Vietnam Became Major Buyer of Russian Arms in 2011Feb 16, 2012 (Vietnamica) — Russia has seen Vietnam as an increasingly important buyer of its arms in 2011, following Russian newspaper Vedomosti’s report.
February 13, 2012 (Vietnamica) — Coverage of Vladimir Putin’s impending return to the Presidency of Russia on March 4th has so far focused almost exclusively on the menace posed to Russia’s teetering democracy. Conspicuously, little analysis has been offered regarding the impact Putin’s eminent reprisal of the Kremlin’s top job is having on Russia’s foreign policy – particularly when it comes to how political events are playing out in Syria and the Middle East.
February 10, 2012 (Vietnamica) — China and Russia have been selling weapons to the Sudanese government that have been used against civilians in Darfur (Reuters), in breach of a UN embargo, Amnesty International said in a new report.
February 7, 2012 (Vietnamica) — Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov arrived in Damascus today for talks with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, while Assad’s regime continued a violent assault against anti-government protesters and opposition forces in Homs (National). The United States closed its Syrian embassy on Monday.
January 17, 2012 (By George Friedman, Stratfor; Repub. by Vietnamica) — The United States reportedly sent a letter to Iran via multiple intermediaries last week warning Tehran that any attempt to close the Strait of Hormuz constituted a red line for Washington. The same week, a chemist associated with Iran’s nuclear program was killed in Tehran. In Ankara, Iranian parliamentary speaker Ali Larijani met with Turkish officials and has been floating hints of flexibility in negotiations over Iran’s nuclear program.
January 12, 2012 (Vietnamica) –There are periods when the international system undergoes radical shifts in a short time. The last such period was 1989-1991. During that time, the Soviet empire collapsed. The Japanese economic miracle ended. The Maastricht Treaty creating contemporary Europe was signed. Tiananmen Square defined China as a market economy dominated by an unchallenged Communist Party, and so on. Fundamental components of the international system shifted radically, changing the rules for the next 20 years.
