Latest Articles about Europe
WILL UKRAINE, RUSSIA SOLVE PROBLEM OF PERSONAE NON GRATAE?
Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko found time in their schedules to meet on the fringes of the St. Petersburg economic forum on June 10. They discussed measures to settle Moldova’s Transnistria issue, which they agreed not to make public, and said... MORE
A CHANCE TO CIVILIANIZE RUSSIA’S “PEACEKEEPING” OPERATION IN MOLDOVA
An “Extraordinary Conference of the States Parties to the Treaty on Conventional Forces in Europe” (CFE) opens today in Vienna, to run through June 15. Russia exercised its right -- as one of the 30 state-parties to that treaty -- to convene this conference on... MORE
AQIM’s Threat to Morocco’s Tourism Sector
As with most North African countries, Morocco's tourism sector is vulnerable to fluctuations as a result of terrorism and political developments. Recent incidents such as the panicked detonation of a suicide bomber's vest in an internet cafe in April and the subsequent, albeit possibly unrelated,... MORE
IS UKRAINIAN INTERIOR MINISTER SICK OR HIDING?
Interior Minister Vasyl Tsushko has left Ukraine for medical treatment in Germany. President Viktor Yushchenko had accused him of breaking the law when Tsushko ordered riot police to storm the Prosecutor-General’s Office (PGO) on May 24, at the height of a political crisis caused by... MORE
MOLDOVA’S PRESIDENT CORNERED BY PUTIN
Concern is mounting in Chisinau, Brussels, and Washington -- to name only the main decision-making centers -- that Moldovan President Vladimir Voronin is willing to be cajoled into a bad deal with his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, at their upcoming meeting in St. Petersburg on... MORE
CIVIL-MILITARY RELATIONS DOMINATE UKRAINE’S POLITICAL CRISIS
Ukraine’s spring 2007 political crisis was the first occasion in Ukraine’s history that brought the country to the brink of bloodshed on three separate fronts. National Security and Defense Council (NSDC) Deputy Secretary Oleksandr Turchynov said that last weekend (May 24-27) could have descended into... MORE
OPPOSITION CONGRESS ADOPTS NEW PATH
On May 26-27, the 2nd Congress of United Democratic Forces (UDF) was held at the Palace of Culture of the Minsk Automobile Factory. It ended the single leadership of Alyaksandr Milinkevich and replaced him with a system of co-chairs. The UDF also modified its previous... MORE
CRISIS OVER, BUT RULE OF LAW UNDERMINED IN UKRAINE
The Ukrainian political crisis triggered by President Viktor Yushchenko’s April 2 decision to disband a hostile parliament appears to be over. On May 27, Yushchenko and his opponents, Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych and parliamentary speaker Oleksandr Moroz, scheduled an early parliamentary election for September 30... MORE
RUSSIAN TROOPS IN MOLDOVA — MAIN REMAINING OBSTACLE TO CFE TREATY RATIFICATION
With Russian troops on their way out from two bases in Georgia, the international politics of CFE Treaty ratification focuses increasingly on Moldova. The OSCE’s Permanent Council-Forum for Security Cooperation special joint meeting on May 23, with Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs Sergei Lavrov’s participation,... MORE
BALTIC SEABED GAS PIPELINE PROJECT: FAR FROM A DONE DEAL
Leaders of Estonia and Lithuania have publicly joined the growing ranks of critics and skeptics regarding Nordstream, the Russo-German Baltic seabed pipeline project for Russian gas. With Nordic countries along the proposed pipeline route raising environmental and security concerns, its commercial rationale increasingly questioned, and... MORE