Nearly a year after applying to join NATO, Finland has become the alliance's 31st member. But the country that pushed Helsinki to abandon its decades of neutrality is not pleased. Not long after the Finnish flag was unfurled at NATO's headquarters in Brussels, Russia warned the accession was a dangerous historic mistake that would weaken regional security.

Moscow went further, saying the risk of conflict has now increased, and it would be forced to take counter-measures. Russia and Finland share a 13-hundred km long border, which the Kremlin says has been reinforced in response to NATO's expansion. Last year, Russia launched an attack on Ukraine, to protest what it said was the alliance's encroachment on its territory. In response, Finland and Sweden both applied to join NATO. Last week, Turkiye's parliament ratified Finland's bid, but not Sweden's, due to what Ankara says was the country's failure to crack down on terror groups. So how will Russia respond to Finland's accession and how will NATO react?

Guests:

Glenn Diesen

Professor at University of South-Eastern Norway

Sean Michael Cox

Senior Adviser at the Global Policy Institute

Azerbaijan had tough words for its neighbor to the south, warning that no one could speak to it in a menacing tone. On Monday, the country's defence minister criticised Iran, and the comments it made about Azerbaijan's co-operation with Israel. Tehran recently condemned Israel's top diplomat, who said his country, together with Baku, was forming a united front against Iran.

Last week the foreign ministers of Azerbaijan and Israel met in West Jerusalem, as Baku prepared to open its first embassy, which will be located in Tel Aviv. The two countries have shared close security and energy ties for decades and have also opposed Iran's policies in the region. Azerbaijan saw tensions flare up with its southern neighbor throughout most of last year, following a string of military drills Iran held near its border. Ties between Baku and Tehran deteriorated following the 2020 Karabakh war, where Azerbaijan came out victorious, reclaiming lost territory from Armenia. Iran, which also shares a border with Armenia, has been one of Yerevan's main military backers.

Guests:

Eldad Ben Aharon

Researcher at Peace Research Institute Frankfurt

Farid Shafiyev

Chairman of the Centre of Analysis of International Relations

Saudi Arabia, a long-time US ally, has taken a step closer to joining a security bloc that many say wants to challenge NATO and other Western-led institutions. Last week, the Saudi cabinet approved measures to become the Shanghai Co-operation Organisation's newest dialogue partner. It's the latest move by Riyadh in its search for alternate economic and security partnerships.

The SCO, established in 2001 as a political, economic, and security group, comprises China, Russia, and several Central Asian states. The group later expanded to include India and Pakistan, with Iran becoming the newest full member in November. Last month, bitter rivals Saudi Arabia and Iran also agreed to re-establish diplomatic ties in a Chinese-brokered deal. Riyadh, which for decades had close security and political ties with the US, has been pursuing new trade and security deals further east. That shift has raised eyebrows in Washington, including Saudi Arabia's latest announcement that it will cut oil production by half a million barrels a day. So is Saudi Arabia forging a new path directly opposed to US interests?

Guests:

Jacopo Scita

Policy Fellow at Bourse and Bazaar Foundation

James Dorsey

Senior Fellow at the National University of Singapore

Last year, a UN resolution declared March 15 as 'the International Day to Combat Islamophobia. Shortly after marking the occasion this year, the eight edition of the European Islamophobia Report was released, detailing how Muslims were seeing increased cases of discrimination. The report said that the war in Ukraine overshadowed many issues, and stressed that the conflict exposed glaring double standards. That Europeans are more welcoming to certain types of refugees than others.

The report detailed that many European countries openly welcomed white, Christian Ukrainians fleeing Russia's attack in the early stages of the war, while having for years opposed accepting mostly Muslim refugees escaping conflicts. Researchers who contributed to the report also highlighted how western media coverage, vastly differed in their portrayal of Ukrainian and Muslim refugees. Islamopbhobia was also found to be expanding at the institutionalized state level, where legislation and government policies directly targeted Muslims in certain countries.

Guests:

Farid Hafez

Senior Fellow at Bridge Initiative

Linda Hyokki

Researcher at Ibn Haldun University

Russian President Vladimir Putin has raised the stakes in his confrontation with the West and NATO. Last week, he announced that Russia would be deploying tactical nuclear weapons in neighboring Belarus. If carried out, it would be the first time since the collapse of the Soviet Union, that Moscow will station nuclear weapons outside its borders.

The announcement comes as the war in Ukraine continues with no end in sight. Kiev responded to the annoucement by saying Putin's plan poses a risk to the region as Belarus shares a long border with Ukraine and NATO members Poland, Lithuania, and Latvia. Belarus, which has stood by Moscow and allowed its territory to be used in the attack on Ukraine, confirmed it will host Russian nuclear weapons. Its foreign ministry said the decision was in response to years of western pressure and sanctions. Just days after the announcement, Russia conducted exercises with its Yars intercontinental ballistic missiles, a key component of its nuclear arsenal. So how will this latest announcement alter the balance of power in Europe, and how will the US and NATO respond?

Guests:

Stephen Herzog

Senior Researcher in Nuclear Arms Control at ETH Zurich

Eugene Chausovsky

Senior Director at Newslines Institute

Turkiye's Foreign Ministry had harsh words for the US following the release of a report by the state department. Every year, the US releases a so-called human rights report on nearly every country, but for 2022, it was particularly critical of Turkiye. Ankara slammed allegations in the report as baseless, saying it contains erroneous information of unknown origin. Instead, Turkiye's foreign ministry called on the US to focus on its own record on human rights.

The Ministry condemned, what it called a distorted portrayal of Turkiye's fight against terrorist organisations like the PKK and FETO, which orchestrated the failed July 15 coup. It added that the country would never compromise on its fight to ensure national security. Ankara highlighted that the US report was politically motivated and lacked objectivity. Turkiye, along with many other countries have criticised the annual reports released by the state department, citing their inconsistency, and double standards in detailing rights abuses. So does the US have the moral authority to release these types of reports given its own record? And will countries take these reports seriously?

Guests:

Javier Farje

Political Analyst

Bilgehan Ozturk

Researcher at SETA

It's a plan that has been floated for years, but has seen slow progress as of late. A road and railway network, running from southeastern Turkiye, through Iraq, all the way to Basra on the Gulf. Although languishing for years in the planning phase, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan gave the project a new jolt, referencing it during a press conference last week with Iraq's Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani.

Dubbed the Development Road Project, the railway and road network will begin at Ovakoy on the Turkish-Iraqi border, and head south. It will pass all of Iraq's major cities including Mosul, its capital Baghdad, before finally arriving in Basra and the al Faw port on the Gulf. Iraq's Prime Minister said he had constructive talks with President Erdogan, especially when it came to the economy. The two countries saw a record trade year in 2022, hitting 24 billion dollars. President Erdogan also said that Turkiye would be releasing more water from the Tigris River, to help alleviate water shortages in Iraq, which lies downstream.

Guests:

Ivan Eland

Senior Fellow at the Independent Institute

Ahmet Keser

Associate Professor at Hasan Kalyoncu University

It was a candid exchange between two of the US's most prominent adversaries. As he capped off his three-day visit to Moscow, Chinese President Xi Jinping hinted to his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin, that both are now shaping a new world order.

Xi was on his first visit to Moscow since Russia launched its attack on Ukraine last year. Just days before, Vladimir Putin was issued with an arrest warrant from the International Criminal Court - and the Russian leader was looking for some diplomatic support from his biggest trade partner and strategic ally. Beijing and Moscow have long opposed the US and its Western-led institutions. Together, they've been critical of NATO's expansion and global sanctions on Russian energy companies and Chinese tech firms. The two countries also lead a series of regional blocs that have offered alternatives to the Western-led order including a group of leading emerging economies known as BRICS and the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation.

Guests:

Einar Tangen

Senior Fellow at Taihe Institute

Mark Meirowitz

Professor at SUNY Maritime College

7.5 billion dollars. That's how much a European Commission donor conference pledged for Turkiye and Syria in the aftermath of the February 6 earthquakes. The funds consist of grants and loans, and will go towards rebuilding the devastated areas. Last month's quakes killed more than 50,000 people in Turkiye, destroyed over 300,000 buildings, and left around 1.5 million people homeless.

The Brussels conference brought together hundreds of countries, international organisations and financial institutions. They've pledged to help rebuild homes, hospitals, and schools. The UN Development Programme estimates the total financial burden for Turkiye is $103 billion. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan addressed the conference, and said the government would rebuild 319,000 homes within one year. Some three million people are estimated to have fled their homes following last month's disasters.

Guests:

Samuel Doveri Vesterbye

Managing Director at European Neighbourhood Council

Giray Sadik

Director of European Studies Centre at AYBU

Negotiations over the weekend have secured a 60-day extension to last year's Black Sea grain deal that allows Ukraine to export wheat and cereals to global markets. The extension comes amid heightened tensions between Russia and the west. Russian President Vladimir Putin has seen a mix of good and bad news in recent days, from welcoming one of his closet partners, Chinese President Xi Jinping, to being hit with an international arrest warrant from the ICC.

Speaking after their meeting in Moscow, President Putin and Xi reiterated his long time support for Russia, and his ideas to bring peace to Ukraine. Meanwhile the Kremlin says that on Saturday, Russian President Vladimir Putin made a surprise visit to the Ukrainian city of Mariupol, which saw heavy fighting last year before falling to the Russian military. Moscow also recently warned NATO that it will destroy fighter aircraft given to Ukraine. Slovakia and Poland recently announced they would be sending fighter jets to Ukraine, in a bid to shore its air defences. Last week, A Russian plane brought down a US drone in the black sea, in the first direct confrontation between Russia and America since the conflict began last year.

Guests:

Manas Chawla

CEO at London Politica

Amanda Paul

Senior Policy Analyst at European Policy Centre