... Confidence in Trust in Relations
between Russia and the West
There has to be an autonomous status of the districts in eastern Ukraine and free regional elections as soon as possible. Concerning Crimea, I don´t see a solution in the short run. Western sanctions against this territory will stay for a long time. Russia’s actions violated international law, so as the Budapest Memorandum of 1994. The only way out would probably be a new referendum on the future of Crimea under international supervision.
Russia has already said that we are not against implementing ...
... SIPRI Chairman Emeritus Rolf Ekeus.
The participants discussed ways to strengthen and reform the OSCE, integrated approach to European security and future OSCE PA role with the focus on Ukraine crisis and prospects for relationship between Europe and Russia.
Opinions have been voiced that time has come to change the key and regard Russia as part of Europe rather than plunge into confrontation, the sanctions being vestiges of the past and hardly effective as foreign policy tools since they damage both Russia and European countries. Many said that the OSCE seems the least efficient organization in the Ukraine context.
It was the third Helsinki+40 ...
... for example, its reaction to certain events be belated, inadequate or missing.
Finally, within the framework of the positive scenario, Japan will actively develop economic and political relations with Russia, breaking away from the united front of the West and lifting the anti-Russian sanctions. This scenario greatly promotes the possibility of concluding a peace treaty and solving the problem of territorial demarcation. The prospects that this scenario will prevail are gaining ground due to the victory of Japan’s Liberal Democratic ...
... still do this if the conflict deteriorates enough to make the Kremlin’s alternatives look even worse. From this perspective, it can be very dangerous to put too much pressure on Russia.
So far, most Russian experts have expressed concern that the Russian Federation cannot respond to Western sanctions without exacerbating the economic damage caused by them. Any actions taken by Moscow to curtail economic and technological cooperation, and any restrictions imposed on Western businesses in Russia would entail immediate losses to the nation's ...
... that very expression. And then I repeated it to former British foreign secretary David Miliband, who once phoned me to censure Russia for allegedly offending peaceful Georgia and its president. I did not add any insulting word about Saakashvili for myself.... ... months later, Miliband’s advisers leaked the episode to mass media for some reason, besides strongly distorting it.
On sanctions and alliances
- Nevertheless then there was ‘reset’ of relations with America, relations with the West were sorted out, and now all has gone backward after the events in Ukraine and the situation around Crimea.
- If it was not ...
... limits of what they can do in the new world system and what the punishment could be if they crossed these limits.
It won’t help Ukraine
International Alexei Druzhinin/ RIA Novosti/ AP
The signing of gas agreement with China
Obviously, the anti-Russian sanctions policy will not force Putin to take a pro-Western stand on Ukraine. On the contrary, sanctions may cause Russia to toughen its position with regard to Kiev.
The Western countries
assure us that the sanctions would be lifted the moment Moscow stopped destabilizing Ukraine. However,
Moscow insists
...
... developing markets in the region just as high as in Europe. The partnership between China and Russia has both political and economic dimensions.
Russia and China have similar positions on many global policy issues, including the events in Ukraine and Western sanctions against Russia. For all the importance of the gas contract signed by the two countries, partnership agreements in other economic sectors and major Chinese investment plans in Russia are no less significant.
I recently participated in a number of meetings on the ...
... banks but left Rossiya and Sobinbank out of the system.
NASA/Joel Kowsky
American and Russian flags inside the Mission
Control Center in Korolev
Simultaneously, the international rating agencies S&P and Fitch Ratings, citing the potential impact of Western sanctions on Russia’s economy and business environment, downgraded the outlook for Russia’s long-term foreign-currency ВВВ and local-currency ВВВ+ ratings to negative from stable
[6]
. Without a doubt, this has reinforced investors’ cautious ...
