London subway or a train in Madrid or an office building in New York, we face the same [...]

US Undersecretary of State, William Burns, said in April of the US and Russia that “more unites us than divides us”.  The same can be said of the US and China, and of Russia and China.  The way these three powers behave towards each other in the next decade will shape the future of the [...]

The causes of World War II are complex but certain facts are clear.  In 1939, the Ribbentrop-Molotov pact included a secret protocol dividing Northern and Eastern Europe into German and Soviet spheres of influence. Germany and the Soviet Union then invaded their respective sides of Poland, dividing the country between them. But contrast what Angela [...]

The columnist, Gwynne Dyer, has drawn my attention to an article, written by Colonel Sergei Kovalev, Director of the scientific research department at the Institute of Military History.  It is entitled  “Fictions and Falsifications in Evaluating the USSR’s Role On the Eve of the Second World War.”      Kovalev asserts that the Poles, not [...]

The following interview in Chinese has appeared on over 250 Chinese websites. It is accurate except on the theme of the heading.  You will see that I say that US policy substance has not necessarily changed.    EU scholar says U.S. “policy substance” toward Europe remains unchanged   by Xinhua writers Wu Liming, Ban Wei [...]

The first meeting (on 1 April in London) between Presidents Barack Obama and Dmitry Medvedev went very well.  Barack Obama and Dmitry Medvedev have pledged to agree cuts in their countries’ nuclear arsenals by December of this year, as part of a “fresh start” in US-Russian relations and a step towards “a nuclear free world”.  Obama [...]

During his recent visit to Europe, President Barack Obama firmly stated on more than one occasion his support for the US missile defence shield.  Previously, the impression given was that it would not be built.  Why did he express himself so positively, while seeking to improve relations with Russia?    There is more than one [...]

This week’s meeting in London between Presidents Barack Obama and Dmitry Medvedev was very welcome.  They are to seek to agree a new arms control treaty this year.  Obama has ‘pressed the reset button’, as promised.  The atmosphere of the meeting was good.  With Barack Obama replacing George W Bush, hopefully western understanding of Russian [...]