Latest Articles about Europe
RUSSIA ASSAILS LATVIA’S RATIFICATION OF MINORITIES CONVENTION
On May 26, the Latvian parliament ratified the Council of Europe's Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities. The Russian government is denouncing Latvia's move vociferously in the mass media and international organizations, on the grounds that the Latvian parliament has attached two reservations... MORE
FORMER SECURITY CHIEF REVEALS DETAILS ABOUT VIOLENCE DURING UKRAINIAN PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION
In February, Oleksandr Turchynov, a close ally of Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko, replaced Ihor Smeshko as chief of the Ukrainian Security Service (SBU). Smeshko recently provided new details about violence during Ukraine's 2004 presidential elections in a long interview published in the May 27 issue... MORE
ANALYSTS TURN A CRITICAL EYE TOWARD YUSHCHENKO’S EARLY RECORD
Ukraine watchers are abuzz about a May 25 article in Lvivska Hazeta, in which the paper's Moscow correspondent called upon Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko to dismiss Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko. According to an eyewitness account published in Zerkalo Tyzhnia/Nedeli on May 21, Yushchenko did call... MORE
The Madrid Bombings: Spain as a “Jihad” Highway to Western Europe
In 711 A.D., Arab armies under Tariq ibn Ziyad crossed the Straits of Gibraltar, conquering Spain and sweeping northwards into France. The Madrid bombings seem to indicate that Muslim fundamentalists are well aware of their history and are using Spain’s proximity to North Africa as... MORE
U. S. SENATE, EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT CONDEMN OCCUPATION OF BALTIC STATES
The Kremlin's neo-Soviet line on the outcome and consequences of the Second World War, in evidence during the recent Victory Day celebrations (see EDM, May 5, 6, 10, 12) may have accelerated the passage of resolutions that were pending in the U.S. Senate and the... MORE
ATTEMPT AT MASS PROTEST IN KYIV DEMONSTRATES OPPOSITION WEAKNESSES
The former Ukrainian authorities, now in opposition to President Viktor Yushchenko, are trying to attract public attention to their problems. The popular Eurovision Song Contest, held May 19 in Kyiv, provided an opportunity to play to the visiting international media. Protesting against "political persecution," the... MORE
VICTORY DAY EVENTS SHOCK BELARUS
The 60th anniversary of Victory Day, commemorated on May 9, brought about two controversial and quite unexpected events for Belarus. The first was Belarus President Alexander Lukashenka's failure to appear at the grand celebrations in Moscow as anticipated. The second was the renaming of the... MORE
RUSSIAN-UKRAINIAN OIL SUMMIT: AN UNEASY, FLEETING COMPROMISE
On May 19 in Kyiv, President Viktor Yushchenko, Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko, and other senior Ukrainian officials met in an emergency conference with Russia's Ambassador Viktor Chernomyrdin, Russian state pipeline monopoly Transneft chairman Semyon Vainshtok, and top executives of Russian oil companies and their branches... MORE
MOSCOW SIGNS BORDER AGREEMENT WITH ESTONIA
On May 18 in Moscow, Ministers of Foreign Affairs Sergei Lavrov and Urmas Paet signed a long-awaited agreement on the Russia-Estonia border. The agreement had been initialed in 1996 and reconfirmed in 1999, its content fully approved by the Russian side in all details. However,... MORE
KYIV TAKES EMERGENCY STEPS TO COPE WITH FUEL CRISIS
Ukraine's presidential administration and government are multiplying emergency measures in response to severe fuel shortages and prices hikes by an informal cartel of Russian suppliers (see EDM, May 18). Yesterday [May 18], President Viktor Yushchenko signed the legislation adopted on the preceding day by parliament,... MORE