... needs, as well as investing in promising projects.
From this perspective, the Ukrainian state was not viable back in February 2014. On February 24, the newly appointed Speaker of the Verkhovna Rada and government coordinator (future Acting President of Ukraine)
Alexander Turchinov declared
in Parliament that Ukraine needed external financing of 35-40 billion dollars before the end of 2014. On the same day A. Turchynov, together with the National Bank of Ukraine and the Ministry of Finance,
addressed ...
... the peace process in Donbass.
The irony is that both Moscow and Kiev need the transition from civil war to negotiations with a view to a peace agreement. Russia has long and consistently supported the idea of preserving the territorial integrity of Ukraine (within the post-Crimea borders) on condition of the country’s federalisation. According to the Kremlin’s calculations, which are supported by
numerous international experts
, in this case Russia would minimize its risks regardless ...
In light of the Ukrainian crisis, Sweden has started to consider providing a financial assistance package to Ukraine. While such a decision does not seem out of character for the beneficent country who has taken in almost 20 percent of the European Union’s asylum seekers last year[1], there may be other factors that have led Sweden towards this decision....
Latent tensions have loomed before civil strife actually irrupted in Ukraine amid deep-rooted political uncertainties. That claims upon the Crimean peninsula would be eventually raised by Putin’s Russia, concentrating troops at the borders and effecting what appeared to be a military invasion, followed by a political ...
In his wide-ranging remarks to the members of the Russian State Duma in Yalta on August 14, President Vladimir Putin only mentioned Ukraine briefly. Russia, he said, would do all it can to bring an end to the bloodletting there. Even as Putin was talking, the Russian humanitarian convoy was slowly making its way from Moscow to the Ukrainian border.
Meanwhile, at Yalta, an interesting ...
To be sure, the current conflict between the US and Russia over Ukraine is a mismatch, given the disparity in power between the two sides. Russia is not, and cannot even pretend to be, a contender for world domination. Unlike the Soviet Union, it is not driven by some universal ideology, does not lead a bloc of states ...
Europe's mainstream media has been giving only scant attention recently to the humanitarian situation in Eastern Ukraine. Their focus instead has been on the developments in Gaza and in northern Iraq. There are different explanations for this choice. Today's Europe has become a home to millions of Muslims. The Islamic State in Iraq and Syria has been replaced in ...
... actually prefers to react, not lead the way. All his most decisive actions on the world stage have been reactions, frequently disproportional to the situation, with unforeseen consequences, but still in answer to an external event. The current crisis in Ukraine is no exception.
Until his third term, Putin was emphatically non-ideological; he was pragmatic, working to increase opportunities whenever possible while preserving freedom of action.
After his return he promoted an ideology of conservatism. ...
It's been a while since the rivalry between Russia and the West took such harsh forms. Actually, the object of the contestation - Ukraine - may imply that apart from China and few other countries Zbigniew Brzezinski may be a beneficiary. "Told ya", thinks probably the former security advisor to President Carter awaiting reprintings of his Chessboard. All kidding (or not?...
The crash of the Malaysian Airlines liner in eastern Ukraine marks a crossroads in post-Soviet development.
The choice between two models of statebuilding – the "empire" or "great power" versus the "nation-state" – has long been a topic of discussion in Russia, ...
