Voltaire Network

Melkulangara K. Bhadrakumar

Ambassador M. K. Bhadrakumar was a career diplomat in the Indian Foreign Service. His assignments included the Soviet Union, South Korea, Sri Lanka, Germany, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Uzbekistan, Kuwait and Turkey.

14 articles

English 10 français 1 italiano 1 Español 2

Moscow remembers Charlie Wilson’s War

by Melkulangara K. Bhadrakumar

Moscow remembers Charlie Wilson's War

31 May 2013
The subterfuge and ideological drive seen in Senator John McCain’s flight to Syria had heavy overtones of the 1980s tour by Charlie Wilson to secure arms for the Afghan mujahideen. McCain’s maneuver aligns well with Europe removing an arms embargo and wavering US resistance toward boots on the ground. This time, however, Russia could respond in kind, posits Ambassador Bhadrakumar.

Netanyahu calls Obama’s bluff

by Melkulangara K. Bhadrakumar

Netanyahu calls Obama's bluff

New Dehli (India) | 16 November 2012
As Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu marshals troops toward Gaza, Barack Obama is making a grievous error by being seen as walking in step. Post-election optimism over direct talks with Iran will be shattered should Israel invade, and the Arab world will view the US president as full of empty promises. In one swipe, Netanyahu has made Gaza the litmus test of Obama’s statesmanship.

Russia bridges Middle Eastern divides

by Melkulangara K. Bhadrakumar

Russia bridges Middle Eastern divides

New Dehli (India) | 11 October 2012
A multi-billion dollar arms deal with Iraq, a summit meeting with Turkey, a fence-mending exercise with Saudi Arabia, a debut with Egypt’s Sphinx-like Muslim Brothers - all this is slated to happen within the period of a turbulent month in the Middle East. And all this is to happen when the United States’ "return" to the region after the hurly-burly of the November election still seems a distant dream. Simply put, Russia is suddenly all over the Middle East.

Shift in Russian-Chinese tectonic plates

Calling the China-Russia split by its right name

by Melkulangara K. Bhadrakumar

Calling the China-Russia split by its right name

4 September 2012
As China and Vietnam lurch increasingly towards crisis, Beijing is not amused at the Kremlin’s refusal to reciprocate over the United States’ "pivot" in the Asia-Pacific, especially since returns from its diplomatic support for Moscow’s embattled ally in Damascus are expected. The symbolism of Russia hosting the Vietnamese president and the Japanese foreign minister in quick succession in July was not lost on China either. Detecting a chill descending on Sino-Russian relations, Ambassador Bhadrakumar throws light on the situation.

Tehran reaches out to Egypt’s Morsi

by Melkulangara K. Bhadrakumar

Tehran reaches out to Egypt's Morsi

New Dehli (India) | 6 August 2012
Far from shying away in the face of the Muslim Brotherhood’s rise to power in North Africa, Iran has continued to reach out, in Tunisia, Libya and Egypt, in the name of Islam. Knowing that relations between the Brothers and Saudi Arabia have not always been on an even keel, Tehran has multiplied its initiatives to prevent the new North African governments from joining the Saudi Fitna game of fueling conflict between Sunnis and Shiites. Egypt is the centerpiece of this diplomacy which, according to Ambassador Bhadrakumar, bears the promise of momentous change in the region.

It is going to be Syria’s turn

by Melkulangara K. Bhadrakumar

It is going to be Syria's turn

New Dehli (India) | 30 August 2011
If the likeness between ravaging regime-change scenarios in Iraq and Libya is any indication, the future of Bashar al-Assad’s sovereignty in Syria might be hanging by a thin thread. The heart of the matter - underscores this analyst - is that regime change in Syria is absolutely central to US designs on the Middle East. The stakes are so intertwined that a host of stragetic gains could be achieved in one fell swoop, not least shaving Russia’s and China’s clout in the region. This is not an opportunity that Washington would want to miss.

SCO steps out of Central Asia

by Melkulangara K. Bhadrakumar

SCO steps out of Central Asia

18 June 2011
The Shanghai Cooperation Organization’s 10th anniversary summit in Kazakhstan moved closer to integrating the entire Eurasian landmass. While the planned induction of India and Pakistan will create a pan-regional reach that supersedes the US "Great Central Asia" strategy, SCO efforts to take the reins in post-2014 Afghanistan are a direct challenge to Washington’s plans to establish permanent military bases there. Ambassador Bhadrakumar reviews this landmark event.

Kzrgyzstan

A Russian-Uzbek challenge to the US

by Melkulangara K. Bhadrakumar

A Russian-Uzbek challenge to the US

New Dehli (India) | 23 April 2010
An earlier article published by Voltaire Network, which analyzed the situation in Kyrgyzstan when it was still in turmoil, entertained the possibility that Washington might have had a hand in the events leading to the overthrow of its former lackey. As can be seen below, the Manas military base is clearly not the sole U.S. interest in Kyrgyzstan and developments show that while Washington is beaming at Roza Otunbayeva’s interim Government, Russia and other neighbouring countries are increasingly taking a much dimmer view.

Turkmenistan commits its gas exports to China, Russia & Iran

Pipeline Geopolitics Major Turnaround: Russia, China, Iran Redraw Energy Map

by Melkulangara K. Bhadrakumar

Pipeline Geopolitics Major Turnaround: Russia, China, Iran Redraw Energy Map

16 January 2010
The Dovletabat-Sarakhs-Khangiran gas pipeline, a major joint venture by Iran and Turkmenistan, was inaugurated on 6 January 2010. This huge development could truly constitute a game-changer in the "Great Game" of energy dominance. The United States’ pipeline diplomacy in the Caspian has been checkmated by its competitors without, incidentally, the aggression and bloodshed that the US has resorted to in just trying to secure the corridors. If the future of energy is not oil but gas, then the control of the Middle East could well be tied to that of the Caspian Sea Basin.

Reheating the Cold War

by Melkulangara K. Bhadrakumar

Reheating the Cold War

Caracas (Venezuela) | 31 March 2006
Three assaults on the Kremlin within the month must be extraordinary even by Cold War standards.

Most popular

Pipeline Geopolitics Major Turnaround: Russia, China, Iran Redraw Energy Map
Turkmenistan commits its gas exports to China, Russia & Iran

Moscow remembers Charlie Wilson’s War

Calling the China-Russia split by its right name
Shift in Russian-Chinese tectonic plates

Netanyahu calls Obama’s bluff

Tehran reaches out to Egypt’s Morsi

It is going to be Syria’s turn

Russia bridges Middle Eastern divides

Reheating the Cold War

A Russian-Uzbek challenge to the US
Kzrgyzstan

SCO steps out of Central Asia