Latest Articles about Europe
TOLERANCE REDUCES NEED FOR RUSSIAN LANGUAGE LAW IN UKRAINE
Although Ukraine’s Party of Regions introduced a new draft language law to parliament last fall, interest in the bill will decline following the unexpected death of key party ideologue Yevhen Kushnariov last month. Elevating Russian to an official or second state language requires a change... MORE
UKRAINE BARS RUSSIAN-PROPOSED ALIENATION OF NATIONAL GAS TRANSPORT SYSTEM
Russian President Vladimir Putin’s February 1 call to “unite” Ukraine’ gas transit system with that of Russia has strongly backfired. In Kyiv, opposition leader Yulia Tymoshenko initiated and the Verkhovna Rada adopted almost unanimously on February 6 a law banning any form of alienation of... MORE
BELARUS: A NEW DIALOGUE TO PRESERVE THE INDEPENDENT STATE?
The recent rift between Belarus and Russia has caused some soul-searching among the Belarusian political opposition, including proposals for a new dialogue with the government. At the same time, the proposed Second Congress of Democratic Forces is scheduled to take place in March, but it... MORE
TRANSNISTRIA’S “GOVERNMENT” SHOWCASES FOREIGN, MINORITY RULE
On January 31 Transnistria “president” Igor Smirnov finished forming the new “government,” which is a reshuffled version of the preceding one. The new government enjoys, at least on paper, more powers than its predecessor, as part of attempts to institutionalize the de facto authorities in... MORE
CONFIDENTIAL RUSSIA-MOLDOVA BILATERAL NEGOTIATIONS FAIL
From September 2006 until this week, Moscow and Chisinau were engaged in confidential bilateral talks on a political settlement of the Transnistria conflict. This channel operated outside the official, 5 + 2 negotiating framework (which consists of Chisinau, Tiraspol, Russia, Ukraine, the OSCE, the European... MORE
TURKMEN OPPOSITION INVITE MAY SPOIL CAREER OF UKRAINIAN MINISTER
A visit to Kyiv by prominent members of Turkmenistan’s opposition following the death of Turkmen President Saparmurat Niyazov on December 21 has triggered a scandal in Ukraine. Their host, Transport and Communications Minister Mykola Rudkovsky, has been accused of interfering with diplomatic affairs. Officials fear... MORE
LUKASHENKA REDOUBLES OVERTURES TO THE WEST
Addressing a Minsk academic forum on January 26, President Alexander Lukashenka in fact had the European Union in mind for much of his speech, clearly signaling a turnabout from his hitherto exclusive Russian orientation. Lukashenka also made the same points in accompanying remarks to the... MORE
YUSHCHENKO, YANUKOVYCH BATTLE FOR CONTROL OF SECURITY SERVICES
Last week the head of Ukraine’s parliamentary committee on national security and defense, Anatoliy Kinakh, accused the general prosecutor’s office, the Security Service (SBU), and law enforcement of beginning to act on the basis of political orders (Ukrayinska pravda, January 19). Kinakh’s concern was related... MORE
BELARUS WARNS IT MAY CANCEL ITS SUBSIDIES TO RUSSIA
Contrary to the widespread impression, Russian economic subsidies to Belarus have been only one side of a two-way process. Belarus has in effect also been subsidizing Russia for the last decade. The mutual-subsidies system has been the only real dimension to the otherwise virtual “Russia-Belarus... MORE
U.S. PROPOSAL TO BASE MISSILE DEFENSE SYSTEMS IN POLAND, CZECH REPUBLIC, RAISES ALARM IN MOSCOW
Last year was a disaster in terms of Russia’s relations with the West. In December 2006 Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov summed up this “not easy” year by insisting that the “legacy of the Cold War has not been removed” and scolded the Western press... MORE