Is There A New US Syria Policy? Is There One At All?
What does the US administration want with regards to Syria?The elements were clear just a few days ago. The US would split off the east and set up a Kurdish enclave which it would then occupy with the help of proxy forces. It would use the leverage to push for political regime change in western Syria. Israel would occupy another piece of the...
The Forgotten Famine of 1946-1948
The Soviet Union emerged from the world’s bloodiest conflict victorious, but at great cost. Twenty million Soviet citizens died during World War II, including 35 percent of men between 18 and 30. More than 20 percent of the population was homeless. And the material damage done by the war was on the order of 20 times the entire prewar annual...
Russia Puts Squeeze on Soccer Hooligans
Authorities are cracking down on hardcore fans weeks before a curtain-raiser to the 2018 World Cup. …read more Source: Transitions Online...
Putin Assures South Ossetia of Full Support
The new leader of the South Caucasus breakaway state gets the only endorsement that matters. …read more Source: Transitions Online...
Russia breaches international law forcing Crimeans to serve in occupying army
Nearly 5 thousand young Crimeans are to be conscripted into Russia’s army in 2017, with Russia thus openly flouting the UN General Assembly and the Fourth Geneva Convention. For the first time since Russia invaded and annexed Crimea, Crimeans will be sent to regions of the Russian Federation …read more Source: Kharkiv Human Rights...
Kremlin-backed Donbas militants accuse Ukraine and USA of ‘terrorist’ killings
The self-proclaimed ‘Donetsk people’s republic’ [DPR] and Russian media have given wide coverage to militant claims that the head of Ukraine’s counter-intelligence service was behind the killing of prominent militants, with US involvement also stressed …read more Source: Kharkiv Human Rights Protection...
Moldovan, Ukrainian Authorities Say Murder Plot Targeted Moldovan Politician
Seventeen people, including two connected to the separatist conflict in eastern Ukraine, were detained for allegedly planning to kill Vladimir Plahotniuc. …read more Source: Transitions Online...
The Next Phase of U.S.–EU Energy Cooperation
Transatlantic TakeThe G7 Energy Ministers meeting taking place in Rome today provides a useful reminder of the importance of transatlantic cooperation on energy, a collaboration that has been of strong benefit to both sides for many years. From the creation of the International Energy Agency (IEA) in 1974, following the Arab oil embargo, to the...
Sen. Chris Coons says Putin has launched an undeclared war on the international order, calls for bipartisan approach to issue
“Make no mistake: the Putin regime has launched an undeclared war on the international order that has preserved peace and stability in the United States and Europe since World War II,” Senator Chris Coons (D-Del.) said at a Brookings event today. In his remarks, the senator described how Vladimir Putin’s Russia is actively seeking to...
Russia turns to closed courts for political prisoners in occupied Crimea
Courts in Russian-occupied Crimea have now begun banning relatives and friends from attending court hearings – the only chance many have of seeing the imprisoned men. Most incredibly, the FSB has now told a court that the men should remain in custody as they are recognized internationally as political prisoners! …read more Source: Kharkiv...

