Politics

Pavel Durov, co-founder of the Telegram messaging app, pictured here in Indonesia in 2017, was detained at a Paris airport on Aug. 25. Authorities say the platform has been used for illegal activities.
A man walks past U.S. and Chinese flags on the day of a meeting between U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and People's Bank of China Gov. Pan Gongsheng in Beijing on April 8.
US-China tensions

China opposes U.S. sanctions on firms over alleged ties to Russia war effort

Latest measures target hundreds of companies in Europe, Asia and Middle East

26 August 2024
Oil pump jacks outside Almetyevsk in the Republic of Tatarstan, Russia, in June 2023. Figures from the Middle East suggest Shanghai Petrochem now sources 10% of its crude from Russia.
Commodities

Shanghai Petrochem reveals more Russia oil buying as Li Qiang visits

Executive stresses 'price' is key; Chinese premier cements economic ties with Putin

22 August 2024
Oleg Deripaska, founder of aluminum giant Rusal, speaks to Nikkei Asia in an interview in Tokyo on Aug. 5. (Photo by Suzu Takahashi)
Interview

Trade with Asia 'lifeline' for sanction-hit Russia, says Oleg Deripaska

Oligarch says exchange with India and China vital as Ukraine war takes toll

8 August 2024
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and Russian President Vladimir Putin ride in a car together in Pyongyang on June 19. (KCNA via Kyodo)
Comment

North Korea faces limits of economic boon from Russia 'alliance'

For Moscow, long-term partnership with Pyongyang may have little upside

3 August 2024
Russian President Vladimir Putin received Prabowo Subianto, Indonesia's defense minister and president-elect, at the Kremlin in Moscow on July 31.  
International relations

Indonesia's Prabowo asks Russia for help to develop nuclear power

Defense high on agenda of president-elect's four-nation Eurasian tour

2 August 2024
Evan Gershkovich, Alsu Kurmasheva and Paul Whelan, who had all been detained in Russia, pose with a U.S. flag in this undated handout photograph obtained Aug. 1. (U.S. government via Reuters)
International relations

WSJ reporter Gershkovich, Russian assassin freed in massive prisoner swap

'This would not have been possible without our allies,' Biden says

2 August 2024
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy believes China can play a much more valuable role pressuring Russia to stop its war in Ukraine than posing as a mediator. 
Ukraine war

Ukraine's Zelenskyy wants China to put more pressure on Russia

President tells French media he wants war stopped by China, not mediated

1 August 2024
Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida will meet in August with leaders from five Central Asian countries in Astana, the capital of Kazakhstan.
International relations

Japan builds ties in Russia's backyard with Central Asia summit

Tokyo to offer support for decarbonization and logistics in resource-rich region

1 August 2024
Maidan Independence Square in Kyiv is covered with flags planted for fallen soldiers. (Photo by Eiji Furukawa) 
Ukraine war

Ukrainians split over cease-fire talks with Russia

People struggle to endure casualties, hardships of grinding war

29 July 2024
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi meets Russian President Vladimir Putin at the Kremlin on July 9. (Sputnik/Kremlin via Reuters)
Trade

India and Russia look to boost bilateral trade by 50% by 2030

Target of $100bn set during Modi's Moscow visit comes amid U.S. concerns

28 July 2024
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, right, with Thailand's Foreign Minister Maris Sangiampongsa at the ASEAN Regional Forum in Vientiane on July 27.
International relations

Blinken chides Beijing's 'escalating actions' in South China Sea

Russia's Lavrov says U.S. 'enflaming atmosphere' on Korean peninsula at summit

28 July 2024
Two Russian Tu-95 and two Chinese H-6 military aircraft were detected operating in the Alaska Air Defense Identification Zone by the North American Aerospace Defense Command. (NORAD)
Indo-Pacific

China, Russia bombers fly off Alaska, trigger first U.S. intercept

Two partners expand joint activity from Asia to East Pacific

26 July 2024
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba, seen in a file photo, is visiting China for talks on how to end the war with Russia.
Ukraine war

Ukraine tells China it is open to Russia talks if Moscow acts in good faith

Kyiv sees no sign of that currently, its foreign minister says in Beijing

24 July 2024
Records obtained by BelPol suggest that Chinese companies are contributing to Russia's war effort in Ukraine.
Ukraine war

China companies supply Belarus defense contractor with Russia ties

Records obtained by BelPol show Chinese links to sanctioned BelOMO group

24 July 2024
Moscow and Kyiv have reached out for support to faraway Pyongyang and Seoul and upgraded military ties. 
Asia Insight

Korean tensions flare as Seoul, Pyongyang take opposing sides on Ukraine

Russia-North Korea military upgrade triggers deeper U.S.-South Korea nuclear alliance

23 July 2024
Hong Kong's regulatory environment makes it easy for foreign nationals to create shell companies to evade sanctions.
International relations

Hong Kong plays leading role in sanctions evasion: report

New analysis spotlights Chinese city as transshipment hub of goods to sanctioned nations

22 July 2024
Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, arrested in Russia on charges of espionage, stands inside an enclosure for defendants during a court hearing in Yekaterinburg on July 19.
International relations

Wall Street Journal reporter sentenced to 16 years in Russian prison

Prisoner exchange possible after 'sham trial' brings conviction and sentencing on Friday

19 July 2024
Chinese and Russian warships conduct maritime drills in July. (China PLA Navy)
South China Sea

China and Russia extend military cooperation to South China Sea

Activities follow increased drills among Japan, U.S. and Philippines

17 July 2024
Australian Federal Police Commissioner Reece Kershaw speaks about the arrest of an Australian Army private and her husband, who are accused of spying for Russia, in Canberra on July 12. (Australian Federal Police via AP)
International relations

Australia arrests couple in alleged Russia-linked espionage plot

Authorities warn of more foreign agents seeking to infiltrate public bodies

12 July 2024
Rescuers work at Ohmatdyt Children's Hospital in Kyiv on July 8 after deadly Russian missile strikes. Ukraine's ambassador in Seoul says the attack shows why his country needs South Korean air defense technology.
Ukraine war

Ukraine urgently needs South Korean air defense systems, envoy says

Ambassador Dmytro Ponomarenko cites deadly Russian attack on children's hospital

11 July 2024
Russian President Vladimir Putin speaks to journalists after the Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit meeting in Kazakhstan on July 4. (Pool photo via Reuters)
Comment

Russia woos Global South in push for new world order

Gambit to curb Western influence hinges on outcome of Ukraine war

11 July 2024
Russian President Vladimir Putin awards Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi with the Order of St. Andrew the Apostle the First-Called at the Kremlin in Moscow on July 9.
International relations

India PM Modi tells Putin in Moscow 'peace is of utmost importance'

Ukraine's Zelenskyy rips visit as 'devastating blow to peace efforts'

10 July 2024
A train runs near the Chinese border in Kazakhstan. Much of the railway in Central Asia's Middle Corridor has aging infrastructure.
Transportation

Central Asian railway to offer new link between China, Europe

New rail network would bypass problematic routes through Russia and Red Sea

10 July 2024
Chinese military forces arrive in Belarus for joint counterterrorism drills. (Chinese Defense Ministry)
International relations

China and Belarus start joint exercises on NATO's edge

Countries advocate multipolar world amid tensions with U.S. and the West

10 July 2024