Latest Articles about Europe

Kurdish Unrest Escalates in Turkey’s Southeast

The issue of national security appears to be again coming to the forefront of Turkish politics. The continuing infiltration of Kurdish insurgents into Turkey from Iraq, the clashes between the army and domestic Kurdish youths, the spate of terrorist acts carried out by Kurdish militant... MORE

A MURKY MEETING IN MOSCOW ON MOLDOVA

The United States and European Union are maintaining full secrecy over the April 19 Moscow meeting on Moldova. The Russian and Ukrainian Ministries of Foreign Affairs, the EU's Special Representative on Moldova, the U.S. State Department, and the OSCE's American-led Moldova Mission participated in the... MORE

TYMOSHENKO SET TO OUST NEW MAYOR OF KYIV

Banker Leonid Chernovetsky has managed to secure the legitimacy of his election as Kyiv mayor. On April 10, the Shevchenkivsky district court in Kyiv ruled that there was no proof of vote buying by Chernovetsky. Outgoing mayor Oleksandr Omelchenko had accused Chernovetsky of buying votes... MORE

A WEAKENED LUKASHENKA STARTS THIRD TERM

On Saturday April 8, Alexander Lukashenka was inaugurated for a third term as president of Belarus, eight days later than originally scheduled and following the most controversial election campaign in the brief history of the independent country. The stability of his extended presidency rests on... MORE

ORANGE REVOLUTION LEADERS DECIDE TO RE-UNITE

After weeks of difficult consultations, the Our Ukraine bloc of President Viktor Yushchenko, the Yulia Tymoshenko Bloc, and the Socialist Party have decided to re-establish their alliance. On April 10, they launched talks on the shape of a cabinet coalition. Our Ukraine rejected coalition proposals... MORE

GAZPROM SQUEEZING BELARUS

Addressing an international energy conference on April 4-5 in Moscow, Gazprom Vice-Chairman Alexander Ryazanov threatened to raise the price of gas to Belarus to "at least triple the present level" after December 31, 2006, so as to bring the price for Belarus "in line with... MORE

MAVERICK BANKER WINS MAYORAL ELECTION IN KYIV

The mayoral election in Kyiv, which was held simultaneously with the national parliamentary elections on March 26, produced a sensation. Leonid Chernovetsky, a maverick nouveau riche whose bid for city hall was hardly taken seriously in the beginning, came out ahead. While the two favorites... MORE

RUSSIA BANS GEORGIAN, MOLDOVAN WINES AND OTHER PRODUCTS

As of March 27, Russian authorities have banned the import of all wines from Moldova and Georgia, traditionally the leading suppliers to Russia's market. In addition, as of March 21 Russia's authorities banned the entry of plants and vegetable products from Georgia. It seems that... MORE