Latest Articles about Europe
RUSSIA STALLING TALKS ON FLEET WITHDRAWAL FROM UKRAINE
Moscow opposes Kyiv's suggestions to begin discussing preparations for the withdrawal of Russia's Black Sea Fleet from Ukraine's Crimea, with sufficient lead time to complete the multi-year process by the 2017 deadline. Russia's position seems to imply that the withdrawal process might only get underway... MORE
NEW TWISTS IN THE RUSSIAN-UKRAINIAN DISPUTE
The continuing Ukrainian-Russian war of words took on a new twist on June 13, when the Russian Foreign Ministry accused Ukraine of acting jointly with unnamed foreign companies to develop oil and gas fields illegally off the Crimean coast of the Black Sea shelf, claiming... MORE
RUSSIAN-UKRAINIAN RELATIONS REVEAL DEEPER PROBLEMS
President Viktor Yushchenko’s first meeting with newly elected Russian President Dmitry Medvedev failed to resolve the outstanding issues between Ukraine and Russia. Despite Yushchenko’s optimism that all of these issues would be resolved, “the negotiations taking everything into account became very heated.” These issues cannot... MORE
RUSSIA INSISTS ON TREATING SEVASTOPOL AS AN OPEN QUESTION
President Dmitri Medvedev has tried to make a positive impression on every foreign partner he has encountered in his first month in office, building an image of an open-minded, polite and impeccably organized statesman, if perhaps not yet as a leader. He has made few... MORE
Turkey’s Multifaceted Anti-PKK Strategy Continues to Unfold
Signs continue to emerge that Turkey has adopted a multifaceted strategy to combat the insurgency of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK). Following a series of military operations and economic reforms in Turkey’s largely Kurdish southeast region, it appears Turkey is now addressing PKK financing achieved... MORE
WILL NATO BECOME POPULAR AMONG UKRAINIANS?
The Ukrainian government has launched a campaign to make NATO popular in the country in order to secure a Membership Action Plan (MAP) for Ukraine. The Cabinet of Ministers has approved a plan to increase public awareness of the benefits of NATO membership, and pro-government... MORE
Turkish Generals Admit Military and Intelligence Coordination with Iran
On June 6, General Ilker Basbug, the commander of the Turkish Land Forces, confirmed that Turkey and Iran were sharing intelligence and coordinating military operations against the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK)—which is primarily composed of Turkish Kurds—and its Iranian affiliate, the Kurdistan Free Life Party... MORE
AUSTRIAN GOVERNMENT, OMV JOINING GAZPROM’S SOUTH STREAM PROJECT, UNDERCUT NABUCCO
The Austrian government and the OMV oil and gas company are about to join Russia’s South Stream gas pipeline project, Gazprom Vice-President Aleksandr Medvedev announced during the St. Petersburg Economic Forum on June 7. Gazprom’s South Stream is a rival to the US-backed, EU top-priority... MORE
BALTIC SEA COUNTRIES’ SUMMIT FACES ENERGY SECURITY CHALLENGES
The Council of Baltic Sea Countries, the main cooperation forum of the Baltic’s nine riparian countries plus Norway, Iceland and the European Commission, held a summit at the prime-ministerial level on June 3 and 4 in Riga. Despite the ample advance notice for this event,... MORE
IS GAZPROM MANEUVERING TO OBTAIN ROMANIAN ALUMINUM?
Romania’s important aluminum industry has long held an attraction for Russian companies. Two years ago their efforts came to the attention of the Romanian Intelligence Service (Serviciului Român de Informaţii), the SRI, which viewed these initiatives with growing concern. A 2006 memo from the SRI... MORE