Latest Articles about Economics
Banking Cooperation Between Iran and Russia Increases as De-Dollarization Campaign Intensifies
In January 2022, Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi arrived in Moscow to discuss monetary and banking issues between Russia and Iran, and the two sides agreed to the removal of trade barriers to increase trade between one another to $10 billion per year (Middle East Monitor,... MORE
Perils of ‘Water Wars’ in Central Asia
On November 3, Uzbekistani Foreign Minister Vladimir Norov and his Kyrgyzstani counterpart Jeenbek Kulubaev signed a bilateral deal in Bishkek, under which Kyrgyzstan agreed to cede to Tashkent the territory surrounding the Kempir-Abad Reservoir, covering 4,485 hectares, in exchange for over 19,000 hectares elsewhere (Radio... MORE
Meloni at the Helm: What Does Italy’s New Government Mean for Sino-Italian Relations?
Introduction Questions about the unity of Italy’s new government on several key foreign policy issues persist, ranging from the extent of its support for Ukraine to its commitment to various European Union institutions. However, on the issue of China, the new government of Prime Minister... MORE
Russia Struggles to Maintain Munition Stocks (Part One)
In the ninth month of Russia’s war against Ukraine, it is becoming increasingly obvious that the Russian army is being gradually overtaken by “shell hunger.” This should be expected based on earlier analyses made in August 2022 (see EDM, August 16, 18) and has been... MORE
Russian Energy Policy Wriggles Under a Hard Ceiling
The enforcement of the price ceiling for Russian oil transported by sea enacted on December 5 is not a surprise, as this measure was being discussed by the Unites States and its key partners as early as September 2022. It is, nevertheless, important proof of... MORE
Despite Moscow Meeting, Kazakhstan Pursues More Independent Course
After his re-election, Kazakhstani President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev made his first foreign visit to Moscow on November 28, an action that, up to now, most observers would have seen as a clear expression of loyalty or even subservience to Russia by the head of a post-Soviet... MORE
Azerbaijan and Georgia Initiate New ‘Great Game’ With Europe
On October 24, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev arrived in Georgia for a one-day working visit. The abrupt nature of Aliyev’s visit was characterized as “strange” and “mysterious” by many experts in Tbilisi (Civil.ge; Netgazeti.ge, October 24). Indeed, the brevity of the visit and its format... MORE
Russia in Search of New Gas Markets
Since the start of the Russian all-out assault on Ukraine on February 24, Gazprom’s natural gas supplies to Europe have been cut by approximately 80 percent (Bruegel.org, November 22). Such a drastic reduction is primarily due to Moscow’s own decisions aimed at stoking political and... MORE
Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Plant: A Case of Russian State Robbery (Part Two)
Read Part One Here. Russia began installing managers and technical staff at Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP) soon after seizing the plant by military force on March 4 and well before officially annexing Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia region to Russia (see Part One). Moscow completed the... MORE
China’s Economy: More Debt than Meets the Eye
Introduction Since the beginning of this year, investment banks and international financial organizations, including the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank, have steadily downgraded their forecasts for the People’s Republic of China’s (PRC) GDP growth in 2022 to around 3.2 percent (Nikkei Asia, October... MORE