Why Putin may not be planning invasion Ukraine fears © Getty Images Russia s troop movements looked like grandstanding and many in Moscow doubt President Putin intended a major escalation
The build-up has been impossible to ignore: thousands of Russian troops deployed towards Ukraine; US warships reportedly heading for the Black Sea and Russia s foreign ministry warning them off for their own good .
As the hostile rhetoric and military moves around Ukraine have intensified, Western politicians have begun fearing an open invasion and urging Russia s Vladimir Putin to de-escalate .
Russia has refused: the defence ministry this week insisted its moves were in response to threatening Nato exercises in Europe.
Why Russia may not be planning invasion Ukraine fears
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The Kremlin s calculations have changed Russia is building up troops near the border with Ukraine We asked experts if full-scale war is inevitable — Meduza
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Pawn And Proxy: Cold Truths Behind The Iran-Russia Alliance In Deir ez-Zor, Syria, a flashpoint of Iran-Russia relations - Sebastian Backhaus/NurPhoto/ZUMA
As close as the two countries may appear, for Russia, Iran is simply a pawn in its chess game with the West.
-Analysis-
The Islamic Republic s relationship with Russia is one of love and hate, or a mixture of collaboration and rivalry. And Moscow unquestionably has the upper hand. Tehran may be wooed at times as a potential partner, but it is in reality simply Russia s plaything.
Iran s relations with Russia are strategic and must be viewed through the Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei s look east vision. There is eagerness but it is one-sided, as confirmed by Khamenei s recent letter to Putin, who has yet to respond and refused even to receive Khamenei s emissary.
The failure of the last round of United Nations-led talks between the Syrian regime and the opposition in Geneva last month has left diplomats and analysts pondering how to redirect diplomatic efforts in the face of Damascus’s staunch refusal to engage in any negotiated process.
The inability of the two sides to achieve any meaningful developments in the fifth meeting of the constitutional talks pushed the UN special envoy Geir Pedersen to suspend the negotiations indefinitely.
The Norwegian diplomat implicitly put the blame on representatives of the Syrian government for rejecting any proposal put before them.
After 15 months and five meetings since its inception, the committee has not yet agreed on basic procedural matters and does not have a plan forward. The discussion of substantial constitutional points and the beginning of a drafting process thus cannot commence.