Introduction Even before the White House applied 25 percent tariffs to $50 billion worth of Chinese imports in early April 2018, Chinese academics had argued that, in the event of a trade war between the United States and China becoming a reality, enhanced international economic... MORE

Perhaps for only the second time ever, sharper criticism of Belarusian President Alyaksandr Lukashenka has been emanating from Russia than from his domestic opposition. A somewhat similar situation took place in the summer and autumn of 2010, when the three-part Godfather documentary castigating Lukashenka was... MORE

The memorandum of understanding on Syria signed by Russian President Vladimir Putin and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, in Sochi, on October 22, was seen as a triumph in Moscow (see EDM, October 24); but the jubilation evaporated in a matter of days. The Kremlin... MORE

For several years, the United States has fought the Islamic State in Syria without large troop deployments or any significant casualties by maintaining a close alliance with the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF)—the local, secular, anti-Islamist army of the Kurdish-dominated Democratic Federation of Northern Syria, also... MORE

On October 17, a few days after the start of the Turkish military incursion into northern Syria, Turkey’s ambassador to Georgia, Fatma Ceren Yazgan, who does not appear often in front of the press, invited Georgian and foreign journalists to a news conference in Tbilisi.... MORE

Military forces of the United States are in retreat in portions of Syria, relocating and airlifting service personnel and Special Forces that were operating together with Kurdish-dominated Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) against the remnants of the Islamic State (IS). Other anti-IS coalition special forces contingents... MORE

Bucharest’s Road to Beijing Goes through Washington As with many other Eastern and Central European nations, Romania has consistently considered its relationship with the United States to be a privileged one: a strategic partnership meant to mitigate the risks of a neighboring assertive Russia. Nonetheless,... MORE

In an official statement, the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs denounced the September 14 multiple unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) and cruise missile attacks on Saudi Arabia’s main Abaqaiq oil processing facility and the Khurais oilfield that crippled Saudi oil production: “We strongly condemn attacks on... MORE

Though well into the second half of 2019, the Romanian government has still not signed any major arms procurement deals this year. If this situation persists, Romania risks failing to meet the minimum 2 percent of GDP defense spending goal set by the North Atlantic... MORE

Several developments suggest Belarus is entering a new phase of its evolution as a sovereign country. First, the state-owned Belarusian Oil Company has hired the American lobbyist David Gencarelli to help ease sanctions against Belarus and obtain permission to purchase crude oil from the United... MORE