December 2021 – Washington Institute For Defence & Security

22 Dec 21

What does President Putin want?

President Putin has made it clear that he wants immediate talks to secure clear legal agreements that Nato will not expand eastwards. He has further alleged that Russian-speaking people in Ukraine continue to face prejudices and are not safe. Moscow is looking to prevent Ukraine joining NATO or the EU, not in the near future, […]

20 Dec 21

UAE Foreign Policy Diversification

The United Arab Emirates ordered 80 Rafale fighter jets and 12 military helicopters last week, deepening economic and political ties with France through an arms contract worth 17 billion euros ($19.20 billion). The arms sale came during a visit by President Emmanuel Macron to Dubai, according to a statement by the Elysee cited by state-run […]

15 Dec 21

4 Key Issues of the New Political Reality in North Macedonia

Regular local elections recently ended in North Macedonia, in which the opposition party VMRO-DPMNE won a major victory over the ruling SDSM, winning over 110,000 more votes than Prime Minister Zoran Zaev’s party. VMRO-DPMNE won not only in most Macedonian municipalities, but also in the capital Skopje, while for the first time Kumanovo was led […]