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Politics

Armenia's Central Election Commission said Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan's Civil Contract party won 49.8% of the vote in the June 7 parliamentary election, giving it a projected 64 of 101 base parliamentary seats under the D'Hondt apportionment method, Armenpress reported on June 8.

Armenia: Pashinyan Wins Election but Falls Short of Constitutional Majority

Ukraine

Military & Security

Russia-Ukraine Conflict

Russian President Vladimir Putin dismissed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky's open letter proposing a personal meeting and ceasefire, saying he saw no point in a meeting without comprehensive, long-lasting agreements, TASS reported on June 5.

Russia, Ukraine: Putin Dismisses Zelensky Meeting Proposal, Keeps Demands Intact

Tanzania

Economics

Tanzanian President Samia Suluhu Hassan met with Russian President Vladimir Putin during a state visit to Russia, following which Putin called for stronger trade ties between the two countries and stressed opportunities for deeper bilateral cooperation in the fields of energy, mining and logistics, The Chanzo reported on June 4.

Tanzania: President Hassan Meets Putin During State Visit to Russia

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Ukraine's stepped-up strikes deep inside Russia will enable Kyiv to negotiate the end of the war on equal footing with Moscow, Reuters reported on June 3.

Russia, Ukraine: Zelensky Says Ukrainian Deep Strikes Are Improving Kyiv's Negotiating Position

Ukrainian long-range drones struck oil storage facilities in St. Petersburg, Russia, early on June 3, hours before the opening of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky confirmed on his Telegram channel that day. 

Russia, Ukraine: Ukrainian Drones Strike St. Petersburg as Economic Forum Opens

Russia launched a barrage of hundreds of drones and dozens of missiles at Ukraine overnight, killing at least 18 people and injuring dozens in strikes on Kyiv, Dnipro, Zaporizhzhia, Poltava and Kharkiv, The Guardian reported on June 2.

Ukraine, Russia: Russian Missile Strikes Test Ukraine's Civilian Resilience

In an interview with CBS's Face the Nation, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Ukraine needs to find a diplomatic path to talks before winter, arguing that Russia began losing the battlefield initiative in December 2025, CBS reported on May 31.

Ukraine, Russia, U.S.: Zelensky Calls for Renewed Talks Before Winter

Belarus

Kazakhstan

Kyrgyzstan

Energy

Leaders of Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Russia issued a joint statement calling for Armenia to hold a referendum on whether to pursue EU membership or remain in the Eurasian Economic Union, and asking their governments to report by December on the possible consequences of suspending the EAEU treaty's application to Armenia, TASS reported on May 29.

Armenia: EAEU Leaders Threaten To Review Armenia's Membership Amid EU Bid

Assessments

Peru

Iran

Israel

Lebanon

China

North Korea

A banner depicting the closure of the Strait of Hormuz on June 3 in Tehran. There will be an elevated risk of sporadic U.S.-Iran clashes over the next week, as no signs of a diplomatic breakthrough in U.S.-Iran negotiations on a memorandum of understanding have emerged.

U.S.-Iran Relations

A look at what the coming week will bring -- and a list of recommended RANE articles from the week that was.

The Weekly Rundown: Armenian Elections, Xi Goes to North Korea

Thousands of Armenians participate in a rally in Yerevan's Republic Square on May 26, 2024. 

Prime Minister Pashinyan's likely reelection will empower him to finalize a peace treaty with Azerbaijan and deepen ties with the West, though Russian economic pressure and domestic opposition to constitutional changes could undermine these efforts.

What's at Stake in Armenia's Upcoming Election

A window view from Turkey's Eastern Express train. 

Improved relations could unlock strategic and economic benefits for both countries, especially if their border is reopened, though Russia's entrenched influence in Armenia remains a key constraint.

Russian Coercion Will Constrain Budding Turkey-Armenia Rapprochement

Technicians work at the main blast furnace at the Zaporizhstal Iron and Steel Works on Feb. 12, 2024 in Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine.

Part two of this report examines how either a comprehensive peace agreement or a severe escalation of the war would affect Ukraine's investment climate.



Scenarios for the Future of Foreign Investment in Ukraine, Part 2

Japan

Philippines

India

A cargo ship anchored May 16 in the Strait of Hormuz near Larak Island, Iran. Major gaps in negotiations over the Strait of Hormuz and Iran's nuclear program persist, and the U.S.-Iran ceasefire will remain fragile over the next week.

The Weekly Rundown: Rubio Visits India, a Fragile U.S.-Iran Ceasefire

A view taken on Dec. 13, 2023, shows pumping units at the grounds of a fuel tank farm of Russia's oil pipeline giant Transneft.

The intensifying drone strikes are unlikely to trigger an oil sector crisis or alter Moscow's war calculus, but they will financially drain Russian oil companies, even as high prices buoy the Kremlin's revenues.

Assessing the Impact of Ukrainian Strikes on Russia's Oil Sector

EU and Ukrainian flags fly outside the European Commission headquarters on Feb. 23, 2025, in Brussels, Belgium.

While a European mediator may unblock frozen peace talks, a durable peace settlement remains unlikely until both Russia and Ukraine conclude that continued war is more costly than compromise.

The Limited Promise of EU Mediation in Ukraine Peace Talks

Mexico

South Korea

Russian President Vladimir Putin (L) and Chinese President Xi Jinping on Sept. 3, 2025, in Beijing's Tiananmen Square.

The Weekly Rundown: Elevated Tensions in the Middle East, Putin Heads to Beijing

Uzbekistan

Tajikistan

Turkmenistan

Afghanistan

Pakistan

Afghan protesters burn a Pakistani flag during a demonstration in Helmand Province in 2016.

Gains from the Afghan Taliban's growing regional ties will be hindered by enduring disputes, logistical constraints, infrastructure security risks, and Pakistan's possible absence from future multilateral engagements.

How the Afghan-Pakistani Conflict Is Redrawing Regional Relations

Snapshots

Russian officers patrol central Moscow on May 5, 2026, in front of the Kremlin, a few days ahead of the Victory Day military parade, to be held at Red Square on May 9. 

While Ukraine is unlikely to attack Moscow during the May 9 parade, its expanding long-range strike capabilities will steadily increase the war's political, economic and psychological toll on Russia ahead of the September elections.

Ukrainian Strikes Put Russia on Edge Ahead of Victory Day Parade

An aerial view shows the Kazakh village of Ulken (foreground), where the country's first nuclear power plant is set to be built, on Sept. 22, 2024.

Kazakhstan will seek to balance its reliance on Russia to build its first nuclear plant by partnering with China on subsequent projects and by leveraging new mining laws to extract downstream technology from foreign partners.

Kazakhstan's Strategy to Control Its Nuclear Future Amid Russian Leverage

Vietnam

Employees walk at the construction site of a gas metering station, part of the pipeline link between Bulgaria and Greece near the village of Malko Kadievo, on March 18, 2022. 

The Weekly Rundown: No U.S.-Iran Breakthrough, EU Ban on Spot Market Russian LNG

<p>Despite being the largest country in the world by area, the Russian Federation occupies territory that is indefensible and unforgiving. The core of Russia, running from the Volga grain belts up through Moscow proper to the Baltic Sea, lacks any natural features to fortify it from attack. This is why the country has traditionally anchored its territory to major geographic barriers far from its core in an attempt to keep foreign powers distant. As a result, Russia has inevitably had to reach east across the frozen tundra of Siberia to the Pacific Ocean, southeast to the Tien Shen mountains of Central Asia, south to the Caucasus Mountains bordering Iran and Turkey, and finally west to the Carpathian Mountains in Central Europe. But, there is one major hole in this geographic expanse: The Northern European plane. The Northern European plane is a gap between the Carpathian Mountains and the Baltic sea which, at its narrowest, is 480 kilometers (300 miles) across. This narrow point, referred to as the Polish funnel, lies just West of Warsaw and reaches down Krakow in the south. Russia has faced three major attackers along this axis; Napoleon, Wilhelm II, and Hitler. Most recently, the expansion of NATO and the European Union into Central and Eastern Europe has raised Russian hackles. Moscow would much prefer to control the lands between Russia and the Polish funnel &mdash; pushing as far west as possible &mdash; knowing full well that once an attacker has passed that narrow chokepoint, it is an open march to Russia&#39;s heartland. For this reason, Moscow seeks to occupy or influence its borderlands, or at the very least, maintain their neutrality. Looking beyond its indefensible borders and largely hollow interior, Russia boasts a diverse population of 144,463,450 people and a powerful military. These armed forces, backed by an autocratic political system, help protect the country&#39;s unwieldy land mass. Russia&#39;s economy is inherently fragile and highly dependent on commodity exports ranging from grain to energy. The country is traditionally at its most powerful when a strong, heavy-handed leader is in charge, such as current Russian President Vladimir Putin. Despite this, though, the Kremlin must continually deal with internal political divisions, rising ethnic tensions and regional dissidence.</p>

SITUATION REPORTS

Armenia: Pashinyan Wins Election but Falls Short of Constitutional Majority

Russia, Ukraine: Putin Dismisses Zelensky Meeting Proposal, Keeps Demands Intact

Tanzania: President Hassan Meets Putin During State Visit to Russia

Russia, Ukraine: Zelensky Says Ukrainian Deep Strikes Are Improving Kyiv's Negotiating Position

Russia, Ukraine: Ukrainian Drones Strike St. Petersburg as Economic Forum Opens

Ukraine, Russia: Russian Missile Strikes Test Ukraine's Civilian Resilience

Ukraine, Russia, U.S.: Zelensky Calls for Renewed Talks Before Winter

Armenia: EAEU Leaders Threaten To Review Armenia's Membership Amid EU Bid

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