Section: Atlantic Council (USA)
Yatsenyuk at the European Parliament: It’s Time for Europe to Do Its Part
With respect to Ukraine and Russia’s aggression in the eastern part of the country, Europe needs to step up its game.That was the consensus at “The War in Ukraine’s East: The Military Conflict, Diplomacy, and the Humanitarian Crisis,” a discussion co-hosted by the Atlantic Council and Members of the European Parliament Anna Maria...
Ukraine Fails to Get More IMF Funding
A mission from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) visited Ukraine November 3-17. The Ukrainian government had hoped that it would decide to give Ukraine another tranche of its four-year $17.5 billion loan package of March 2015, of which Ukraine has received $7.7 billion, but the answer was a resounding no.The IMF is normally very diplomatic in...
Mr. Trump, Don’t Be Too Hasty About Lifting Russia Sanctions
The US approach to Russia, specifically the future of sanctions imposed in response to Russia’s actions in Ukraine in 2014, is one of the many US foreign policies thrown into question by Donald Trump’s election as the next president of the United States. Quickly lifting these sanctions may simplify compliance efforts for the private...
In Time of Trump, Advice to Friends of Ukraine (And Democracy)
Friends of Ukraine, brace yourself. There’s no way to sugar-coat this for the democracy crowd either.Donald Trump has suggested that Ukraine is not our business (it “affects Europe a lot more than it affects us”). Our president-elect admires Russia’s authoritarian leader (he’s “brilliant,” a “strong...
Holodomor Remembrance Day: Why the Past Matters for the Future
As Americans sit down to their Thanksgiving meals on the last Thursday in November, Ukrainians will be commemorating the memory of millions who were murdered in 1932-33. The last Saturday in November is Holodomor Remembrance Day in Ukraine, a time to mark the anniversary of Joseph Stalin’s engineered starvation of the nation. In the West,...
How Ukraine Can Use E-Declarations to Target the Most Corrupt
This year, thousands of Ukrainian members of parliament, government officials, and civil servants were required by law to declare their incomes and assets in a publicly available database by October 30. Although the introduction of the e-declaration system was initially blocked numerous times, today the public can view the vast amount of wealth...
The Dissolution of the Soviet Union: Then and Now
Former Ukrainian President Leonid Kravchuk still believes deeply in the power of international norms to maintain peace.“Today’s world is based on great principles: sovereignty, territorial integrity, and untouchable borders. And as far as I understand the situation, the United States is the guardian of these principles,” said Kravchuk at an...
Trump Must Avoid the Russia Reset Trap
As a candidate, Donald Trump said that if elected president he would examine the possibility of recognizing Russia’s claim to Crimea and lifting sanctions imposed by the United States in response to Kremlin-orchestrated aggression in Ukraine. On November 8, Trump was elected the forty-fifth president of the United States. The question now...
Why Georgia Deserves More Love from the EU, NATO, and the US
On November 11, Mikheil Saakashvili stole the show again. After resigning from his post as regional governor of Odesa oblast in Ukraine, he vowed to build a new political party and called for early parliamentary elections there. While Saakashvili dominates the news cycle and pundits continue to examine his every move, it’s worth taking a...
Former NATO Leaders to Trump: Don’t Make Bad Deals with Putin
Jaap de Hoop Scheffer, Anders Fogh Rasmussen warn against turning Ukraine into a ‘bargaining chip’ US President-elect Donald Trump must not strike any deals with Russian President Vladimir Putin that turn Ukraine into a “bargaining chip,” and must send a clear signal of commitment to the security of the United States’ NATO allies, two...
