The Kremlin's economic indicators are causing unease, while smaller states in Russia's sphere of influence are eyeing opportunities to reduce their reliance on Moscow. What will the year ahead bring?
Sudan's army needs a Russian lifeline to avoid collapse in the ongoing civil war. The price is a naval facility in Port Sudan, giving Moscow access to the Red Sea.
In Part 1 of a two-part interview with Al Majalla, Syria's foreign minister explains how the Assad regime fell and how President Ahmed al-Sharaa went from a wanted man to a world leader
The Assads bound Syria to regional power plays far beyond its means. As the country embarks on a new path, hollow rhetoric must be replaced with a vision grounded in freedom, equality, and sovereignty
Moscow has its work cut out in Ukraine, where the ongoing war is a drain on resources. This means that the lofty regional ambitions it set out in 2023 have had to be recalibrated.
The Russian president says the next step is shaping a new construct—sovereignty as a service, as a resource, as an exportable value—which can already be seen in Africa
In Moscow, Syria's new president said he wants to restore and redefine relations with Russia—a former foe. But is this a genuine olive branch or a message to Washington?
The resounding success of Moldova's ruling pro-EU party in parliamentary elections ruffles feathers in Moscow, which remains wary of former Soviet states getting pulled into the West's orbit
Khamenei has struck a defiant tone amid growing protests against his regime, but a series of regional setbacks, coupled with an emboldened Trump, could finally bring it down
Overcoming Yemen's fragmentation requires more support for the Riyadh-led path—one that rejects secession, all militias and institutionalises the state
If fighting spreads beyond the predominantly Kurdish neighbourhoods of Ashrafieh and Sheikh Maqsoud and beyond Aleppo, there is a real risk that Syria could be dragged into a new civil war
Recently declassified meeting minutes between the two leaders show how Washington was well aware of Moscow's grievances over NATO expansion, but went ahead anyway