... agenda against Russia and Assad, President Biden’s policy could allow for flexibility in adapting to a post-conflict Syria and for the possibility of back-channel negotiations with Russia
Middle East watchers continue to speculate about how President Joe Biden’s Syria policy will evolve as he pursues other policy goals in the region, such as the withdrawal of troops in Afghanistan and Iraq. American analysts are inconsistent in evaluating U.S. strategy, as evident by articles from Andrew J. Tabler ...
The revision of the sanctions policy by the new administration cannot be called a revolution. The institutional arrangement will remain unchanged
In the United States, a revision of the sanctions policy
is in full swing
. Joe Biden’s administration strives to make sanctions instruments more effective in achieving his political goals and, at the same time, reducing political and economic costs. The coordination of restrictive measures with allies is also seen as an important ...
It is unlikely that we will see any breakthroughs at the upcoming Putin-Biden summit—but despite all the difficulties, there are still signs for optimism
Joe Biden and Vladimir Putin have known each other for a long time—decades, in fact. This, however, made it no easier for them to agree to the meeting scheduled for June 16 in Geneva. The U.S.–Russia relations have seen a steady decline over the past ...
... like him. The Republican President avoided publicly criticizing his Russian counterpart and was quite generous with his compliments to him, which inevitably caused not only annoyance but pure outrage in Washington and in Trump’s own Administration. Joe Biden has known Vladimir Putin for many years; he does not set himself the task of getting the Russian leader to like him. As far as one can tell, the two politicians do not have any special liking for each other, with this more than reserved attitude ...
... into account. The upcoming elections in Iran may affect its diplomacy, which could become less amenable to compromise. In the United States, the political cycle has just begun. But the specificity of institutions remains an important factor. Even if Joe Biden with his orders cancels Donald Trump’s decisions and returns the US to the status quo, he will not be able to change a number of US laws on Iranian issues. The President will still have to regularly report to Congress and “certify” the ...
Syria will most likely remain part of US regional policies and subordinate to US dealings with Iran, Turkey and Russia
With the new US administration in the White House, there are rather lofty expectations about a change in the American Middle East policy in general and towards Syria in particular. Some argue that the US Middle East policy will remain somewhat in line with that of Trump’s presidency, while others believe that Biden’s team will try to reverse many of the previous foreign policy...
... the sanctions policy—Iran, North Korea, Cuba, China, as well as functional topics—terrorism, the fight against drug trafficking, human rights, etc.
However, all these restrictions are based or will be based on already-existing legal mechanisms. Joe Biden and Congress have yet to create new sanctions regimes. And here, in all likelihood, a certain revision of the existing policy lies ahead. It is unlikely to lead to radical qualitative changes in all azimuths, but a correction of important details ...
Washington has long-term strategic goals, but the world left by Obama is not the world inherited by Biden
U.S. President Joe Biden's decision to appoint Brett McGurk as coordinator for the Middle East and North Africa to his team at the National Security Council remind one the circumstances and atmosphere that accompanied his "early" resignation when he was the ...
... winning the next Iranian presidential election by hardliners will create an additional capacity to further contribute to Russo-Iranian relations, some complexities require a nuanced approach from both sides.
In his pre-election interviews, president-elect Joe Biden called Russia the “
biggest threat
” to the United States. No further details have been released about what that exactly means and what policy and goals his foreign policy and national security teams will pursue regarding Russia. Nonetheless,...
... Federation. Both the Obama and Trump administrations were not successful at garnering a successful relationship with Russia. Under Obama and Trump, the U.S. made attempts to either reset or improve relations to no avail.
Andrey Kortunov:
Thirteen Points on Joe Biden and Russia
While President Barack Obama was still in office, relations with Russia soured and then further escalated with intelligence reports pointing to Russia as culprit for cyber intrusions, Russia’s renewed and expansive foreign policy,...
