... could not reach a compromise on specific matters, like non-tariff trade restrictions, phytosanitary standards or customs administration. Another explanation is that the prime cause of disagreements was the expected length of the transition period for Ukraine. Yet another reason for the failure is the inability of the three parties to agree on the legal format of their final arrangement: the European Union and Ukraine were ready to sign only a joint ministerial statement or a political declaration,...
http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/germany-concerned-about-aggressive-nato-stance-on-ukraine-a-1022193.html#sp.goto.blogcomment=8148
The huge gaps between General Breedlove's allegations and the facts provided by the German intelligence service (Bundesnachrichtendienst), lead one to wonder why he continues to make such allegations....
... to the USSR. Of the 15 former republics of the Soviet Union, four have no diplomatic relations with one another (Armenia and Azerbaijan, Russia and Georgia). Unregulated border disputes are the bane of practically all Central Asian states. Russia and Ukraine have not broken diplomatic relations formally, but relations between the two countries are at their lowest ebb since December 1991.
The new independent states are more integrated into the world economy and politics. Important international players ...
... for Russian Foreign Policy You Need to Know"
After October’s Valdai Discussion in Sochi, Ivan Timofeev
wrote a succinct assessment of the latest trends in Russian foreign policy
. Indeed, after the annexation of Crimea, the conflict in Ukraine, a downward spiral of sanctions, and Russia's latest intervention in Syria, it is no simple task to identify clear patterns of behavior.
One challenge is separating the old from the truly new, and the signal from the noise. That is,
Russia's ...
Since the end of the Cold War and disintegration of the Soviet Union, the almost two-year-long Ukraine crisis has grown into a key event affecting global security and international relations. In fact, the situation has been analyzed at length both by Russian and Western experts, although much of the work has been deplorably biased and lopsided....
The US Senate passed on Tuesday the $607 billion National Defense Authorization Act. The bill passed with an overwhelming majority of 91 votes in favor and 3 votes against it.
"On the issue of Ukraine, in particular, several US senators have hard-anti Russian stance, even more so than the current US administration. They're calling for more extensive military aid to be given to Kiev, including the delivery of modern lethal weapons," Director-General ...
Recent developments both in Ukraine and Syria show that international community is making effort to come to terms with Russia on these two stumbling blocks but there is still a lot to be done. European Leadership Network Director
Ian Kearns
has shared his expert opinion on how these ...
... Affairs magazine Fyodor Lukyanov, Chairman of the Presidium of the Council on Foreign and Defense Policy, visited the Embassy of France to meet with Head of Continental Europe Department at French Foreign Ministry Florence Mangin for the discussion of Ukraine settlement, implementation progress of Minsk accords, Syria and initial results of the Vienna process on Syria, Moldova, and opportunities for interaction between the EU and the Eurasian Economic Union.
Moderated by French Ambassador to Moscow ...
Comment on Brian Whitmore's RFE/RL podcast, “The Daily Vertical: Return Of The Russian World> http://www.rferl.org/content/daily-vertical-return-of-russian-world/27340254.html
Not much understanding of Russkiy Mir or its role in Russian foreign policy in this podcast.
Russkiy Mir is often represented as some new, strange, perhaps threatening concept cooked up in the Russian Foreign Ministry as part of a new Russian imperial project. Not so! Russkiy Mir existed long before even...
The current situation in Ukraine is mostly considered as a simply conflict between pro-Russian insurgency and the Ukrainian government. But the truth has become far more complex and it is now a crucial security issue for EU and Russian governance.
The employment of paramilitary ...
