Spotlight West Asia by Ranjit Gupta
Ranjit Gupta
 Distinguished Fellow Amb Ranjit Gupta is a member of the Indian Foreign Service (retired), during his long tenure at th...
  • Current Syrian Peace Processes Sterile: A New Approach Needed
    Ranjit Gupta   ·    14 Mar, 2016   ·    4997
    Several initiatives have been taken to try to end the war in Syria. The first was by the Arab League, then Geneva I and Geneva II by Russia and other countries, and finally, the Vienna Process, where even a calendar of steps for bringing ...
  • Forecast 2016: West Asia
    Ranjit Gupta   ·    08 Feb, 2016   ·    4984
    Insofar as existing flashpoints are concerned, West Asia continued to present a bleak picture in 2015. The major change in 2015 from the end of 2014 was that the Islamic State (IS) lost ground in terms of the total territory it controls, ...
  • Turkey's Ambitions and the War in Syria
    Ranjit Gupta   ·    08 Dec, 2015   ·    4941
    Like in almost all Arab countries, the regime in Syria is also an absolute dictatorship. The unprecedented revolutionary fervor sweeping across the Arab world since December 2010 hit Syria in March 2011, but the trajectory of developments ...
  • Potential Implications of Russia’s Military Involvement in Syria
    Ranjit Gupta   ·    02 Nov, 2015   ·    4929
    Russia’s massive military intervention in Syria that began on 30 September 2015 took the world by complete surprise. Moscow has inducted 12 Su-25 ground-attack aircraft, 12 Su-24 bombers, six Su-34 strike fighters, four Su-30 fighte ...
  • Prime Minister Modi Finally Begins His Interaction with West Asia*
    Ranjit Gupta   ·    06 Oct, 2015   ·    4919
    Over the past four decades, the GCC countries have become India’s preeminent oil suppliers, and leading trade partners, with 8 million Indians living and working there who send annual remittances worth $40 billion back home. Indians ...
  • A Potential Indian Role in West Asia?
    Ranjit Gupta   ·    14 Jul, 2015   ·    4898
    Since the beginning of 2011, a blood-soaked West Asia has been constantly enveloped by increasing deaths, destruction, devastation and displacement. The region is going through the worst ever period in its history with little prospects of ...
  • US-GCC Summit: More Hype than Substance
    Ranjit Gupta   ·    01 Jun, 2015   ·    4881
    On 17 April, the White House announced US President Barack Obama’s invite to GCC monarchs for a summit on from 13-14 May to reassure the Saudi Arabia-led GCC bloc about the nuclear framework agreement with Iran and against the backd ...
  • King Salman: The Boldest Ever Saudi Monarch?
    Ranjit Gupta   ·    05 May, 2015   ·    4868
    King Salman, at 79 years old, was widely believed to be in poorer health when he ascended the throne than any of his predecessors. He had been the Saudi minister of defence for six months and Crown Prince for two-and-a-half years – ...
  • Yemen: Why the Current Strife will Continue
    Ranjit Gupta   ·    06 Apr, 2015   ·    4860
    Soon after its formal establishment in 1932, Saudi Arabia invaded Yemen and absorbed the Yemeni provinces of Asir and Najran, in 1934. Since then, Saudi Arabia has tried to influence internal political dynamics by using a ‘carrots a ...
  • Saudi Arabia and Evolving Regional Strategic Dynamics
    Ranjit Gupta   ·    02 Mar, 2015   ·    4843
    Saudi Arabia had, for the immediate short-term, seemingly successfully launched the process of transition to monarchs coming from the next generation; however, there has been dissent about the two younger generation appointments which has ...
Other Articles by Ranjit Gupta