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Opinion
Opinion: The future of the China-US-Russia triangle after Pelosi's visit to Taiwan

Opinion: The future of the China-US-Russia triangle after Pelosi's visit to Taiwan

Since February 24, 2022, the international community's focus was concentrated entirely on the war in Ukraine and the growing Russia – West confrontation. It seemed that nothing could change the situation until the end of hostilities in Ukraine. However, on August 2 and 3, almost everyone’s attention shifted from Ukraine to Taiwan. As the Speaker of the US House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi, stated her intention to visit Taiwan, up to half a million people were watching the trajectory of her plane on air flight tracking sites. The negative reaction of China, including the warning of President Xi during his conversation with President Biden that those who played with fire would be perished by it, created hype around this visit. Many were discussing the possibility of Chinese military jets closing the airspace over Taiwan and preventing Pelosi’s plane from landing in Taiwan, while some enthusiasts were even contemplating the possibility of a US-China direct military clash. As Pelosi landed in Taiwan and met with the Taiwanese President, the global social media was full of amateur assessments about the strategic victory of the US and the confirmation of the US global hegemony. However, as the dust settles down, and information noise and manipulation eventually decreases, a more serious assessment is needed to understand the real consequences of this visit.
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Analysis
Analysis: Shadows and Sunlight: Armenia and Türkiye Seek Common Ground

Analysis: Shadows and Sunlight: Armenia and Türkiye Seek Common Ground

Pashinyan's official visit to Türkiye on June 20, 2025, marks a strategic shift from symbolic reconciliation to strategic rapprochement. Normalisation, for Yerevan, is not an end in itself but a transformative initiative to put an end to Armenia's geopolitical isolation, to diversify its transit routes, to decrease its reliance on Russia and to get access to Turkish ports, measures that reorient Armenia economically and logistically toward the West. Türkiye, on its part, is seizing the moment to strengthen its role as a regional intermediary. Consequently, by promoting normalisation, Ankara solidifies its impact in the South Caucasus and sends a positive signal to Western partners: the EU and U.S., in particular, about its evolving role in the region's stabilisation.
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Monday Commentary
NATO in The Hague: a summit like no other

NATO in The Hague: a summit like no other

NATO summits are usually orderly affairs, prepared well in advance, and an opportunity for the partners in the military alliance to show unity and resolve. The forthcoming Nato Summit in The Hague, on Tuesday and Wednesday, 24 and 25 June is different. As the BBC put it, there will be 32 leaders from Europe and North America present, but “only one man matters  - NATO's summit is all about Trump”. With three wars on its borders, NATO needed a good summit in The Hague. Whilst managing Mr Trump, the 31 other leaders in The Hague need to think of the future.
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News
The United States attacks Iran

The United States attacks Iran

US president, Donald Trump, has said that the American military has completed strikes on three nuclear sites in Iran, including Fordo, Natanz and Esfahan. "We have completed our very successful attack on the three Nuclear sites in Iran, including Fordow, Natanz, and Esfahan. All planes are now outside of Iran air space," he wrote on Truth Social. Trump added that a "full payload of bombs" were dropped on Fordo and all planes were on their way back to the US. In a national televised address from the White House, Trump warned  Iran it must make peace of future attacks will be "far greater". The UN Secretary-General António Guterres described the United States’ bombing of three nuclear sites in Iran as a “dangerous escalation” on Saturday following eight days of deadly strikes and counter strikes between Tehran and Tel Aviv. “I am gravely alarmed by the use of force by the United States against Iran today,” said the UN chief, reiterating that there is no military solution “This is a dangerous escalation in a region already on the edge – and a direct threat to international peace and security.”
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News
 Pashinyan-Erdogan meeting may be a game-changer in Armenia-Turkish relations

Pashinyan-Erdogan meeting may be a game-changer in Armenia-Turkish relations

Armenian prime minister, Nikol Pashinyan, made a well-prepared and carefully orchestrated visit to Türkiye on Friday evening (20 June), during which he held talks with the Turkish President, Recip Tayip Erdogan. Commonspace.eu political editor in a comment said that Pashinyan‘s visit to Türkiye was well prepared and carefully orchestrated by the two sides. Potentially the visit can be a game-changer in Armenia- Türkiye relations, leading to the restoration of full diplomatic relations and the opening of borders. In both Armenia and Türkiye there is increasing support for these steps.  No major breakthrough was announced after the visit, but none was expected. The day before Pashinyan’s visit, Azerbaijani president Ilham Aliyev also met Erdogan in  Türkiye. Aliyev continues to push Türkiye not to take any steps with Armenia before Armenia and Azerbaijan settle the differences between them. But Türkiye may decide to make a move sooner than the Azerbaijan president wants.