The COVID-19 pandemic did not give Russia and the EU an impulse to start rapprochement, but the goal of finding common grounds remains on the agenda
The COVID-19 pandemic has aggravated the difficulties that have existed in the relationship between the US and the EU/European NATO members since the beginning of the Donald Trump's presidency. The Europeans disagree with the US on a number of issues.
George Tzogopoulos:
Macron’s Security Ambitions and Russia
Due to the difficult economic situation...
... a top-level summit in Paris of the Normandy Four. Agreement was reached on gas transit. Consultations between Russia and the European Union began on 5G communications. It is true, of course, that one cannot really speak of a serious shift in relations ... ... the rise of China, but what about other major powers in the world, such as the US, the EU and Russia?
Igor Ivanov:
Rethinking International Security for a Post-Pandemic World
It is difficult to say, because at best we are only near the middle of the epidemic....
... policy issues, and to the independence of its Strategic Nuclear Forces in particular, that was partly to blame for the falling out between the United States and NATO during de Gaulle’s presidency.
But the Euro-optimists, who are eager to make the European Union a great nuclear power, have been unhappy with the Treaty of Lisbon for some time now. In 2016, For example, prominent Bundestag member and international politics expert Roderich Kiesewetter of the ruling Christian Democratic Union
proposed
...
West Asia suffers from a regional systems failure in the absence of a sufficiently inclusive and viable regional security framework capable of preventing and defusing conflict
The latest crisis in West Asia only underscores the international imperative and the region’s own conspicuous responsibility to find immediate and long-term solutions to the wicked security dilemmas of that theatre to stanch the recurring cycle of violence and conflict.
Already tense and divided along countless fault-lines...
... this regard, Moscow invests a lot in its bilateral relations with regional leaders - primarily, Iran, Turkey, and Egypt. The European Union in 2025 remains a secondary player in most of the area. The Maghreb and the Sahel are the exceptions, but even ... ... to be a contentious issue (e.g. building new settlements in disputed territories in Israel or new development projects in Jerusalem);
Persistent political instability in the region may hinder the development of urban autonomy and prevent any move towards ...
... issue without exception — from counteracting Nord Stream 2 to withdrawing from the multilateral nuclear deal with Iran. The European Union was criticized for its indecisiveness regarding Venezuela: not all of the United States’ European allies have ... ... Federation Sergey Ryabkov looked more convincing, in my opinion, than his counterpart, Under Secretary of State for Arms Control and International Security Affairs Andrea Thompson.
Russia’s standout achievement in Munich was the holding of the Primakov Readings ...
... a somewhat different future.
“J’Accuse…!”
RAND Report “Russia’s Hostile Measures in Europe”
Before making accusations against Russia, the authors of the report make a series of important qualifications in their introduction that significantly ... ... countries into its sphere of influence;
increasing cooperation and trade with Western Europe;
undermining enlargement of the European Union and NATO into the post-Soviet space.
It is assumed that Moscow will use “measures short of war” as a tactic....
... Carry On? A Japanese Perspective on A Post-Liberal World
Another thesis of the report, about the growing competition between powers, is also not new. The authors are right to pinpoint the tendency towards growing contradictions between China and the USA, the USA and Russia, etc. Indeed, over the past year, the feeling that the point of no return in relations between Beijing and Washington has passed (with respect to Moscow, this happened even earlier). However, the contours of contradictions between ...
... Europe, its economies will flounder. Cui bono? Russia that can reap benefits from the two-way BRI or Arctic trade routes or moribund United States that can no longer rule roost in an increasingly multipolar world?
Trump’s
diplomatic downgrade
of the European Union and his opposition to the
Nord Stream 2
gas pipeline matches this trade-disruption hypothesis, as do pressures applied on India and China to drop energy and trade ties with Iran. Washington’s trade war with Beijing and recent charges ...
On August 21–22, Finland hosted 5th Annual «Helsinki Summer Session», an annual international expert meeting held by Finish Institute of International Affairs as part of the implementation of the Finnish Government Plan for Analysis, Assessment, and Research activities for 2018.
On August 21–22, Finland hosted 5th Annual «Helsinki Summer Session», an annual international expert meeting held by
Finish Institute of International Affairs
as part of the implementation of the Finnish Government Plan...