Russia’s Policy Toolbox
The current diplomatic disconnect between Russia and US-EU is monumental. Having returned from the Munich Security Conference former German Ambassador Wolfgang Ischinger stated at the Hertie School of Governance, “Trust between the two sides is virtually at zero.” With the recent crisis in Ukraine it is vital that the Atlantic community assess...
Latest from OSCE Special Monitoring Mission (SMM) to Ukraine based on information received as of 18:00 (Kyiv time), 22 March 2015
This report is for media and the general public. The SMM monitored the implementation of the “Package of measures for the implementation of the Minsk agreements”. The SMM, based on its monitoring – which was restricted by third parties and by security considerations* – observed that fighting continued in areas around the Donetsk airport and...
Congress Demands War in Ukraine!
US military vehicles in military exercises near Russia’s border this week.Just weeks after a European-brokered ceasefire greatly reduced the violence in Ukraine, the US House of Representatives today takes a big step toward re-igniting — and expanding — the bloody civil war.A Resolution, “Calling on the President to...
Financing a New Ukraine
Ukrainian Finance Minister Natalie Jaresko discusses her country’s economy, including its ambitious reform agenda and recent International Monetary Fund package. …read more Source: Council on Foreign...
OSCE Chairperson Dačić urges sides to respect ceasefire in southeast Ukraine
BELGRADE, 23 March 2015 – OSCE Chairperson-in-Office and Serbia’s Foreign Minister Ivica Dačić today expressed his concern over an increase in fighting in southeast Ukraine and urged all sides to respect the ceasefire. “An outbreak of heavy fighting east of Mariupol over the last two days is unacceptable. I call on all parties to strictly...
OSCE Chief Monitor calls for truce and restraint in southeast Ukraine
KYIV, 23 March, 2015 – The OSCE Special Monitoring Mission has observed intensified fighting in and around the village of Shyrokyne in Donetsk region which has led to further deaths and injuries, as well as displacement and damage to infrastructure. “I call on all sides to stop fighting, respect all provisions of the Minsk package, and...
A Blast From the Past
Putin stated that the Russian leadership was ready to use nuclear forces in the days of the Crimean annexation. First of all, he tries to give the people an extra shot of the “superpower steroid,” but whether wittingly or not quite, the old threat of the nuclear war is back. | Русский …read more Source: Carnegie Endowment for International...
Long Live Minsk II?
The Minsk agreements are fragile.How effectively they are implemented will depend primarily on the Europeans’ ability to convince Moscow to pressure separatists into observing the ceasefire, and on Kyiv’s ability to keep nationalist militias in line. If either side fails to do so, the fighting is likely to resume. …read more...
NATO Commander Says Russia Still Arms Rebels, German Minister Visits Visegrad Leaders
Plus, Macedonian pupils borrow a protest lesson from university students, and a town in Uzbekistan demolishes a Soviet war memorial. …read more Source: Transitions Online...
The Battle for Russia
The tragedy of Russia is that it poses as great a threat to itself as it does to its neighbors. As Europe faces off with Russian President Vladimir Putin over Ukraine, a larger and ultimately more important battle is taking place within Russia itself, one that pits the country’s rich culture against the cruel mendacity of its politics....
