Russia - Diplomacy & Politics

Putin Won the War. Xi Won Putin.

Putin went to war for Russian sovereignty. He flew to Beijing this week hoping Xi will finalise a gas pipeline replacing the European market Russia destroyed. The act of independence produced the most comprehensive dependency in Russian history.

By Sunny Peter

/ 21 May 2026

Lost in the Bargain

Ukraine’s war did not end with a peace agreement. It ended with an American pivot. Washington’s absorption in the Iran conflict left Kyiv without the political attention its position requires. Ukraine was not abandoned in a moment of decision — it was quietly deprioritised in a different crisis.

By Sunny Peter

/ 17 Apr 2026

The New Scramble for Syria: Turkey, Iran, Russia, and the Gulf States Jockey for Power in Post-Assad Syria

Assad is gone. The scramble has begun. Turkey wants buffer zones. Iran wants its corridor. Russia wants its bases. The Gulf states want influence without commitment. Every outside power has a stake and an agenda. The Syrians are, once again, the last consideration.

By Sunny Peter

/ 8 Nov 2025

The New Scramble for Syria: Turkey, Iran, Russia, and the Gulf States Jockey for Power in Post-Assad Syria

Putin Cancels Russia-Arab Summit as Middle East Influence Wanes

Vladimir Putin cancelled the Russia-Arab summit without explanation. The cancellation is itself the explanation. Russia is overextended, its credibility in the Middle East strained by the Iran conflict, and the Arab states it once courted are recalibrating toward Washington and Beijing.

By Sunny Peter

/ 15 Oct 2025

Putin Cancels Russia-Arab Summit as Middle East Influence Wanes

Russia's Shrinking Sphere: Moldova's Pro-Western Victory Signals Shift

Moldova's pro-European presidential result is significant. Russia spent years cultivating influence in Chisinau through energy dependency, propaganda and political financing. The vote suggests that model has limits. The post-Soviet sphere is not as durable as Moscow assumed.

By Sunny Peter

/ 2 Oct 2025

Russia's Shrinking Sphere: Moldova's Pro-Western Victory Signals Shift

New Cold War in the Arctic: Military Buildup, Territorial Claims, and the Fight for the North

Russia has been militarising the Arctic for a decade. China has declared itself a near-Arctic state. NATO is scrambling to respond. The far north — once a strategic afterthought — is the next contested frontier of great power competition. The ice is melting. The tensions are not.

By Sunny Peter

/ 30 Sep 2025

New Cold War in the Arctic: Military Buildup, Territorial Claims, and the Fight for the North

The Moldova Playbook: How Russia's "Occupation" Accusations Mirror Its Prewar Strategy

Before Ukraine, Russia called it peacekeeping. Before Georgia, it cited minority protection. Now the same language is being applied to Moldova. The playbook is not new — the occupation accusation precedes the intervention. Moldova is being prepared, not merely threatened.

By Sunny Peter

/ 23 Sep 2025

The Moldova Playbook: How Russia's "Occupation" Accusations Mirror Its Prewar Strategy

China's Massive Military Parade Unites Xi, Putin, and Kim Jong Un in Historic Display of Anti-Western Alliance

Xi Jinping flanked by Vladimir Putin and Kim Jong Un sent a message requiring no translation. Three authoritarian leaders, three nuclear states, one parade. The image is not merely symbolic — it reflects a convergence that Western strategic planning cannot afford to dismiss.

By Sunny Peter

/ 3 Sep 2025

China's Massive Military Parade Unites Xi, Putin, and Kim Jong Un in Historic Display of Anti-Western Alliance

Return of Great Power Competition: How the U.S., China, and Russia Are Reshaping the World Order

The post-Cold War fantasy of a rules-based order upheld by cooperative great powers is finished. The United States, China and Russia are competing across every domain — military, economic, technological, ideological. The contest will define the century.

By Sunny Peter

/ 19 Aug 2025

Return of Great Power Competition: How the U.S., China, and Russia Are Reshaping the World Order