Latest Articles about Europe
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
UKRAINIAN FOREIGN MINISTER IN LIMBO
Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry has become hostage to a constitutional reform that failed to clearly define the boundaries between the remits of the legislature and the executive. President Viktor Yushchenko insists that parliament’s December 1 motion to dismiss pro-Western Foreign Minister Borys Tarasyuk was illegal, so... MORE
WARSAW BLOCKS EU-RUSSIAN NEGOTIATIONS ON COOPERATION PACT
The press has recently focused on Russia’s relations with the European Union over natural gas issues. But Moscow has been playing diplomatic hardball with former Warsaw Pact member Poland over meat imports. In response, since late 2006 Poland has blocked the initiation of talks on... MORE
YUSHCHENKO LOSES CABINET LAW TO YANUKOVYCH AND TYMOSHENKO
Ukraine’s parliament has passed a law on the Cabinet of Ministers that strengthens the Cabinet vis-à-vis the president. The law fills in gaps left in the national legislation by the imperfect constitutional reform of 2004-2006, interpreting in the Cabinet’s favor the points dealing with relations... MORE
HUNGARY AND THE NABUCCO PROJECT: TIME TO END THE AMBIGUITY
In its comprehensive package of strategy documents, “Energy Policy for Europe,” just released in Brussels, the European Commission has proposed appointing a European Coordinator for the planned Nabucco gas pipeline, deemed a “critical project” by the EU (Press release, January 10). The pipeline is designed... MORE