The resumption of any kind of negotiations or diplomatic ties with the Taliban should come with principles and conditions. Such conditions should be no less than those enshrined in the fundamental principle of human rights and dignity and expected in a multi-ethnic and democratic country. Afghanistan cannot afford to settle for anything less than the [...]
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Putin spent more than four hours on Thursday chatting with journalists and constituents about matters ranging from Moscow’s endgame in Ukraine to Putin’s favorite Russian salad. Talk of Russia’s nuanced interpretations of international law featured prominently in the discussion and offered insights into the calculus driving Putin’s continued aggression in Ukraine. Below, we outline key [...]
International Law Expert Sheila Paylan on Nagorno-Karbakh: ‘We Need to Step Up and Stop This'
Last month, the self-declared independent republic of Artsakh (Nagorno Karabakh) lowered its flag, opting to dissolve all state institutions following a months-long blockade by Azerbaijani forces that brought about an acute humanitarian crisis among its predominantly ethnic Armenian population. The republic’s demise was the culmination of decades of tension and periods of conflict between Azerbaijan [...]
Israel's Strategic Doctrine: Nuclear Ambiguity and Iran-Backed Terror
“For by Wise Counsel, Thou Shalt Make Thy War.” Proverbs 24,6 Israel’s nuclear posture remains closely held. On its face, this “ambiguous” stance appears perfectly reasonable. But a critically core question should now be raised: Is unmodified deliberate nuclear ambiguity (the “bomb in the basement”) still in the long-term survival interests of the beleaguered state. [...]
Putin Constitutionalizes Soviet Mistakes Rather Than Learning from Them
Russian President Vladimir Putin offered the international community fresh confirmation of his malevolent intentions earlier this month. This time, it came in the form of a dubious disavowal of Soviet imperialism. Attending the Eastern Economic Forum, an international gathering hosted by Russia to curry global investment, Putin was asked whether Russia had acted as a [...]
Armenian state news agency Armenpress reported Friday that the country’s parliament will consider ratifying the Rome Statute. The Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC) is the treaty that established the ICC. Armenia signed the Rome Statute in October 1999 but has not ratified it. In 2004, Armenia’s Constitutional Court found that the Rome [...]
Russia takes presidency of UN security council amidst Ukraine backlash
Russia on Saturday assumed the presidency of the United Nations Security Council for the month of April 2023. Russia’s commencement of its leadership role of the 15-member council rotation was unaffected by its ongoing invasion of Ukraine. Currently, Vladimir Putin is facing an arrest warrant for war crimes in Hague. However, at the UN, Russia [...]
The recent inflating of U.S.-China tensions has popped the illusion that Washington and Beijing might be able to limit their antagonism to economic competition, as the scuttling of a high-level diplomatic summit in Beijing over the shooting of a Chinese spy balloon recalls the postponement of an Eisenhower-Khrushchev meeting in 1960 following the downing of [...]
A critical attribute of tyranny is its multi-faced character. We are familiar with tyranny with its domestic face, and it is largely understood that this domestic face often turns outward through war and imperialism. That tyranny turns about-face back to the domestic sphere as the laws, policies and practices of external tyranny return to roost [...]
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) of Ukraine Monday issued a statement questioning the legitimacy of Russia’s membership in the UN Security Council (UNSC) and the UN more broadly. According to the MFA, Russia took the seat of permanent membership of the UNSC by bypassing procedures defined in UN Charter. Ukraine noted that Article 23 [...]