THE SECURITY PERIMETER 

THE WEEK AHEAD at the UN SECURITY COUNCIL 29 November - 3 December 2021 Dear Athanasios, On Monday (29 November), Council members will hold consultations on the implementation of resolution 1701. Adopted in 2006, resolution 1701 called for a cessation of hostilities between Israel and the Shi’a group Hezbollah. The anticipated briefers are Under-Secretary-General for Peace Operations Jean-Pierre Lacroix, Special Coordinator for Lebanon Joanna Wronecka, and UN Interim Force

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2021/12/15/ndaa-defense-spending-bill-clears-congress-heres-whats-it/6417412001/ WASHINGTON – The Senate passed a crucial defense spending bill Wednesday that now heads to President Joe Biden's desk for his signature. The 2022 National Defense Authorization Act, a roughly $770 billion package to fund national defense programs and set the policy agenda at the Department of Defense, passed the Senate 89-10. It cleared the House earli

https://www.cnbc.com/2021/12/16/russia-is-in-decline-but-still-poses-military-threat-nato-chief.html Russia may be in economic decline, but it still poses a formidable military threat — particularly in the realm of advanced weaponry and cyberwarfare, NATO’s Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said Thursday. “Russia is a power in decline, meaning the economic importance of Russia, the GDP is not keeping track with many other countries in the world. But even an economy in declin

https://www.newsweek.com/russia-impossible-revive-ussr-us-concerns-rising-popularity-1657409 The Kremlin has dismissed the feasibility of reviving the Soviet Union, even amid U.S. concerns and the growing nostalgia for some aspects of the former Communist system among Russians today. Speaking to reporters on Wednesday, Dmitry Peskov, press secretary for Russian President Vladimir Putin, repudiated remarks made days two days earlier by U.S. Under Secretary of State for Politic

https://www.nationalreview.com/2021/12/americas-enemies-fill-the-vacuum-she-leaves-abroad/ The oft-discussed Middle Eastern power vacuum does not exist. America’s adversaries have already filled it. President Biden’s meeting with Xi Jinping on November 15 shifted media attention from COP26 back to great-power politics, but a more subtle, yet perhaps more consequential, shift has occurred over the past month. This shift is remarkable for its lack of American involvement — it p

Finland is set to pick Lockheed Martin Corp. F-35 fighter jets as part of a 10 billion-euro ($11.3 billion) tender to replace soon-outdated war planes that are key to defending the Russian border, according to a report in local media. A fleet of F-35s will be acquired due to their capability and expected long lifespan, newspaper Iltalehti said, citing a number of defense and security sources it didn’t identify. The Defense Forces made the proposal to the Defense Ministry, whi

MOSCOW (AP) — Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday sternly warned NATO against deploying its troops and weapons to Ukraine, saying it represents a red line for Russia and would trigger a strong response. Commenting on Western concerns about Russia’s alleged intention to invade Ukraine, he said that Moscow is equally worried about NATO drills near its borders. Speaking to participants of an online investment forum. Putin said that NATO’s eastward expansion has threatene

Escalating Ukraine-Russia tensions will be front and centre at NATO meeting next week A Ukrainian soldier strides through a muddy trench near the city of Donetsk, in Eastern Ukraine, before stopping to poke a rifle through a barrier toward the Russia-backed separatists stationed about 250 metres away. For more than seven years, war has played out in this region of the country, claiming thousands of lives and suspending communities in a continual state of fear and uncertainty.

Ukrainian and Western officials are worried about a Russian military buildup near Ukraine, fearing it could signal plans by Moscow to invade its ex-Soviet neighbor MOSCOW -- Ukrainian and Western officials are worried that a Russian military buildup near Ukraine could signal plans by Moscow to invade its ex-Soviet neighbor. The Kremlin insists it has no such intention and has accused Ukraine and its Western backers of making the claims to cover up their own allegedly aggressi