Latest Articles about Foreign Policy
![](/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/Snow-Dragon-2-640x360.jpg)
Second Chinese Icebreaker Heads to Northern Sea Route, Shifting Power Balance in Arctic
In mid-July, China dispatched its Snow Dragon-2 icebreaker to the Northern Sea Route (NSR). This action marks yet another step toward realizing Beijing’s longstanding plans to displace Moscow as the dominant power in the Arctic as well as to establish Chinese preeminence on that east-west... MORE
![](/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/Zohrab-Mnatsakanyan-and-Elmar-Mammadyarov-and-Sergei-Lavrov-640x423.jpg)
Armenian-Azerbaijani Border Clashes: The Russian Dimension and Beyond
Following the outbreak of deadly Armenian-Azerbaijani border clashes on July 12 (see EDM, July 14, 16, 20 [1][2]), Russia’s state energy giant Gazprom reported that its local natural gas pipelines in Armenia were damaged, due to the shelling (TASS, RBC, July 14). Furthermore, the Moscow-led... MORE
![](/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/Svetlana-Tikhanovskaya-campaign-640x335.jpg)
Belarusian Elections and Beyond
The ongoing presidential campaign in Belarus has been dominating news flows from that country so much that it is hard to believe anything else noteworthy could be happening. Yet, a number of crucial non-election developments also came to the fore in recent weeks. The Belarusian... MORE
![](/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/Pashinyan-and-Aliyev-640x426.jpg)
Trends and Factors Contributing to the July Border Clashes Between Azerbaijan and Armenia
On July 12, the Azerbaijani border region of Tovuz and the Tavush region on the Armenian side became the new epicenter of clashes between the armed forces of the two states, with the involvement of heavy artillery and unmanned aerial drones (BBC News–Azerbaijani service, July... MORE
![](/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/Baku-demonstrations-640x480.jpg)
What Is New in the Latest Armenian-Azerbaijani Conflict Escalation?
The bloodiest of all ongoing post-Soviet conflicts, that between Armenia and Azerbaijan, intensified again on July 12. Over three days, the fighting claimed the lives of 16 people, including an Azerbaijani civilian, making it the deadliest escalation since the April 2016 “Four-Day War” (Eurasian Times,... MORE
![](/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/Aleksandar-Vucic-640x420.jpg)
Serbia and Kosovo Restart Dialogue After 18-Month Pause
On June 16, Serbia’s President Aleksandar Vučić and Kosovo’s Prime Minister Avdullah Hoti met in person in Brussels to restart talks between Belgrade and Pristina after 18 months of interruption. The meeting followed a virtual summit on June 10, hosted by German Chancellor Angela Merkel... MORE
![](/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/Transnistria-border-640x360.jpg)
Moldova’s Degrading Sovereignty Amid Coronavirus Spike
Moldova’s Deputy Prime Minister for Reintegration Cristina Lesnic held an ad hoc videoconference, on July 14, with Richard Tibbels, the European Union’s representative in the 5+2 talks on the Transnistrian settlement process (Radio Chisinau, July 15). In their conversation, the Moldovan official shared Chisinau’s rising... MORE
![](/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/Dmitry-Kozak.jpg)
Kremlin Lambastes Ukrainian Deviations From Minsk and Normandy Processes
Chairing a video-conference of the permanent members of the Russian Security Council, President Vladimir Putin expressed “disappointment over the lack of movement to resolve the crisis in Ukraine. Kyiv is not complying with either the Minsk or the Normandy agreements” (TASS, July 10). Putin made... MORE
![](/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/Beidou-launch-640x269.png)
The Beidou Satellite Network and the “Space Silk Road” in Eurasia
Author’s note: This article was informed by research and analysis on the PRC’s Beidou satellite program conducted by Pointe Bello, a strategic intelligence and advisory firm. Introduction On June 23, a Long March-3B carrier rocket was successfully launched from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in... MORE
![](/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/Infantry-training-Tibet-640x340.png)
Beijing Asserts a More Aggressive Posture in Its Border Dispute with India
Introduction On the night of June 15, a violent clash occurred in the Galwan Valley between soldiers of the Indian Army and the People’s Liberation Army (PLA), which resulted in the death of 20 Indian soldiers and an undisclosed number of Chinese troops (India Today,... MORE