Section: Atlantic Council (USA)
The IMF Outfoxes Putin: Policy Change Means Ukraine Can Receive More Loans
Today the Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) will reverse its “policy on not lending into arrears.” Historically, the IMF has refused to lend to any country that has not serviced its debt to any sovereign. The IMF staff started contemplating a rule change in the spring of 2013 because nontraditional creditors,...
Putin’s Goal is a New Yalta
I recently met with Ilya Yashin, a Russian opposition leader, political activist, and former colleague of the assassinated politician Boris Nemtsov. When I asked Yashin what the West could do to help those brave enough to defy the Russian regime, his main point was that governments and organizations must support Ukraine.The reason is obvious:...
Nord Stream 2: Downgrading Europe’s Security of Supply Where it Matters
Nord Stream 2 is the latest Russian incarnation meant to bypass Ukraine and bring its gas directly to the European border. It would double the existing Nord Stream capacity to 110 billion cubic meters/year with two additional strings between Russia and Germany under the Baltic Sea. In spite of a recently signed shareholders agreement between...
Take It to the Next Level: Create a Biden-Poroshenko Commission
Ukraine has made great strides in the last two years. The democratic and pro-Western Ukrainian leaders that gained power in February 2014 have returned democracy to Ukraine and have conducted three free and fair elections at all levels of power. The Ukrainian nation has come together and successfully defended itself against Russian aggression....
Minimizing the Kremlin’s Influence on Europe
Ukraine can play a key role in Europe’s effort to decrease dependence on Russia’s natural gas. Europe’s over-weaning dependence on Russian energy is the focus of my new Atlantic Council study: Developing a Western Energy Strategy for the Black Sea Region and Beyond. Gazprom’s—and Moscow’s—energy clout has become a...
Ukraine Takes Two Steps Forward on Corruption Fight
On November 30, Ukraine took two steps forward in its fight against corruption. Member of parliament Mykola Martynenko resigned his position, and Nazar Kholodnytsky was appointed the nation’s top anticorruption prosecutor.Martynenko was the deputy head of Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk’s People’s Front party and the head of...
Russia Is a “Troll State,” Not a Rogue State
In the eighteen months since Russia annexed Crimea, the world has been alternately captivated and bewildered by the wild swings and sudden shifts that describe Russian foreign policy under President Vladimir Putin. Particularly alarming for those who fear a direct clash between Russia and the West has been Putin’s tendency to swerve between...
Mykolayiv Makes a Surprising Turn Toward the West
Built on a series of spits and peninsulas, the Ukrainian city of Mykolayiv feels surrounded by water. It is here that in 1789, Russian Prince Gregory Potemkin built the shipyards that would repair Russian Empire ships fighting the Ottoman Empire, shipyards that remained of such importance that the city was closed to foreigners for most of the...
“The human rights situation in Crimea today is deplorable,” German MP Says
Editor’s Note: This piece is adapted from a speech Dr. Christoph Bergner, a member of Germany’s Bundestag, gave at the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung Foundation on October 21, 2015.I would like to thank the organizers of this event for making human rights issues in Crimea the main topic. Even if other news is currently making headlines, we...
Ukraine Two Years After Euromaidan: What Has Been Accomplished?
Two years ago, popular protests erupted against Ukraine’s former President Viktor Yanukovych on Kyiv’s Maidan. Since then, Ukraine’s economy has deteriorated sharply, with a contraction of 18 percent in two years, but the Poroshenko Bloc was the biggest party by far in the October 25 local elections. One might say that the...
