Latest Articles about Europe
WHY DID PUTIN COME TO MINSK?
On December 13-15, Russian President Vladimir Putin made the first official visit to Belarus of his presidency, which is scheduled to end on March 2, 2008, when new presidential elections take place in Russia. Ostensibly, the visit concerned the next stage of development of the... MORE
TYMOSHENKO CABINET GETS DOWN TO WORK
The coalition of President Viktor Yushchenko’s Our Ukraine – People’s Self-Defense (NUNS) and the Yulia Tymoshenko Bloc (BYuT) succeeded in electing Tymoshenko as prime minister on Tuesday, December 18. The coalition appointed her cabinet on the same day. Tymoshenko promised to review gas accords with... MORE
Al-Qaeda at Year’s End 2007: What Do the Facts Say?
If an analyst in al-Qaeda’s intelligence services or a journalist friendly to al-Qaeda were asked to compile a roundup of news stories from 2007 that support his sympathies, here is what he would write. It would be a reasonably effective and sophisticated bit of open-source... MORE
U.S. Air Base at Incirlik Faces Political and Security Threats
The frequent battles between Turkey and the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) constantly direct the world's focus to the Turkish-Iraqi border area. Over 450 miles to the north and west, however, and six miles from Turkey’s fourth largest city, Adana, lies a prime U.S. asset in... MORE
HUNGARY’S MOL STAYS WITH NABUCCO, BUT PRIME MINISTER WEIGHS SOUTH STREAM ALSO
Gazprom-controlled Kommersant claimed on December 13 that Hungary's MOL energy company has invited Gazprom to join the New Europe Transmission System (NETS), a proposal just launched by MOL to interconnect the gas transmission networks of at least seven Central and South-East European countries within an... MORE
RUSSIA, UKRAINE TRADE HARSH WORDS OVER HISTORICAL MEMORY
On December 14 Russia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) issued a strongly worded statement complaining of “open nationalist, anti-Russian, and Russphobic feelings and developments in Ukraine.” Attempts are being made, it claimed, to “use difficult periods in our joint history to receive brief political rewards... MORE
Turkish Military Strikes PKK Targets in Northern Iraq
On April 12, Chief of the Turkish General Staff Yaşar Büyükanıt said that a cross-border operation into northern Iraq was necessary to better fight the rebels of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK). It took eight months, over 200 Turkish casualties and several very important meetings... MORE
TYMOSHENKO VOTE SHOWS COALITION’S LIMITATIONS
The coalition of President Viktor Yushchenko's Our Ukraine-People's Self-Defense bloc (NUNS) and the Yulia Tymoshenko Bloc (BYuT) has failed to ensure Tymoshenko's return to the post of prime minister, from which Yushchenko fired her in fall 2005. This time it is not disagreements within the... MORE
U.S. PROPOSAL TOLERATES RUSSIAN MILITARY PRESENCE IN MOLDOVA
According to a new U.S. proposal regarding Moldova, “Russia would resume withdrawal/disposal of munitions when possible.” Pending that, the OSCE would conduct periodic observation visits at the munitions stockpiles. Thus, the document fails to establish a Russian commitment to, or time frame for, the withdrawal... MORE
The Turkish Generals’ Talk: The Strategic Insights of Turkey’s Struggle with the PKK
In November, Turkish journalist Fikret Bila published a book entitled Komutanlar Cephesi (“The Commanders’ Front”) based on interviews with eight retired Turkish military commanders (Detay Yayıncılık, 2007). Prior to its publication, extracts from the book were serialized in Turkish in Milliyet (see Eurasia Daily Monitor,... MORE