Seventy six years ago, in July 1944, the Soviet Union and Syria – country that would gain its independence two years later, after the end of the French mandate instituted by the famous ”Sykes-Picot” colonial agreements – established diplomatic relations, thus marking the beginning of a period of bilateral relations that would last throughout a history of almost 89 years.

Georgia’s former president, Mikheil Saakashvili, has accepted Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s offer to chair the Executive Committee of Ukraine’s National Council for Reforms (Ukrinform, May 7). Taking up the new challenge, Saakashvili promised to draw on the experience of his universally recognized achievements in Georgia (which inspired this new appointment in Ukraine) “but also to draw on the experience of my defeats” (Ukraine Crisis Media Centre, May 8).

Contrary to some optimist commentators, Donald Trump’s administration has not given up, nor does it intend to give up implementing the initiative to solving the Palestinian dossier that the occupant of the presidential seat in the Oval Office himself labelled as “Deal of the Century”.

Since the beginning of this year, and even earlier, the world was taken over - with its values, frustrations, concerns and, most of all, with the frightening count of those defeated - by the poisoning stench of the killer COVID-19. The tale of this ailing world filled numerous bookshelves, and the obsessive leitmotif was whether “the world after” will ever be the same. Epidemics, which humanity had experienced throughout its long journey to civilization and survival have not been forgotten, nor have the nostalgic ludic moments with their beaches, the joy of exotic places and the customary normality threatened with extinction

The COVID-19 pandemic has brought new challenges, which call for a new reflection on the healthy development of various economic sectors. After the pandemic, the prospects for an economic and social crisis compel the countries affected by it to take actions with a powerful impact on society.

Coronavirus pandemic, falling oil prices and the approaching global economic crisis may affect the course of the negotiations to resolve the Russian-Ukrainian conflict in Eastern Ukraine.

The US presidential elections are of high interest all over the world, due to their economic, political and social implications. The prospect of Donald Trump’s re-election in a world changed by the Coronavirus pandemic raises several questions.
In the interview he gave to Vladimir Adrian Costea for the Geostrategic Pulse Magazine, professor Dan Pavel analysed the perspectives and challenges represented by the confrontation between Donald Trump and Joe Biden.

From the Editor

Serbia is not seeking to replace the West as its principal partner, and no amount of Chinese coronavirus aid is going to change that.

The year 2020 was expected to be fraught with political turmoil. In preparation for the November general elections, America was warming up for a tense contest whose outcome was deemed decisive for the decade-long battle waged between populism and liberalism.