And, as against the US and NATO, Russia has brought, through the Moscow summit, almost the entire Beijing-based Shanghai Security Organization into Afghanistan, giving the US a clear message: the matter falls in ‘SCO’s jurisdiction’ and that they will be the ones leading the settlement..…

Not a day passes without some new warnings emanating from Warsaw, Vilnius or others in their circle alleging aggressive designs by Russia requiring ever higher military expenditures, forward positioning of NATO forces and the like. . ... This, in my view, explains the orientation of Western..…