Section: Research Organizations & Think Tanks about Ukraine
West’s Navalny Hypocrisy a Gas
The day after opposition figure Alexei Navalny was arrested in Moscow last week on his return from a provocative and prolonged decampment in Germany, Western media fell over themselves to condemn his detention. In its online edition, the US government-owned Radio Free Europe news outlet ran seven articles dedicated to Navalny out of a total of...
The Dangers of Lifting Sanctions on the Islamic Regime of Iran
President Joe Biden, image via White House websiteBESA Center Perspectives Paper No. 1,907, January 28, 2020 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: Now that President Biden has been installed in the White House, the Islamic regime in Iran is hopeful that US sanctions on the country will soon be lifted. Lifting the sanctions, however, would tighten the regime’s...
The Biden Presidency and Ukraine
By Steven PiferIn a December 2020 New York Times interview, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky welcomed Joe Biden’s election as U.S. president. Zelensky observed that Biden “knows Ukraine better than the previous president” and “will really help strengthen relations, help settle the war in Donbas, and end the occupation of our...
The Dangers of Lifting Sanctions on the Islamic Regime of Iran
President Joe Biden, image via White House websiteBESA Center Perspectives Paper No. 1,907, January 28, 2020 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: Now that President Biden has been installed in the White House, the Islamic regime in Iran is hopeful that US sanctions on the country will soon be lifted. Lifting the sanctions, however, would tighten the regime’s...
UK court enforced Tatneft’s award despite illegality defense
Ukraine has failed to overturn the enforcement of the investment treaty award won by Tatneft despite a finding by the Commercial Court in London (the „Court”) that a significant portion of the damages awarded related to an illegal purchase of shares. The Court found that under Ukrainian corporate law Tatneft illegally obtained the investments,...
Ukraine’s Coal Industry in Crisis
The devastating effect of decades of neglect and corruption have been exacerbated by conflict.When miners in the town of Antratsyt in the east of Ukraine decided to go on strike over unpaid wages in June 2020, they were met with a fierce response. The authorities in the self-proclaimed Luhansk Peoples’ Republic quickly launched a clamp down...
Turkey’s Overlooked Role in the Second Nagorno-Karabakh War
The Second Nagorno-Karabakh War between Armenia and Azerbaijan ended on November 10, 2020 with the former acknowledging defeat. Various factors explain Azerbaijan’s military victory, with two considered by observers as “magic bullets”: the role of unmanned aerial vehicles sourced from Turkey and Israel, and the advisory role of Turkish...
The West Must Now Be United on Russia
This week, outgoing Secretary of State Mike Pompeo canceled his final trip to Europe, leaving a long list of issues for the incoming Biden administration to coordinate on with European partners. Russia will be high on this list. Last month, an investigation by Bellingcat and CNN revealed new details about the use of banned chemical weapons by...
The Future of U.S. Democracy Promotion
On Inauguration Day 2021, the nation’s capital looks like it has just experienced a coup, not successfully survived one. Streets are blocked off, barricades are up, and armed police and National Guard are everywhere. The inauguration itself is taking place in front of a deliberately minimal crowd, as if the authorities are somehow pulling...
A New Day for Transatlantic Cooperation
Joe Biden became president of the United States yesterday. As he proclaimed in his inaugural speech: “America has been tested, and we’ve come out stronger for it. We will repair our alliances and engage with the world once again. Not to meet yesterday’s challenges, but today’s and tomorrow’s challenges.” The time to open a...