On April 15, 2024, the President of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev paid an official visit to Armenia. These two states are partners in a number of international organizations – the CSTO (despite turbulence related to the attitude of the Armenian leadership to this organization), the EAEU, the CIS, and the OSCE. Bilateral trade is developing dynamically: trade turnover between Kazakhstan and Armenia increased by 23% from $43.1 million to $53.1 million at the end of 2023 compared to the beginning of the year…

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…

The topic of Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s state visit to the U.S., which took place from April 8 to April 14 and was earlier described in the NEO, deserves another discussion. This is in order to dwell in more detail on one of the centerpieces of this unprecedentedly long trip, which was the guest’s speech at a joint session of both houses of Congress…

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…

On March 26, 2024, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Kazakhstan Murat Nurtleu held negotiations with the US Secretary of State Antony Blinken in Washington. The two chief diplomats discussed a wide range of processes in bilateral relations and exchanged views on the partnership between both countries in a number of sectors and areas. Washington’s special attention to Kazakhstan is no longer a novelty – Kazakhstan is the only country in Central Asia…

One year ago, after ROK President Yoon Suk-yeol radically changed his focus and outlined a policy shift embracing Japanese partnership during a speech commemorating the 104th anniversary of the March First Independence Movement against Japanese colonial rule, this author began waiting to see how this important anniversary would play out this year. His premonitions did not fail him!

From 15 to 17 April, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz led a delegation of three ministers and business representatives on a working visit to China. Since taking office as head of the German government in December 2021, this is his second visit to the leading power of the Asian continent, where the focus of all global processes is constantly shifting. This is a continuation of the tradition of regular contacts with the Chinese leadership established under his predecessor, Angela Merkel. Incidentally, of all Western politicians, she has always received the most praise in China…

I dare to assert here that the Russian Federation is indeed a major player on the world stage. Ignoring it or underestimating it in making decisions concerning the course of the world is a very serious error in geopolitical and geostrategic calculation. That is to say, a dangerous game that only the Western minority is playing to place humanity on the edge of the precipice…

Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov recently told reporters that “No matter what else occurs regarding Ukraine, United States business and leadership put money in their pockets. While TASS news agency is not considered prime news for Westerners, it should be. It turns out the American leadership and militarists have no qualms about admitting the profitability of war in Ukraine.” Let’s run with a quote from Mr. Peskov via TASS…

Turkey demonstrating an active foreign policy aimed at raising its status from a regional state to a major power and leader of the Turkic world. Its diplomacy synthesizes several complementary doctrines: “neo-Ottomanism,” “neopanturanism,” “Turkish Eurasianism,” and “Turkish axis.” Ankara realizes that NATO membership guarantees its strategic safety against external threats from key anti-Western countries. At the same time, the Turkish political elite realizes that the West is particularly reluctant to see Turkey as a member of the European Union and will stretch the time of European integration. Ankara prefers, forcedly or by choice…

International outrage continues to grow after the United States unilaterally blocked a widely supported UN Security Council resolution that would have admitted the state of Palestine as a full member of the United Nations. The US was the only country to veto the resolution, while even its staunch allies Britain and Switzerland abstained and 12 of the 15 Security Council members voted in favour…