Latest Articles about Europe
YUSHCHENKO WILL BE MARGINALIZED BY CONSTITUTIONAL AND POLITICAL INSTABILITY IN UKRAINE
The three holiday breaks (Easter, May Day and World War II Victory Day) gave only a short respite before the two main figures in Ukrainian politics, President Viktor Yushchenko and Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko, resumed their fight to the bitter end. Yushchenko and Tymoshenko are... MORE
MOSCOW QUESTIONS TERRITORIAL STATUS QUO IN THE CRIMEA
Moscow Mayor Yurii Luzhkov and senior members of Russia’s Duma persist in making territorial claims to Sevastopol, following Luzhkov’s foray into the Ukrainian territory of the Crimea (see EDM, May 13). These continuing statements appear designed to question Ukraine’s sovereignty in Sevastopol, and more broadly... MORE
WHO IS REALLY TO BLAME FOR RECORD-HIGH INFLATION IN UKRAINE?
Inflation in Ukraine was 3.1 percent in April and 13.1 percent from January through April. This was the highest inflation rate of any former Soviet state, twice as high as in Russia. The Yulia Tymoshenko government drafted the state budget for 2008 based on the... MORE
TALKS ON NORTHERN CYPRUS RESUME
The issue of northern Cyprus has roiled Ankara’s foreign policy ever since July 20, 1974, when Turkey invaded the northern region of the island in “Operation Atilla,” a combined land, air and sea operation. More than 30 years after the incursion, which effectively divided the... MORE
Turkish and Iraqi Kurdish Rapprochement Ominous for PKK
In a significant change of policy, Turkey recently initiated high-level official dialogue with the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) of Iraq. A columnist for the Turkish mass circulation daily Zaman commented that such an official dialogue “was not an ordinary step. It was a turning point... MORE
London’s 7/7 Conspiracy Trial Offers Inside View of Terrorists’ Lives
Like any major terrorist event, the July 7, 2005 (7/7) bombings of London’s public transportation system that killed 52 commuters and four suicide bombers had the immediate result of generating a number of wide-ranging and speculative conspiracy theories. One of the early unanswered questions concerned... MORE
MOSCOW MAYOR, RUSSIAN DEFENSE MINISTER QUESTION RUSSIA-UKRAINE AGREEMENTS ON SEVASTOPOL
Moscow Mayor Yurii Luzhkov called for the “return” of Sevastopol to Russia during a visit to that Ukrainian territory, on the anniversary of Russia’s Black Sea Fleet. The Russian Foreign Affairs Ministry implicitly backed Luzhkov in a follow-up statement; and Russian Defense Minister Anatoly Serdyukov,... MORE
UNCONVENTIONAL GAS EXTRACTION IN HUNGARY
Hungary’s MOL oil and gas company has entered into a partnership with ExxonMobil of the United States and Falcon Oil & Gas of British Columbia, Canada, to develop the gas deposits in Hungary’s Mako Trough. With this project, North American energy companies are directly entering... MORE
LUKASHENKA SPEECH DENOUNCES OPPOSITION, WARNS THE U.S.
On April 29 Belarusian President Alyaksandr Lukashenka delivered a speech to the National Assembly on the "health" of the state that was wide ranging and more than two hours in duration. Although the speech covered a number of topics, its chief interest lies in his... MORE
RACISM IS ON THE UPSWING IN UKRAINE
On May 5 a court in Kyiv sentenced four individuals of about 20 years of age to 13 years in prison each for beating a Korean national to death in 2007. According to 1+1 TV, this was one of the very few sentences that have... MORE