About this episode

The episode discusses the future of the relationships among Russia, China, Iran, and North Korea from Moscow's perspective.

Today’s episode of Brussels Sprouts comes from a virtual panel discussion that the Center for a New American Security (CNAS) held on July 14 to mark the release of a report titled Forecasting the Future of the Axis of Upheaval: The View from Moscow. The report assesses the future of the “axis of upheaval,” or the deepening relationships among Russia, China, Iran, and North Korea, from Moscow’s perspective. The report is set amid growing doubts about Russia’s ability to support its partners abroad in Syria, Venezuela, and Armenia amid the crisis in Nagorno-Karabakh. Yet while Russia did little to help Iran during 12 days of punishing strikes from Israel and the United States in 2025, Russia provided more tangible support for Iran this year. These incidents raise important questions. How does Russia view its relationships with China, North Korea, and Iran? How far would Russia be willing to go to support its partners? What are the factors that drive its cooperation, and what are the limitsJoining Andrea Kendall-Taylor on the panel to address all these questions are three distinguished experts: Nicole Grajewski, Marcin Kaczmarski, and Kadri Liik.Nicole Grajewski is a nonresident…

People in this episode

Host: Andrea Kendall-Taylor

Guests: Nicole Grajewski, Marcin Kaczmarski, Kadri Liik

Topics covered

• Russia
• China
• Iran
• North Korea
• international relations
• axis of upheaval
• geopolitics

Keywords

• Russia
• China
• Iran
• North Korea
• geopolitics
• axis of upheaval
• international relations
• Moscow
• Syria
• Venezuela

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Center for a New American Security

Places: Moscow, Syria, Venezuela, Armenia, Nagorno-Karabakh, Iran, North Korea, China

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