Alex Raufoglu is RFE/RL's senior correspondent in Washington, D.C.
As Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy visited the US Capitol, a majority of senators from both parties voted to advance legislation intended to strike at the economic foundations of Russia's war.
Ahead of a Senate vote on a sanctions package targeting Russia and Iran, Democratic Senator Sheldon Whitehouse, a co-sponsor of the legislation, told RFE/RL that the legislation sends a strong message that the United States is committed to supporting Ukraine.
As the US Senate prepared to vote on a sweeping bipartisan sanctions package targeting Russia and Iran, Democratic Senator Sheldon Whitehouse, a co-sponsor of the legislation, said the measure reflects renewed bipartisan resolve to squeeze the Kremlin war machine and reinforce support for Ukraine.
Russia and Iran's expanding partnership in drones, intelligence, sanctions evasion and internal security is increasingly linking the conflicts in Ukraine and the Persian Gulf, says Nicole Grajewski, an expert on Russian-Iranian relations.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy had "a good meeting" with US President Donald Trump on July 28. The meeting, which had been expected to be one of the most consequential moments in US-Ukraine relations since Donald Trump's return to the White House, lasted about a hour.
In an interview with RFE/RL, Ken Moriyasu, a senior fellow at the Hudson Institute, said the countries of Central Asia appear to be giving up on Iran as a gateway to global trade, a situation which is driving new approaches to cooperation with China and Pakistan.
Has the Iran conflict permanently reshaped Central Asia's strategic map? Hudson Institute senior fellow Ken Moriyasu explains why governments across the region are increasingly looking beyond Iran toward Pakistan, Afghanistan and China for trade, connectivity, and access to global markets.
Russia's deepening partnerships with China, Iran, and North Korea represent one of the most significant geopolitical realignments driven by the war in Ukraine. Yet according to Andrea Kendall-Taylor, viewing this grouping through the lens of a traditional military alliance misses the bigger picture.
As US Secretary of State Marco Rubio concluded his first Southeast Asia trip as America’s top diplomat, he sought to reassure regional partners that the war in Iran and Russia's invasion of Ukraine would not weaken Washington's commitment to the region.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said following talks with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov that the United States remains prepared to help broker an end to Russia's war in Ukraine but that fresh proposals would be needed after previous peace ideas failed.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov dodged RFE/RL's senior correspondent Alex Raufoglu's questions on ending the war in Ukraine amid a meeting with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on the sidelines of Association of Southeast Asian Nations foreign ministers' meetings in Manila on July 23.
The US and Ukraine have signed a statement of intent creating the first formal framework for cooperation on military drones, paving the way for Ukrainian combat drones to be exported to the US for testing and potentially future joint production.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has warned that Iran's challenge to freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz threatened not only global trade but also risked setting a dangerous precedent for Asia's contested maritime routes.
Marco Rubio arrives at ASEAN talks dominated by China tensions and the Iran war, as Southeast Asian governments increasingly weigh strategic partnerships against concerns over energy costs, shipping disruptions, inflation, and economic stability.
For years, policymakers in Washington have viewed Asia primarily through the lens of Taiwan, the South China Sea and China's military rise. Russia's invasion of Ukraine only reinforced that perspective, cementing Europe and East Asia as the principal arenas of geopolitical competition.
As Russia's war against Ukraine reshapes Europe's security landscape, Estonia is closely watching the Kremlin's next moves. In an interview with RFE/RL, Estonia's Undersecretary for Internal Security Joosep Kaasik discusses why Tallinn believes prevention is Europe's best defense.
With the US and Iran launching fresh strikes in the Middle East, the Strait of Hormuz is back under the spotlight. Naval strategist Joshua Tallis says restoring commercial confidence -- not military force alone -- will determine when shipping returns to normal.
Senate Republican leadership has thrown its weight behind a renewed bipartisan push to impose sweeping new sanctions on Russia that supporters say marks the strongest congressional effort yet to increase economic pressure on Moscow over its war against Ukraine.
As tensions between the US and Iran intensifies, with renewed military strikes and growing arguments around the Strait of Hormuz, global attention has focused on regional security, commercial shipping, and the risk of wider escalation.
Despite renewed US strikes on Iran and attacks around the Gulf, veteran Middle East scholar Francis Gregory Gause argues that diplomacy is still alive, and that both Washington and Tehran are once again maneuvering to strengthen their positions before an eventual return to negotiations.
Load more
