Russia & Caucasus

The Biden administration is returning to the position of the last Democratic president, Barack Obama, who called for a "world without nuclear weapons."
Ukraine war

Biden administration to scrap nuclear cruise missile program

Officials determined new weapon not needed to maintain nuclear deterrence

4 April 2022
U.S. President Joe Biden, second from left, speaks with, left to right, Japan's Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Germany's Chancellor Olaf Scholz in Brussels on March 24.
Comment

New cold wars emanating from Russia, China put Asia on edge

Moscow's invasion of Ukraine upends region's security landscape

3 April 2022
A Russian Sukhoi Su-35S jet fighter. U.S. technology sanctions are designed to deny access to technology that has military applications.
Interview

U.S. expects more to join Russia tech sanctions: commerce official

Further export controls could be imposed on Chinese companies, Thea Kendler says

3 April 2022
An LNG plant of the Sakhalin-2 project: the responses of Mitsubishi and Mitsui were meek and muted in a shy Japanese way.
Opinion

Japan is right to defer Russia sanctions to the government

Kishida takes official responsibility for remaining in Russian energy projects

2 April 2022
Chinese President Xi Jinping and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen take part in the virtual China-EU summit on Friday. 
Ukraine war

EU warns China against 'interfering with Russian sanctions'

Xi calls on Brussels to adopt independent policy toward Beijing

2 April 2022
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan speaks during a February visit to Kyiv. Erdogan has sought to play a mediating role since Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
Ukraine war

Erdogan pushes for Putin-Zelenskyy summit in Turkey

Progress seen in talks but no signs of Russian leader willing to meet

2 April 2022
Indian Minister of External Affairs Subrahmanyam Jaishankar and his Russian counterpart, Sergey Lavrov, ahead of their meeting in New Delhi on April 1.
International relations

Russia's Lavrov lauds India for not taking sides on Ukraine

Visiting New Delhi, Kremlin's top diplomat sees 'progress' in talks with Kyiv

1 April 2022
Vladimir Putin holds talks with Xi Jinping via video link at his residence outside Moscow in December 2021: if you listen to Putin's rhetoric on Ukraine, it could have been co-authored in Beijing.
Opinion

Ukraine focus does not mean the U.S. is ignoring China

Putin's war in Eastern Europe is not a 'distraction'

1 April 2022
Japan says it is prioritizing energy security in declaring it will not withdraw from three Russian energy projects, including this one off the coast of Sakhalin, north of Hokkaido.
Ukraine war

Japan will maintain Russia oil and gas projects: economy minister

Koichi Hagiuda cites energy security as reason to stay in Sakhalin and Arctic

1 April 2022
Japan will not give up its stake in the Sakhalin-2 liquefied natural gas project in Russia as it is essential to energy security.
Ukraine war

Japan will not abandon Sakhalin-2 LNG stake, Kishida says

PM calls project essential to energy security despite Russia's invasion of Ukraine

31 March 2022
Former Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk says the demilitarization of Ukraine would be "completely unacceptable," as it would let his "naked" country "easily be grabbed by Russia."
Interview

Japan must impose embargo on Russian oil and gas: Ukraine ex-PM

Arseniy Yatsenyuk says Moscow's aim in cease-fire talks is 'just to buy time'

31 March 2022
A portrait of Vladimir Putin and the letter Z, a symbol of the Russian military, displayed in the window of a children's library in St. Petersburg on Mar. 11: Western leaders' calls for the removal of the Russian president will serve to further unite people.
Opinion

Russians will continue to back Vladimir Putin

People are yet to link economic downturn with events in Ukraine

31 March 2022
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, left, and Nepalese counterpart Narayan Khadka, right, met in Kathmandu on Saturday.
International relations

China launches diplomatic blitz with Russia ties in balance

Beijing wary of pariah status as Moscow grows more isolated

31 March 2022
An analysis of Russian President Vladimir Putin's speech on the anniversary of the annexation of Crimea indicated lower stress levels but an inward-looking mindset. (Source photo by Getty Images)
Ukraine war

Is Putin cracking? Voice analysis belies steely exterior

Russian leader's initial optimism of conflict gave way to high stress, audio indicates

31 March 2022
A Great Wall electric vehicle is displayed at the Bangkok International Motor Show on March 22: The Chinese carmaker plans to keep operating in Russia, where it has its only overseas plant.
Automobiles

China's Great Wall Motor staying in Russia 'for time being'

CNOOC says it's 'too early' to consider stepping in where Western peers leave

30 March 2022
Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev delivers a speech during a festival in Almaty on March 21.
Politics

Kazakhstan reforms meet skepticism in shadow of Russia's war

Amid 'cosmetic' changes, critics say Tokayev missing chance to break Kremlin's grip

30 March 2022
The Taliban's U-turn last week on allowing girls to attend public high schools has sparked international condemnation.
Afghanistan turmoil

China, U.S., Russia and Pakistan to hold talks on Afghanistan

Gathering comes after Taliban makes U-turn on girls attending schools

30 March 2022
Russian President Vladimir Putin, left, presents a medal to Valery Gergiev in 2016. The two are known to be friends.
Politics

Sudden disharmony: Pro-Putin maestros get the boot in Europe

Ukraine invasion poses moral dilemma for Russian musicians abroad

29 March 2022
Nayara Energy owns India's second-largest single-location refinery, as well as a power generation business, all-weather port and 6,500 retail outlets.
Ukraine war

Russian-owned Indian refinery faces funding squeeze

Nayara Energy debt rating under review as sanctions hit major shareholder Rosneft

29 March 2022
Vladimir Putin in Moscow on Mar. 18: he looks and sounds increasingly like the pitiless Kremlin dictator. (Handout photo from Kremlin Press Office)
Opinion

Vladimir Putin turns to the Stalin playbook

The Great Terror continues to haunt Russia

29 March 2022
Country risks in Russia have come into focus for Japanese banks with the sanctions imposed in response to Moscow's invasion of Ukraine.
Finance

Japan's top banks face hefty losses on $8bn Russia exposure

Rising country risk requires reserves despite uninterrupted loan repayments

29 March 2022
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, left, and Indian foreign minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar meet before a Quad gathering in Australia during February.
International relations

U.S. to hold '2-plus-2' talks with India, targeting Russia ties

Exclusive: New Delhi seeks sanctions waiver for arms deal with Moscow

29 March 2022
Russia plays a critical role in the International Space Station. (Photo courtesy of JAXA/NASA)
Science

Russia grows isolated in scientific community after Ukraine invasion

International Space Station and vaccine research face potential blow from severed ties

29 March 2022
A logo for a fast-food restaurant "Uncle Vanya" from a Russian patent filing, left; A closed McDonald's restaurant in the Moscow region. (McDonald's photo by Reuters)
Business trends

From McDonald's to IKEA, Western brands' Russia exit breeds copycats

Threat to seize assets hangs over companies' decision to distance themselves

29 March 2022
Sinopec is involved in two major projects in Russia, a production joint venture with Rosneft and development of a chemical and processing complex with Sibur. 
Ukraine war

China's Sinopec to keep buying Russian oil and gas, exec says

President calls purchases 'normal trading cooperation'

28 March 2022