Latest Articles about Europe
ANOTHER PRECONDITION SET FOR POLITICAL NEGOTIATIONS ON TRANSNISTRIA
The first meeting since 2001 between Moldovan President Vladimir Voronin and Transnistrian “president” Igor Smirnov (see EDM, April 168) marked the resumption of direct negotiations between Chisinau and Tiraspol after a seven-year hiatus. This direct channel might lead to a quick resumption of the international... MORE
POLAND IS CAUGHT BETWEEN MOSCOW AND WASHINGTON
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk won the parliamentary elections last November, promising to improve radically relations with Russia, which went sour under the previous administration of the Kacziynski brothers. Lech Kacziynski continues to be Polish President but has little influence on actual decision making. Tusk... MORE
Police Raids Uncover al-Qaeda’s Parallel World in Turkey
Al-Qaeda is taking roots in Turkey, as indicated by recent police crackdowns and the discovery of a parallel jihadi society in Istanbul. In a two-day operation, Turkish police forces arrested 43 alleged members of al-Qaeda. On April 1, police forces launched four simultaneous raids in... MORE
HAS THE TRANSNISTRIA CONFLICT GONE FROM DEAD END TO WRONG TURN?
Negotiations between Chisinau and Tiraspol toward resolving the conflict in Transnistria have restarted after a pause of almost seven years. Moldovan President Vladimir Voronin met “Transnistria’s president” Igor Smirnov on secessionist-controlled territory on April 11. With Voronin fixated on resolving the conflict in 2008 while... MORE
CAN THE UKRAINIAN COALITION HOLD TOGETHER?
The ruling coalition of Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko’s Bloc (BYT) and President Viktor Yushchenko’s Our Ukraine, People’s Self-Defense (NUNS), is on the verge of breaking apart. Yushchenko’s team not only criticizes Tymoshenko’s economic policy but also publicly accuses her of fostering corruption. Tymoshenko, for her... MORE
Improved Intelligence Behind Turkish Success in Latest Anti-PKK Operations
The latest operations by the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) against the facilities and personnel of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) in northern Iraq and in southeastern Turkey have displayed a growing competence on the part of the TSK in the use of real-time information in... MORE
UKRAINIANS DIFFER ON NATO SUMMIT RESULTS
Both President Viktor Yushchenko and opposition leader and former Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych have claimed that the April 2 to 4 Bucharest NATO summit’s decision on Ukraine was a “victory.” It was a victory for Yushchenko, because NATO members promised that Ukraine would definitely be... MORE
BELARUS IS BACK TO A POLICY OF CONFRONTATION
Three recent events in Belarus have apparently returned the country to the repressive atmosphere of the late 1990s and thrown into doubt the prospects for any significant democratic changes under the regime of Alyaksandr Lukashenka. The actions suggest a government under intense pressure but bereft... MORE
IS THE PARTY OF REGIONS SLIDING INTO CRISIS?
The Party of Regions (Regions) should be riding high in Ukrainian polls as opposition parties traditionally have golden opportunities to increase their popularity. Instead, Regions and its leader and former Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych have been declining in popularity and are in a crisis. On... MORE
NATO MAKES POLITICAL COMMITMENT TO UKRAINIAN, GEORGIAN MEMBERSHIP
At its Bucharest summit, NATO postponed a decision on approving Membership Action Plans (MAPs) for Ukraine and Georgia; but it gave the two countries much more than immediate MAPs. The Alliance committed itself clearly--albeit without a deadline--to the political and strategic goal of Ukrainian and... MORE