European businesses and third countries are actively circumventing sanctions, providing Russia with sanctioned goods and thus helping its war effort.

• June 5, 2023

As the war enters its 464th day, here’s a look at the main developments.

• June 3, 2023

US says withholding information is retaliatory measure for Moscow’s suspension of New START (Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty).

• June 3, 2023

Procurement could court controversy because export rules ban Japanese companies from selling lethal weaponry overseas.

• June 3, 2023

South Africa’s public stance of neutrality in the Russia-Ukraine war has been at variance with its decades-long relationship with Moscow. Why is that so?

• June 3, 2023

By Eugene KOGAN, Tbilisi-based defence and security expert

Since the inauguration of President Biden in January 2021, the US administration has kept its relationship with Turkey to a bare minimum. For the Biden administration, the issue of human rights in Turkey remains very much on the agenda while for President Erdoğan, the issue seems to be a lower priority for his administration. Such behaviour infuriates not just Biden administration officials but also members of the House and the Senate. This has resulted in the Turkish president not being invited to Washington. Perhaps the two sides can each be blamed for their current relationship; however, Erdoğan is maintaining his course and appears unbothered by the consequences. For his part, Biden is keeping his cool despite a number of divergences in interests of the US and Turkey. READ MORE

• June 3, 2023

By Fuad SHAHBAZOV, Baku-based independent regional security and defence analyst

Azerbaijan has adjusted its foreign policy agenda to target the Balkan region that is more vulnerable to the energy crisis than the states of Central and Western Europe.
Energy has long been the core element of Azerbaijan's pragmatic foreign policy, and recently it gained more impetus as European nations sought additional energy suppliers to replace Russian fossil fuel exports. Although the EU’s leading member countries are able to compensate for energy shortages by using energy reserves, employing alternative energy sources and importing additional gas volumes from alternative suppliers, the less developed Balkan states are struggling to adapt to the energy deficit. Azerbaijan has adjusted its foreign policy agenda to target the Balkan region that is more vulnerable to the energy crisis than the states of Central and Western Europe. READ MORE

• May 26, 2023

Moscow says it will maintain control of the weapons, but Ukraine accuses Russia of taking Minsk ‘hostage’.

• May 25, 2023