Opinion
KSE: the G7’s $50bn ERA loans to provide Ukraine with stable financing for next few years
The G7’s Extraordinary Revenue Acceleration Loans for Ukraine mechanism is designed to provide Ukraine with an additional $50bn in financial assistance over 2024-27, and will provide a stable source of funding over the next few years.
ING: EU considering Russian aluminium ban in new sanctions push
The European Union is reportedly considering more import restrictions on Russian aluminium as part of a new package of sanctions targeting Moscow for its invasion of Ukraine. But any impact is likely to be limited.
PANNIER: Taliban’s relations with Central Asia imperilled as Trump turns off aid taps
Afghanistan pays for electricity and food imports with US development assistance. No more?
COMMENT: Is Latin America prepared for Trump 2.0?
Donald Trump’s return to the White House, heralded by his inaugural address and subsequent executive orders, has sent shockwaves across the world and Latin America, particularly in Mexico and Panama.
COMMENT: Why is Ukraine struggling to mobilise its citizens to fight?
Ukraine’s mobilisation efforts to replenish its manpower are failing and increasingly threatening Kyiv’s ability to defend itself against the Russian aggression, leading Russian analysts Peter Korotaev and Volodymyr Ishchenko say.
RIDDLE: Sanctions and the Eurasian Economic Union
The first months of 2025 are likely to mark a turning point in the history of sanctions against Russia: after three years of "escalating" but steadily reducing the tempo of sanctions policy. Are sanctions working?
Are Georgia and Serbia heading for coloured revolutions?
As protests swell in Georgia and Serbia, the critical question is whether demonstrators will force change or prove ineffective against their deeply entrenched ruling elites.
URUS-ClearPic: Across Eurasia, China is leveraging supply risk successfully – so could others
In late 2001, when much of the world – especially the US and the West – was preoccupied by 9/11 and the resulting military campaigns, China acceded to the World Trade Organisation. This marked a shift in its global trade and China’s playbook.
COMMENT: Europe needs to start the fightback against Trump now
The European centre-right is facilitating the populist attack on liberal democracy.
COMMENT: Trump demands Europe import more US LNG, as the EU proposes banning Russian LNG completely. Neither will happen.
US President Donald Trump wants Europe to buy more US gas or face tariffs, and ten EU member states have again called for an end to all Russian imports. Neither of these things are going to happen. Europe remains hooked on Russian gas.
COMMENT: Trump's cryptocurrency venture sparks debate as memecoin risk data emerges
Donald Trump’s rapid leap into cryptocurrency, widely referred to as “Trump Coin,” has triggered a wave of global attention a day into his presidency.
COMMENT: A call for stability and inclusion as Syria grapples with an extremist government challenge
The recent dramatic change in regime in Syria, particularly the consolidation of power by figures such as Abu Mohammad al-Jolani, raises important questions about the future of governance in the region.
Analysts expect ‘perfect storm’ of political risks in 2025
Global political risk is set to intensify in 2025 with international trade becoming a geopolitical battleground after Trump’s return to office, said Verisk Maplecroft analysts.
COMMENT: No, Russia is not facing a banking crisis
No, Russia is not on the cusp of a banking credit crisis. That was the conclusion of a paper by Alexandra Prokopenko, a political economy analyst.
COMMENT: With Trump back in the White House, Europe may need to turn to Turkey to strengthen its security
Analyst suggests EU cannot hope to deter Russia effectively without closer cooperation with Ankara.
COMMENT: Armenia makes a strategic turn from Russia towards the West
Moscow realises it is losing Armenia, which has been considered its main ally in the South Caucasus for decades.
COMMENT: Gulf states court Russia but stop short of strategic shift
The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states are increasingly backing Russia in its geopolitical and economic standoff with the West, but they have stopped short of fully embracing Russia.
MACRO ADVISORY: Sanctions SITREP — only seven more sleeps
We are going to bed seven more times until the second Trump era begins. What's on the agenda?
MACRO ADVISORY: Interpreting Dostoyevsky for Gen-Z and Z Politicians
One of the most surprising legacies of last year is the revival of interest in, and discussion about, Fyodor Dostoyevsky (1921-1881), both outside and inside Russia. Quoting Dostoyevsky has become very fashionable in Russian political debates.
PANNIER: Tajikistan, Taliban tone down the hostile rhetoric
Grudging acceptance that relations need to improve seen in Dushanbe and Kabul.