Articles by: "Carl Bildt"
Trump’s Greenland grab

In 2019, when Donald Trump first proclaimed that the United States should buy Greenland, Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen rightly dismissed the idea as absurd. Greenland is not for sale, she noted. While Denmark manages …

The way forward in Syria

The collapse of Syria’s Assad regime—with President Bashar al-Assad not even informing his closest associates before fleeing to Moscow—has left regional and international players scrambling to stabilise the country. Of course, there have been numerous …

Putin’s march of folly

In a lengthy address at the annual Valdai Discussion Club meeting this month, Russian President Vladimir Putin tried to outline his view of the world. Rambling on about a global ‘minority’ that is stymying the …

Envisioning a better peace in Ukraine

With Russian President Vladimir Putin’s war of aggression against Ukraine now well into its third year, there are mounting questions about whether any sort of peace or victory is possible. Much depends, of course, on …

Territorial integrity is the base of European security

Since 2014, Russia has brazenly violated Ukraine’s territorial integrity with incursions, illegal annexations and a full-scale invasion. And now Ukraine is violating Russia’s territorial integrity with its own incursion into the Kursk region. There is, …

A hillbilly elegy for Ukraine and the West

In a commentary published by The New York Times in April, J D Vance, now the Republican vice-presidential nominee, proposed a strategy of ‘defence’ for Ukraine that was nothing but a recipe for defeat. There …

The dangerous retreat into protectionism

Trade barriers, tariffs and other protectionist tools are starting to feature more prominently around the world, often appearing under the heading of economic security. The decision by President Joe Biden’s administration this month to quadruple US …

Russia will honour Navalny some day

We may never know exactly how and why Alexei Navalny died in the remote Arctic penal colony where he was detained. The communiqué Russian officials issued within two minutes of the popular opposition leader’s reported …

Putin’s dead end

In his annual press conference, Russian President Vladimir Putin made it clear that he will be ready for a peace settlement with Ukraine only after he has achieved his goals, which haven’t changed since he …

There’s only one way forward in Gaza

Is there any possibility of peace between Israel and the Palestinians, or must we simply get used to periodic wars that deny both sides the tranquillity and stability they seek? It’s easy to be pessimistic. …

The axis of outcasts

Russian President Vladimir Putin had obvious reasons for hosting North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un at Vostochny, Russia’s new spaceport in eastern Siberia, this month. Owing to his illegal war of aggression in Ukraine, Putin is …