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The true significance of the Islamabad Memorandum may therefore lie not in what it resolves but in what it reveals. After years of failed diplomacy and a costly war, the central question is no longer whether Iran and the United States can negotiate. They clearly can, Daniyal Meshkin Ranjbar writes. The Memorandum of Understanding signed by the United States and Iran on 17 June 2026 has been widely interpreted as…

A memorandum of understanding between the United States and Iran on a cessation of hostilities and the basic parameters for the resolution of the conflict has been signed. However, it wasn’t signed in the way that was promised. There was no face-to-face meeting between high-ranking American and Iranian representatives; the document was signed remotely, separately. On the one hand, this diminished the media impact of this event, which had been…

As global governance enters a period of ‘rupture’, the traditional architecture of power is being rewritten. Marked by profound fragmentation, the US attacks on Venezuela and Iran have led to a chaotic multipolar structure. This shift is shaping a new international architecture based on power. Traditional multilateral frameworks are increasingly being sidelined in favour of minilateralism: ad hoc coalitions of the willing which prioritise functional efficiency over universal consensus. States…

On June 18, the Valdai Club’s Moscow venue hosted the presentation of Valdai Paper No. 128, The Sahara-Sahel Region: In Search of a New Security Architecture Amid the Collapse of the Neo-Colonial System. Moderating the discussion, Timofei Bordachev emphasised that, although the subject of the paper is not at the forefront of Russia’s foreign policy agenda, it is of great importance in the context of the development of the World…

On June 29 at 11:00 Moscow Time (GMT +3), the Moscow venue of the Valdai Discussion Club will host a discussion entitled “The SCO Turns 25: Achievements, Challenges, and Looking Ahead”. This year, the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) marks its twenty-fifth anniversary. The rapidly changing international environment requires the Organisation to adapt to new realities. The SCO is gradually consolidating its position in both the political and economic spheres. This…

Over the past decades, the Sahara-Sahel Region has been building its security architecture by primarily focusing and relying on pro-Western frameworks and approaches.  This was largely attributable to the fact that even having put the decolonisation behind it, this part of the African continent remained under France’s tutelage and within its sphere of influence. France developed a system of influence channels, both formal and informal, which are known as the…

For years, Central Asia has remained strategically important to India but difficult to access. Pakistan blocks direct land routes, Afghanistan remains unstable, and Eurasian connectivity remains limited. India’s “Connect Central Asia” policy recognised these constraints early, placing physical connectivity at the centre of its regional approach. Today, however, geopolitical shocks are pushing New Delhi to think about Eurasia in far more urgent terms. Earlier the Red Sea crisis and now…

The US House of Representatives has passed H.R. 2548, a bill imposing sanctions against Russia in connection with the Ukrainian conflict. Its passage in the House alone increases, but does not guarantee, the chances of it being ratified into law. This is especially true given that it is being sponsored primarily by Democrats. However, even if the bill is supported by the Senate and the President, it is unlikely to…