The East Mediterranean is on the frontlines of a struggle for peace and economic development where Cyprus holds a central position of geographical and functional importance in terms of security, including energy security. The role of Cyprus in regional security as a host of military operations, including Afghanistan and Kuwait, and as the holder of the British sovereign bases have turned it into an indispensable partner of the West. The island has large expatriate populations from mainland Greece...
A Global Force
For a long time China's military rise had been overshadowed by its economic boom. But in recent years the country has achieved a qualitatively new level in its forces’ equipment and organization levels, with the People's Liberation Army (PLA) becoming a fully modern military entity able to wage a technologically advanced war and project force a great distance from China's borders.
Since the mid-2000s the Chinese armed forces have been undergoing a radical transformation, possibly...
... Ivanov and Dr. Kortunov presented RIAC's policy paper on the future of the OSCE prepared jointly with the German Marshall Fund of the U.S.A. and SIPRI, Sweden.
Dr. Ivanov also met Vice Chair-Designate of the Atlantic Council's Brent Scowcroft Center on International Security Ellen Tauscher to discuss cooperation of the two think tanks in 2015 and in the next years.
... Ambassador-at-Large
Anvar Azimov
and others.
The speakers agreed that the OSCE is one of the few organizations effective in crises and should remain an actor within practical politics. The "Helsinki+40" project is a platform for discussing international security and scenarios for building a new security architecture.
The seminar was part of the
OSCE PA project
timed to the 40th anniversary of the Helsinki Final Act and aimed at generating guidelines for the organization's future activities ...
... region may well become the next hot spot
For many months, the conflict in Ukraine and related sanctions have remained the key issue discussed by politicians, diplomats and journalists.
Alexei Fenenko
, leading research fellow at the RAS Institute of International Security Problems, shares his views on the impact of the sanctions on Russia and the potential resolution of the situation in eastern Ukraine as well as offers his vision on the most potentially dangerous conflict for Russia.
Today the whole ...
Interview with Andrei Zagorski
In the run-up to the international seminar “Helsinki +40: Prospects for strengthening the OSCE”, which will be held by the Russian International Affairs Council, we talked to Professor
Andrei Zagorski
of MGIMO University, head of department at the Institute of World Economy and International Relations of the Russian Academy of Sciences, and RIAC expert, about the role of the OSCE in resolving the crisis in Ukraine and about the future of the organisation...
The first in the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly’s Helsinki +40 series of international seminars aimed at fomenting reform of the OSCE takes place this Thursday, 25 September, in Moscow.
The event, hosted by the Russian International Affairs Council (RIAC), will bring together OSCE parliamentary leaders, top Russian lawmakers, OSCE experts and academicians to evaluate the Organization's past and chart lines of action to ensure its continued effectiveness.
Titled “Helsinki +40: Prospects for...
... particular field. That “sine qua non” requirement on the part of the West, as a matter of principle hotly disputed by the socialists, developed into a healthy and frank discussion on each other’s merits on the road to European and international security. While diplomatic civility was never abandoned, the sometimes acrimonious recrimination allowed participants to show clearly and without veils what each of them considered to be the state of play and the necessary measures to improve ...
Interview with Spencer Oliver, the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly Secretary General
August 2015 marks the 40th anniversary of the Helsinki Final Act. The period remaining before this milestone offers enough time to fulfill the commitments undertaken and, looking towards the future and capitalizing on past achievements, to develop concrete strategies for the OSCE and participant States. The OSCE Parliamentary Assembly together with the Russian International Affairs Council and other think tanks have...
Middle Range Power – Liberalism or Realism?
Australia badly requires unlimited access to the World Ocean and its resources, its national security fundamentally hinging on maritime trading. Canberra's interests stretch far beyond the South Pacific. Moreover, the regional balance of forces is changing, compelling the country to
modernize its defense capabilities
, as well the strategy and tactics for deployment.
Clear and Present Dangers to the Green Continent
In July 2014, Canberra released
a...
