AN OLD LATIN adage says, "Si vis pacem, para bellum (If you want peace, prepare for war).
Even during those fateful days of June 2023, when the world held its breath to watch the Wagner private military company's short-lived mutiny against the Vladimir Putin-led Russian government-heavy fighting along the frontlines as well as drone and missile attacks all over Ukraine never stopped. Like background noise behind the existence of everything living and thriving in Ukraine, coexistence of peace and war is surreal. Ukraine appeals for arms to protect its sovereignty and searches for peace. On June 24, an unannounced meeting of national security advisers of several countries and top Ukrainian officials was held in Danish capital Copenhagen to discuss the future prospects of peace in Ukraine.
A hush-hush summit, you may call it? Not this one alone. Recently, several secret meetings were revealed. Cardinal Matteo Zuppi, emissary of Pope Francis, travelled to Kyiv on June 5-6 and to Moscow. Around the same time, a secret trip by CIA director William Burns to Kyiv also signalled heightened backchannel negotiations. Earlier in April, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov held talks with former US national security officials Richard Haass, Charles Kupchan and Thomas Graham. Secrecy is perennial in diplomacy, its level varies, pursuant to the decision-making style of countries.
Denne historien er fra July 23, 2023-utgaven av THE WEEK India.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent ? Logg på
Denne historien er fra July 23, 2023-utgaven av THE WEEK India.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
William Dalrymple goes further back
Indian readers have long known William Dalrymple as the chronicler nonpareil of India in the early years of the British raj. His latest book, The Golden Road, is a striking departure, since it takes him to a period from about the third century BC to the 12th-13th centuries CE.
The bleat from the street
What with all the apps delivering straight to one’s doorstep, the supermarkets, the food halls and even the occasional (super-expensive) pop-up thela (cart) offering the woke from field-to-fork option, the good old veggie-market/mandi has fallen off my regular beat.
Courage and conviction
Justice A.M. Ahmadi's biography by his granddaughter brings out behind-the-scenes tension in the Supreme Court as it dealt with the Babri Masjid demolition case
EPIC ENTERPRISE
Gowri Ramnarayan's translation of Ponniyin Selvan brings a fresh perspective to her grandfather's magnum opus
Upgrade your jeans
If you don’t live in the top four-five northern states of India, winter means little else than a pair of jeans. I live in Mumbai, where only mad people wear jeans throughout the year. High temperatures and extreme levels of humidity ensure we go to work in mulmul salwars, cotton pants, or, if you are lucky like me, wear shorts every day.
Garden by the sea
When Kozhikode beach became a fertile ground for ideas with Manorama Hortus
RECRUITERS SPEAK
Industry requirements and selection criteria of management graduates
MORAL COMPASS
The need to infuse ethics into India's MBA landscape
B-SCHOOLS SHOULD UNDERSTAND THAT INDIAN ECONOMY IS GOING TO WITNESS A TREMENDOUS GROWTH
INTERVIEW - Prof DEBASHIS CHATTERJEE, director, Indian Institute of Management, Kozhikode
COURSE CORRECTION
India's best b-schools are navigating tumultuous times. Hurdles include lower salaries offered to their graduates and students misusing AI