India throws ultra dynamic diplomatic card on the Chinese table

India issued visa to multiple Chinese dissidents like Dolkun Isa, Lu Jinguha, Ray Wong to attend the 'World Uyghur Congress' in Dharamsala with the Tibetan exiled leader 'HH Dalai Lama' among others. The controversy surrounding the sudden ultra offensive stance by India against China in terms of reversing the policy on internal non-interference evoked nationalist muscularities. But the delight was short-lived with India cancelling the issued visas on technical grounds. This on-and-off relationship evoked strong criticism from the puerile as well as nationalist ranks. Indian media as usual started reading between the lines from the writings on the wall to assimilate their little understanding of the issue by playing rhetorical series to invoke ultra nationalism. But does it really mean that India itself co-opted a 'planned embarrassment'?

Prudential diplomacy requires understanding the weather patterns before the clouds start to rain. The identification of the characteristics of the clouds on the basis of amount of moisture it contains, capability to create 'thunderstorms' and understanding the 'white-wool like structure' requires abandonment of foolish consistencies. India judiciously applied the 'paradox of value' of Adam Smith in political terms by trading the opportunity of China's veto to Masood Azhar's banishment (being water in Smith's value paradox) with the border agreement with China (being diamond in Smith's value paradox). But how? India cunningly created panic among the Chinese policy makers by signalling a policy shift to accommodate pro-democracy and Uyghur activists from the volatile Xinjiang province under its umbrella. But the sweetness of the deal lies in the fact that they were not allowed to touch the soil, thereby keeping the Chinese to anticipate the possible ramifications of India's future contingency plans like this. Like virginity, a card once played loses its value. Hence, the subtlety dictates keeping the cards closed and keep the foe guessing.

As ends justify the means, the result of such diplomatic overtures can be judged victorious if we happen to secure some legitimate long-term interests vis-à-vis China. A long pending approval to negotiate border agreement, trade disputes and strategic interests should have been secured on the basis of reciprocity of such a generous gesture from our side. The controversy came amidst the visit of our National Security Advisor 'KC Ajit Doval', who is also the plenipotentiary of the Prime Minister on the bilateral negotiations on the border agreement. It is not hard to understand who, how and why dictated such an act of a 'planned embarrassment' and pushed the Ministry of External Affairs in fire-fighting, probably after securing overdue long term interests. A short-term 'perceived embarrassment' may sometimes become inevitable to secure long-term gains. But a cautious approach advises India to keep the Chinese dissidents in close confidence and exploit the opportunities available through them optimistically.Dynamics of diplomacy are surely hard to understand and the usual writings on the wall may not secure legitimate interests due to the ever-changing potentialities of the adversaries and the allies alike. Albert Einstein says 'insanity' is doing one thing again and again and expecting different results every time. Therefore, to quote Mr Doval, “India has a mentality to punch below its weight. We should not punch below our weight or above our weight, but improve our weight and punch proportionately.”

India's power push at COP21 at Paris (International Solar Alliance)

 

On the sidelines of the plenary 2015 United Nations Climate Change Conference - 21st yearly Conference of Parties (#COP21) at Paris, India has pledged to reduce 33-35% of its carbon emissions (at 2005 level) by 2030. Also, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Francois Hollande has launched an ambitious initiative called ‘International Solar Energy Alliance’. The origin of the ambitious initiative goes back to the election campaign days of the Prime Minister aspirant Shri Narendra Modi who foresaw the ambition to curb the usage of non-renewable energy resources from India and to build an enthusiastic ‘solar alliance’ that could serve the interests of the energy needs of the entire world and not just India. It was a part of the ‘Acche Din’ progeny. As the Chief Minister of the Indian state of Gujarat, he spurred companies to build more than 900MW of solar plant across the state in just a couple of years and commissioned Asia’s largest solar park at Charanka village.

What exactly is this 'International  solar alliance'?

It is a strategic cluster of around 120 countries that falls within the tropical region, receiving abundant sunshine throughout the year which may be used to harness the solar energy potential. This solar energy may be used for domestic consumption as well as for strategic exports to subtropical, temperate and polar countries. India has invited over 120 countries that falls in the tropical region to be a part of the ambitious project. A good number of them lies in the Gulf region having historical enterprise with non-renewable resources like petroleum oil. The Southern coast of the United States too falls within the region which has a strategic reserve of Shale Gas.

Why India has emerged as the natural leader for this alliance?
India has an ambitious target to install 175GW of renewable energy by 2022, which includes 100GW of solar energy usage. India has reiterated its stance to draw 40% of its electricity from renewable energy by 2030. Currently, renewable energy, nuclear energy and hydropower together contribute 30% of the overall installed capacity in India. With power production expected to triple, this will amount to 320 GW of non-fossil fuel capacity. Since 2010, India has been providing 40% subsidy on capital costs of Solar PV Panels which is available through NABARD in India (as per JNNURM mission). Prime Minister Narendra Modi has pledged to give electricity to every one of the 300 million Indians living in the dark. For this, three more ultra-mega solar parks were backed with cash in July 2014, as were solar-powered irrigation pumps and canal-top solar plants. The electric fences on India’s sensitive northern borders will be solar-powered as the military installs 1,000MW of panels to replace expensive diesel generators across its posts. Another 7,000MW of solar is out for tender across the country and the rooftops of Delhi are to be bedecked with panels under a new scheme. The solar energy from the Rajasthan desert sun can meet whole of India’s future power needs, a proposition which has been realized meticulously by the Government of India as evident from the building up of 4,000MW Ultra Mega Green Solar Power Project (UMPP) near Sambhar Lake in Rajasthan. More than 25 major states of India out of 29 have an operational or installed solar power capacity. This makes the country a natural leader of the solar club. The geographical presence of the country in the tropics add boon to its leadership role.

What are the benefits to be a part of the alliance?

Current geopolitics revolves around the presence of reserves of non-renewable sources of energy like petroleum oil, shale gas, nuclear energy, natural gas etc. The skeptics have often linked the tensions in West Asia and Africa to the insatiable thirst for energy resources of many alleged ‘neo-colonizers’ present in the region in the form of private, governmental as well as intergovernmental organizations. Presence of cartels like OPEC, African Union that invariably control the price of the energy resources through the forces of demand and supply might meet an end to their monopoly over the energy resources, after the discovery and operationalisation of the alternative sources of energy i.e. solar energy. Solar energy is unlimited in supply, non-pollutant, non-disaster prone and complements climate change. With solar technology evolving, costs coming down and grid connectivity improving; it becomes the best alternative to conventional sources of energy.

How does it affect India’s foreign policy objectives?

Indian government is investing an initial $30m (£20m) in setting up the alliance’s headquarters in India (the Secretariat). The eventual goal is to raise $400m from membership fees, and international agencies. As Isaiah Bowman (geographer and strategic adviser to the former US President Franklin Roosevelt) played an instrumental role in the establishment of the United Nations and forcing its location to be based in an American city (New York), the Secretariat of the ‘International Solar Alliance’ would bring India at the forefront of the world politics. It has the potential to boost India’s bid to secure a permanent seat at the United Nations Security Council. Like the citizens of OPEC member nations, the future generations of India would reap the economic and social benefits of this long term initiative as the solar energy to be exported to the sub-tropical, temperate and polar countries would make solar energy production a viable business in India. It would considerably reduce India’s energy import bill which stands at almost 70-75% of total energy needs of our economy, saving around $120 billion energy bill annually. This lower dependency on energy would provide a political leverage to India to take strategic position in international affairs which it currently refuses to acknowledge through the principle of non-interference.

Is the path of success too difficult for the solar alliance?

There would be silent yet stiff resistance from non-renewable energy providing cartels because the operations of the solar alliance is deemed to end the monopoly of petroleum, natural gas, shale gas, nuclear energy suppliers. In this battle of energy production, India stands to lose strategic allies like Russia, Scandinavian countries, African countries, Latin American countries, Gulf countries, Central Asian countries, Australia, China as well as the United States that export high cost energy resources throughout the world. It is possible that the only support that India may inevitably rely upon is from Europe where the demand of energy is rising with no conventional resources of energy of their own, including renewable energy. This is evident from the fact that the strongest support India has received in this initiative was from France and organizations like Solar Power Europe with others, especially Europeans following the line. Europe is fed up from Russian, African, Latin American and OPEC’s arm-twisting for their energy needs, therefore it looks towards a renewable alternative, by which India’s solar alliance could fill the void. It would be a herculean task for Prime Minister Modi to bring all the stakeholders on the table and highlight the importance of the solar alliance that actually has the capacity to harness the unlimited resource for contemporary and future generations. The most important task for India would be to take Russia on board, whose economy thrives on energy exports, especially after international sanctions. Central Asian, Latin American and African countries too would not be much delighted about the prospects of the solar club that could jeopardize their economy for long term. A strategic threat to our leadership in the International Solar Alliance comes from China, which is also aggressively pursuing the green technology, installing 12,000MW in 2013 – a record for any country in a single year. But a ray of the light for India looks in the Gulf region (in Dubai), which has announced a Dirham 100 billion ($27 billion) programme to make solar panels mandatory for all rooftop buildings by 2030, part of a plan to make the city a global clean energy centre. Dubai aims to generate 25% of its energy from clean sources by 2030, rising to 75% by 2050. Taking advantage of our close relationship with UAE, India can get the West Asian region on board. More high level foreign visits, regular information exchanges, strongest PR and lobbying, removing unrealistic insecurities from all the concerned stakeholders would actually help in giving a much needed thrust to the ambitious programme.

Fossil fuels still get more than $40bn (£24bn) in subsidy every year in India, even a quarter of which if invested in solar energy research would provide long term strategic gains for the nation. Legislative as well as citizen support could make India a global leader in this noble vision. We could celebrate ‘Solar Energy Week’ every first week of January (associated with perihelion position of the sun) to encourage our people to adopt solar technology for household as well as industrial needs. Indian media too has to realize its duty to promote a strategic yet humanistic vision of the Prime Minister. Ancient Indian civilization calls for ‘सेवा परमो धर्म (Sewa Parmo Dharma)’ which means ‘Service is the highest duty’. The commencement of the ‘International Solar Alliance’ project envisages this ancient Indian idea through which India aims to help the world with a clean, low cost and a viable renewable source of energy.

India’s Foreign Relations and Their Effect on Its Peace and Security

Foreign policy showcases a country’s outlook towards the world as well as the outlook of the world towards it. It strengthens the nation’s frontiers, establishes its prominence as well as secures it domestically to comfortably implement domestic policies and plans. It has been of relevance since ancient times and is carried forward with successive additions and subtractions in its method to secure pre-planned goals.

In the case of India, it started inadvertently with the offset of World War I & II, when the soldiers of Indian army fought neck to neck with the allied forces to keep the central as well as axis powers at bay, respectively. Such moments of intimate bonding at the time of crisis deepened our relationship with the allied participants and secured us long time goodwill. Simultaneously, the participation of few sections of our Indian independence struggle soldiers in the Axis powers to fight against the British Empire secured us good relations with the other side. Socialist as well as communist leanings of our revolutionaries secured close proximity towards erstwhile USSR, Eastern Europe as well as China to some extent. India participated and became the founder member of the United Nations, therefore giving a voice to the cause of independence and securing the trust of international community to protect human rights abuse by the colonial masters. With the advent of the period of decolonization, India secured a hand of friendship with almost all colonized countries ranging from Asia to Africa and thus, India became a virtual leader of the so-called ‘Third World’ because of our participation in their struggle for independence. After India secured independence, our foresighted forefathers decided to stay as a member of the ‘Commonwealth’ grouping, thereby securing us the forum dedicated especially for the United Kingdom’s colonies to strengthen our foreign policy objectives.

How did we secure our interests in the dynamic and fast changing world of that era? The biggest pragmatic move was to announce and establish a forum of ‘Non-Alignment’ with likeminded countries, which established an independent policy towards the bipolar world and thereby quashing the superimposed congruency and dictates of the powerful blocs. It virtually established a third world with India as its leader. Since independence era, India did not support of setting up any pre-conditions for the establishment of bilateral relationships and therefore, we treated everyone equally well, regardless of their political structure. Non-alignment, non-interference, non-colonizer attitude secured us the trust of the marginally snubbed countries, having an insatiable hunger to make them heard in multilateral forums like the United Nations. We carried their voice and tried to secure equality in international operations.. By establishing a close relationship with USSR, we maintained a regional balance of power that helped us during 1965 and 1971 wars and Pokhran nuclear tests in 1974 especially. No first-use policy of nuclear warheads secured us a tag of being a ‘responsible nuclear capable’ nation. In the case of neighbors, India supported the offset of democratic transitions, secured human rights and promulgated peaceful coexistence among the South Asian neighborhood. ‘Gujral doctine’ reinstated our belief in non-interference, no big brother attitude, prominence to bilateral talks as well as mutual trust and respect between India and its neighbors. India’s relations with the West Asia (and Middle East) ensured strengthening of bilateral ties with the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) and independent relationships with all the major players in the region and a special support for the cause of Palestine, since 1950s. The goodwill earned during decolonization days and our support for their freedom struggle secured good relationship with the African Union and frequent high level visits as well as Indian technical and monetary support to the region reassures our commitment to the African prosperity. As a fellow member of the BRICS power bloc, India established good relations with not just Brazil but with the whole South American and Caribbean nations which dates back to erstwhile USSR days. Special emphasis on establishing ties with Japan and other South East Asian nations; even to the commonality of struggle against undemocratic Chinese muscle flexing has secured us high respect in the region. India’s relationship with Oceania and Pacific Islands group were strengthened by Commonwealth participation as well as the presence of huge and prosperous Indian Diaspora in the region. Friendship and peace treaties with USSR secured us good relationship with the Eastern Europe and historical relationship with the United Kingdom and Germany, and colonization experience of Dutch, French and Portuguese secured us the trust of West European nations. But in modern times, trade with the European Union guides our relationship to a level of prosperity and mutual trust and respect. In the nut-shell, India secured a well established and goodwill oriented relationship with most parts of the world.

Then, where does the problem lie? Despite establishing and maintaining strong relationship bilaterally as well as multilaterally with the world community, India failed to secure the trust of the South Asian region which is our immediate neighborhood. The region still sees us with an eye of doubt and tries to unite against our ‘perceived’ big brother attitude. Mishandling of bilateral relationship with Pakistan and China from both sides have led to huge suspicion and establishment of power blocs in the South Asian as well as Indian Ocean region. Sometimes, there has been sluggish response to foreign policy threats emanating from our neighborhood from the undemocratic muscle flexing of the adversaries. We also failed to secure prosperity in the South Asian region that may have circumscribed the violence, drug and human trafficking as well as terrorism issues. The sluggish response to the diplomatic moves of our undemocratic adversaries have forced us to open the Indian Ocean for the participation of non-regional members in the name of joint maritime and naval exercises. Our sense of care is being perceived as internal interference which is breeding lack of trust which pushes forward political imbalances and gives huge bargaining power to our neighbors at the cost of our strategic autonomy. Going beyond the region, expectants in the South East Asian regions are gradually disavowing our leadership to secure channels of trade and communication through the South China Sea. India has failed to secure substantial outcomes in its quest to admit itself as the permanent member of the reformed United Nations Security Council. Less emphasis to the volatile regions such as Africa as well as South America and Caribbean is pushing us backward to years in our foreign policy objectives, keeping in mind that these regions could become the next bone of contentions due to the presence of immense natural resources there.

But what are the material responses to our foreign policy that may ultimately help us secure peace and stability in the region as well as domestically? The clear cut policy of India to disengage itself from the political conflict of Sunni-Shia in the West Asian region has secured us long term peace and stability in our region, especially in domestic politics. Non-membership (permanent) in the UNSC has allowed us to abstain from expressing our views on the issues confronting the world community, which otherwise could have had strategic implications on our foreign policy. Being the largest defence equipment importer in the world, India has successfully secured long term peace and domestic stability because interference in India could jeopardize the largest defence market in the world. India has successfully secured a semi-permanent system of alliances to establish a strong balance of power in the Indian Ocean as well as South Asian region, especially to counter the undemocratic rise of China.

But still there is an existence of multiple lacunas in our foreign policy objectives that may prove detrimental to our interests in the future. Strong worded protests to the political structure of Nepal have bred an anti-India feeling among the locals of Nepal, even though India wants to save it from replicating the historical Sri Lankan blunder. Mishandling of relationship with Pakistan from both sides has promulgated suspicion and jeopardized security in the region and most importantly activated the secessionist elements in domestic politics. Over-enthusiasm to establish diplomatic and military cooperation with the West has put our relations with our long term ally, Russia at stake. Little emphasis on the African continent has allowed vested interests to breed in the region which are threatening our strategic interests there. Such vested interests are virtually neo-colonizing the region and embezzling precious natural resources from the region.

The contemporary world is marching towards a diplomatic shift in alliances with the emergence of multiple strong participants in the field of diplomacy. In order to secure our strategic interests in the region as well as in multilateral forums, we need to expand our horizons to include far off and left over places, otherwise the dream of a reformed UNSC would be a ‘faux pas’. For India to take the lead of the region in multilateral forums, promulgating our soft power diplomacy by including various stakeholders and establishing people-to-people contacts even with the world of violence and rampage is required. The road to prosperity passes through the diplomatic channels of communication and ends with securing our strategic interests worldwide. The roads ahead look rosy but before the petals dry, let us travel through it cautiously to achieve our desired objectives.

UNGA decision on Security Council reform

With respect to carry forwarding the text based UNSC Reforms by the UNGA as per the information provided by the Ministry of External Affairs press note, I would like to add that -

This is a very big moment for India. I hope the support base that India enjoys around the world with the goodwill of being a ‘peaceful connect’ between the parties of the UNGA would help India to assume the much deserved role in UNSC. India has always been vocally as well as materially supportive of the ideals of peace, negotiations and respect for international law. India's enthusiastic participation in the UN Peace Keeping is not a secret anymore. To accommodate the growing global challenges, it is essential to reform the UNSC for the proper representation of the participating members and to preserve the ideals of equality on which the United Nations was formed in 1945.

An Invitation to 'Make In India'

Sharing the debut piece by our Honourable Prime Minister @narendramodi in Wall Street Journal giving a call to "Make In India", to boost manufacturing that is currently contributing merely 15% to our GDP.

An Invitation to 'Make in India'
With 800 million people under age 35, we are a nation ready for rapid, responsible economic development.


Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) scientists and engineers cheer after India's Mars orbiter successfully entered the red planet's orbit.

There is a high tide of hope for change in India. This May, across India's immense diversity, 1.25 billion people spoke unequivocally for political stability, good governance and rapid development. India has a government with a majority in the Lok Sabha, our lower house of parliament, for the first time in 30 years. A young nation with 800 million people under age 35, India is brimming with optimism and confidence. The young people's energy, enthusiasm and enterprise are India's greatest strength. Unleashing those attributes is my government's biggest mission.

We will pursue this mission by eliminating unnecessary laws and regulations, making bureaucratic processes easier and shorter, and ensuring that our government is more transparent, responsive and accountable. It has been said that doing the thing right is as important as doing the right thing.


We will create world-class infrastructure that India badly needs to accelerate growth and meet people's basic needs. We will make our cities and towns habitable, sustainable and smart; and we will make our villages the new engines of economic transformation. "Make in India" is our commitment—and an invitation to all—to turn India into a new global manufacturing hub. We will do what it takes to make it a reality.

We ran our election campaign on the promise of inclusive development. To me, that means many things: skills education, and opportunity; safety, dignity and rights for those in every section of our society, especially women; a bank account for every Indian; affordable health care within everyone's reach; sanitation for all by 2019; a roof over every head by 2022; electricity for every household; and connectivity to every village. In addressing these daunting challenges, I draw confidence from countless extraordinary stories of ordinary Indians that I have seen through decades of travel across India.

I also strongly believe in the possibilities of technology and innovation to transform governance, empower people, provide affordable solutions for societal challenges and reach people in ways that were unimaginable not so long ago. The number of cell phones in India has gone up from about 40 million to more than 900 million in a decade; our country is already the second-largest market for smart phones, with sales growing ever faster. When I think of the growth in computing power and storage capacity and its miniaturization that the world has witnessed over the past two decades, I am confident that this can be replicated in renewable energy. With solar and wind power, thousands of Indian villages will be able to get access quickly to reliable, affordable and clean energy, without waiting for large, faraway conventional power plants to be built.

For this reason, India's journey to prosperity can be a more sustainable and environmentally sensitive one than the path followed by countries that came of age in earlier eras. This is a journey of our choice, rooted in our tradition that worships nature's bounties.

India will pursue its dreams in partnership with our international friends. History tells us that India's natural instinct is to be open to the world. India will be open and friendly—for business, ideas, research, innovations and travel. In the coming months, you will feel the difference even before you begin your travel to India.

The United States is our natural global partner. India and the U.S. embody the enduring and universal relevance of their shared values. The thriving Indian-American community in the U.S. is a metaphor for the potential of our partnership, and for the possibilities of an environment that nurtures enterprise and rewards hard work. Our strengths in information technology are especially important for leadership in the digital age. The partnership between our businesses takes place in the comfort and certainty of similar political systems and shared commitment to rule of law. In education, innovation, and science and technology, the U.S continues to inspire India.

India and the U.S. have a fundamental stake in each other's success—for the sake of our values and our many shared interests. That is also the imperative of our partnership. And it will be of great value in advancing peace, security and stability in the Asia and Pacific regions; in the unfinished and urgent task of combating terrorism and extremism; and in securing our seas, cyber space and outer space, all of which now have a profound influence on our daily lives.
The complementary strengths of India and the U.S. can be used for inclusive and broad-based global development to transform lives across the world. Because our countries' values and interests are aligned, though our circumstances are different, we are in a unique position to become a bridge to a more integrated and cooperative world. With sensitivity to each other's point of view and the confidence of our friendship, we can contribute to more concerted international efforts to meet the pressing global challenges of our times.

This is a moment of flux in the global order. I am confident in the destiny of our two nations, because democracy is the greatest source of renewal and, with the right conditions, offers the best opportunity for the human spirit to flourish.

Mr. Modi is prime minister of India.

What is the intention of 'The Kremlin' ?

In the past few months, Russia is deliberately making calculated moves to supersede Western influence in the matters concerning world community. For instance, Syrian crisis, support for Iran despite US sanctions, defense cooperation with Egypt to mention a few.

In all of the above instances, one thing is common, that they all are Middle Eastern countries who are criticizing western powers in hush voices. US and allies have been dominating the region from a very long time since the disintegration of USSR in 1991. The western influence has more or less been effective in combating the rise of Middle Eastern influence in the world by invoking measures like economical, political and military sanctions, military strikes, invoking civil wars through secretly supporting the rebels to allow for a coup and overthrowing most of the dictators in the region with the help of their respective intelligence agencies. All this has been possible with the consistent support of Israel and Saudi Arabia, the dominant players having a strong political and economical hold in the region. The geographical location of the Middle Eastern region has also been supportive for the Western alliances to pursue their respective goals as it is surrounded by Europe. In-fighting and lack of unity among the region’s countries has been contributing towards their exploitation since the beginning of Western dominance.

Since the peak of Syrian crisis in August 2013 when the chemical weapons attack in Damascus by Bashar Al Assad’s regime invited worldwide criticism, Russia has been strongly supporting and combating threats on Syrian security by making all out efforts to persuade UN Security Council that there is no immediate need to militarily strike Syrian soil without having adequate evidence against Assad’s regime. Russia gathered support of various peace mongering nations to persuade Western alliances diplomatically to give up the idea of strikes and thereby, despite of Israel and Saudi Arabia’s push for strikes, US President suspended the idea of striking Syria. Largely the idea to oppose strike grew within the Western nations, especially in the US when the citizens of US opposed the idea of starting a new war and behaving like a ‘World Policeman’. Whatever the reason may be, but Russia succeeded in its intention to protect its ally (Syria) from the Western influence. By convincing US to suspend the idea of strikes, Russia also hit the ‘bull’s eye’ by disturbing the long time good relations between US and Saudi Arabia which came out open in the recent rejection of a temporary seat of the UN Security Council by Saudi Arabia.

Russia didn’t take rest after the handling of Syrian crisis, but it also went further in helping Iran militarily and negotiating a defense cooperation deal with the nation. Russia decided to sell an improved version of S-300 air defense missiles and strategic help in building a nuclear reactor at Bushehr. Russia also agreed to supply five batteries of S-300VM long range air defense system, also known as Antei-2500 which is more effective in intercepting missiles. It was a clear message to the United States that Russia will not adhere to US sanctions if their economic and political interests lie in a deal with any nation, irrespective of the relations of US with that nation. Russia has also been optimistically supporting Iran in the ongoing talks between P5+Germany and Iran in withdrawing sanctions by striking a deal with Iran. Although, it has not yielded the result yet but both sides have indicated a positive breakthrough in the ongoing talks in Geneva.

Russia recently moved a hand of friendship to Egypt which is striving hard to tackle the civil unrest lying because of the rebellion against Morsy. Russia took advantage of the rift between Cairo and Washington as the United States had withheld military supplies to Cairo, following Morsy’s ouster. Russian warship, VARYAG, the flagship of the Pacific fleet, docked in the port city of Alexandria symbolizes Moscow’s deepening interest in the Mediterranean Sea. Russia’s permanent presence at the port of ‘Tartus’ in Syria has already underscored its intention to implant strategic footprints in the region. Both Russia and Egypt are looking for a military tie-up soon to revive the defense cooperation when USSR had a presence in the region.

The worst blow to the United States was the approval of temporary asylum request by Russia of the NSA whistleblower Mr. Edward Snowden that shocked the whole world over the surveillance programmes creating differences between the western alliance itself. For the first time, Germany, rather the whole European Union criticized and summoned US diplomats over the issue of bugging the EU leaders. It was a clear sign that a hole was created in the relations between US and EU, indirectly by Russia as it was supporting Snowden revelations from the backdoor.

The question arises – Are we really marching in the cold war era of 1960-70s when the influence of USSR was undeniable? The present Russia is expanding its arms either by undermining ‘Western authority’ in the Middle East or by inciting disturbances between the US and EU itself. Whatever the intentions may be, but we surely do understand that Russia cannot compete economically in the present form although its economic growth is in full swing but it still relies on hydrocarbon and mineral sale which do not yield the desired results as per the renowned world economists. The present era is of economical superpowers, and the days of military domination has gone in the wind. World population wants peace with economical independence and the war mongering motives of the ‘wannabe superpowers’ may not succeed due to this concept.

Why is the UN Security Council divided over Syria?

Life of world peace, in the last few days is dwindling in the wake of Syria’s alleged chemical weapon attack killing more than 1,400 people (rebels), according to US reports. World’s policeman – United States along with his allies, mainly France & UK is trying to cure the ailing ‘peace process’, currently admitted in an Intensive care unit with its ECG graph showing little signs of relief. It is no rocket science to understand why the CIA has been consistently helping the rebel groups (militarily & economically) to dominate the Syrian regime of Bashar Al Assad as this policeman supports democracy (as proclaimed by it) & most importantly to pluck out the communist backed Russia and China’s rising power & support in the Middle East. US and friends (mainly UK & France) are backing rebels to maintain the support and domination of Western allies in the Middle Eastern region because of the power struggles going on in this region like in Egypt.

On the other hand, Russia, once a strong contender of being a ‘World Hegemon’ in the past few decades, is helping the Syrian regime (militarily & economically) to mark its presence and rise in the world’s political classes yet again. Russia is backed by China, another communist which has overthrown many challenges of democratic rule politically or militarily (not to forget the Tianamen Square incident of 1989). China, considered to be – Number 2 in the world in the context of military and economic power wants to attract the Middle Eastern countries towards the East side, particularly to the communist side. Both the Eastern superpowers, Russia and China are well versed with the fact that the current power struggles in the Middle East region is the best time to inject communism in these countries which are struggling hard against their rulers. Therefore by supporting the rulers, these two superpowers are white-washing the long seen dream of democracy by the people of Middle East.

The situation is somewhat like the “Cold War Era” of 1961 after the Cuban Missile crisis shocked the United States and marked the presence of another superpower that was if not equal, then at least not lower than US in any form. Syrian ruler Assad has nothing personal to do with the communist powers or Western powers nor these two communist powers and Western powers have any personal interest in the lives of Syria and its people, the Syrian crisis is just a medium for all these UN Security Council Member countries, divided in two groups to prove that who is the real hegemon in the world politics.

In the second week of September it was vague that US (and friends) are going to strike Syria, irrespective of the outcome of G-20 meetings in the St. Petersburg in Russia. Developing but ailing economies (from the current global slowdown) like India & Brazil opposed strike on Syria for economic reasons – currency volatility due to hike in crude oil prices. This gave an edge to Communist countries over Western powers to give up the idea of striking Syria. But Western team led by Barack Obama was adamant in their decision. On one side, Barack Obama was struggling hard to gather Congress’s support on the decision, then on the other side, David Cameron was seen having talks with Ed Miliband of Labour Party to gather support in British Parliament. Francois Hollande too was seen seeking support from other European allies over the decision.

In an ad hoc manner, UN Security Council meet was called by British PM David Cameron to talk on the resolution (forwarded by Britain) to attack Syria, well knowingly that Russia and China will veto against the resolution. Disappointed by the fall of its resolution, Western powers decided to go against the UN Security Council to bring ‘peace’ in the region by punishing Assad regime with a limited ‘air strike’ on the land of Syria. The feeling to strike Syria was so strong that Western powers didn’t even try to wait for the UN inspector’s report on the chemical weapon attack in the region. In this hurry, Russia too got in quick mode to announce that military strike against Syria may halt the peace process and Russia will respond too in order to bring peace in the region. Giving not much attention to the Russian claim, Western alliance was in the midst of persuading their people to go for a limited strike against Syria ( which according to surveys, people of these countries oppose) and come out as the ‘Messiahs of World Peace’, with the use of force.

But suddenly Russia came out with a universally acceptable plan to ask Syria to surrender its chemical weapons to the International community. In response to Russian proposal, US President Barack Obama came out in the public on 10^th September and declared that he will put the Congressional vote on hold if the middle way is accepted unconditionally by the Assad regime. Obama also clarified and tried to persuade its citizen in his old traditional way of diplomatically and emotionally attracting public support (seen in his Presidential campaigns) and justified his decision to attack Syria and promised his citizens that he won’t let any American boot to land in Syria and the situation will not be as worse as in Iraq and Afghanistan. Several meetings were held between US Secretary of State John Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in Geneva, Switzerland to find a mid way and then after a lot of negotiations, both the representatives agreed on 14^th September to ask Assad to submit a comprehensive list of its chemical weapons within a week to the International community and by the middle of 2014, the weapons will be destructed. Assad is also asked to allow UN Inspectors to verify the chemical weapons list by this November.

Is this the end of Syrian crisis? Will these two groups come face to face again? Is everything settled now? Or are we marching towards a third world war (not exaggerating), or atleast another Cold War