Archives Geopolitics - Page 95 of 149 - New Eastern Outlook

The US Congress’ passage of the Ukraine military aid bill – which would see the US spending US$ 60 billion to directly or indirectly arm the Ukrainian military to fight Russia – has apparently provided a lot of relief to the anti-Russia elements, both in the West and elsewhere. For months, political elites in the US negotiated this bill, but it remains uncertain whether or not this funding will ultimately make much difference at all…

On 18 April, the US vetoed a draft resolution prepared by Algeria proposing to grant full UN membership to the state of Palestine, effectively blocking a Security Council decision to recognise Palestine as a state. Twelve of the fifteen Council members – Slovenia, Sierra Leone, South Korea, Mozambique, Malta, Japan, Guyana, Ecuador, Algeria, as well as Russia, China and France – voted in favour of the resolution, while the UK and Switzerland abstained (Palestine has had observer status at the UN since 2012). The US representative, speaking at the meeting, argued that Palestine’s full membership in the UN “is a decision to be negotiated between Israel and the Palestinians”.

Although in its domestic political development Turkey has not yet reached the standards of European democracy, it has made significant progress in terms of the political competition between the leading parties, respect for voters’ civil rights and the transparency of elections. The municipal elections held on March 31, 2024, which resulted in a landslide victory, albeit with a narrow margin, for candidates from the main opposition party, the Republican People’s Party (CHP), can be cited as a good example of how far Turkish democracy has developed…