Edward Lucas

When I hear Russian spoken on the street my ears twitch. I try to start a casual conversation, just to see what kind of Russia-speakers are breathing the same air as me.

Geopolitics leaves little room for sentiment. The blunt truth for US allies in Europe and Asia is that it is better to have the global hegemon on your side than not.

Geopolitics leaves little room for sentiment. The blunt truth for US allies in Europe and Asia is that it is better to have the global hegemon on your side than not. Still commonsense in Japan, this is now contentious in Europe. The Trump administration demands ever-more from its allies, and puts ever-greater burdens on them. Eventually, tempers snap.

The apocryphal newspaper headline "Fog in the Channel, continent cut off." is a century-old metaphor for Britain's solipsistic attitude to its continental neighbours.

Uncertainty about the US military commitment to Europe, plus the near-certainty of a continuing threat from Russia, places the UK centre-stage in all defence and security discussions. So who prime-minister designate Andy Burnham appoints as foreign secretary, and defence secretary, is crucial.

Russia is too weak militarily to invade any Nato country. It is building some military infrastructure, notably on the border with Finland, but it has no soldiers to put there.

On August 31, 1939, Nazi SS officers disguised as Poles attacked the radio station in the then German town of Gleiwitz.

Since Donald Trump's arrival on the international stage, Nato summits have descended into pantomime. Serious actors say and do absurd things to fit the genre.

The alliance avoided disaster in the Turkish capital - but it is becoming increasingly irrelevant, writes Edward Lucas.

It’s time we stopped penalising enterprise and mobility and raised money from unearned wealth