Russia & CISNews
Armenia and Azerbaijan return to border demarcation talks
Negotiators are meeting again on the most technical, and most sensitive, part of a peace settlement.
Geopolitics
GeopoliticsNews
Taiwan Strait drills: what Beijing is signalling
The largest exercise in two years tests both deterrence and diplomacy.
Middle EastNews
Donors meet in Cairo to discuss reconstruction financing
Delegations are discussing how pledges would be managed and monitored.
EuropeAnalysis
EU leaders weigh a staged path to membership for Ukraine and Moldova
A proposal circulating before the December summit would open parts of the single market to candidates long before full accession. Supporters call it realism; critics call it a waiting room.
EuropeOpinion
Europe’s enlargement debate needs a timetable, not another summit
Candidate countries have been told for two decades that their future lies in the EU. What they need now is a sequence of dates and conditions that both sides can be held to.
EuropeExplainer
Why the Western Balkans keep losing patience with Brussels
Two decades after the promise of membership, voters in the region increasingly doubt it will be kept. Here is how the process stalled.
Russia & CISAnalysis
Central Asia’s balancing act between Moscow, Beijing and Brussels
The region’s governments are collecting partners rather than choosing between them.
EuropeNews
Poland’s presidential vetoes test the government’s reform agenda
Ministers are looking for ways to pass judicial and media changes without the president’s signature.
Latin AmericaAnalysis
Brazil wants to be the broker between BRICS and the West
Brasília is betting that non-alignment gives it leverage on trade, climate and reform of global institutions.
GeopoliticsOpinion
Middle powers are writing the rules now
From payment systems to shipping lanes, the most consequential arrangements are being made without the great powers in the room.
Russia & CISAnalysis
Georgia’s EU path stalls as the government hardens its stance
Brussels and Tbilisi are now talking past each other. What would it take to restart the process?
EuropeExplainer
What qualified majority voting would change in EU foreign policy
Ending unanimity on sanctions and statements is popular in Berlin and Paris. Smaller states see a loss of leverage.