In the first half of October, the Ukrainian leadership concluded a series of important international agreements, with significance not only for Kyiv itself but also for buttressing regional security more broadly. First, during Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s October 7–8 visit to London, Ukraine’s Minister of... MORE

For more than a month now, Armenian and Azerbaijani forces have been fighting for the disputed territory of Karabakh and surrounding Armenian-occupied districts. Thousands of soldiers on both sides have perished, and at least hundreds of civilians have been killed and injured. But there has... MORE

Following United States Secretary of State Michael Pompeo’s Saturday (October 24) morning call to Belarusian President Alyaksandr Lukashenka (Belta, October 24), the international dimension of the situation in Belarus has grown even more intricate. According to reporting by the Telegram channel “Poole One,” “Lukashenka described... MORE

The imperfect congruence of ethnic and political borders in the South Caucasus is the primary cause of the long-running conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan. But it is also a major reason why both the participants in that fight as well as outside powers routinely focus... MORE

The COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic continues to accelerate in Russia: during the past week, the high mark in daily infections moved from 15,000 to 17,500, of which about a third were registered in Moscow. The Kremlin still asserts that the situation is under control, but its... MORE

*To read Part One, please click here. *To read Part Two, please click here. *To read Part Three, please click here. President Alyaksandr Lukashenka has, in practice, achieved and maintained sovereignty in military affairs for Belarus vis-à-vis Russia (see below). These gains—for Belarus and neighboring... MORE

With the election in the United States less than three weeks away, Russian President Vladimir Putin made a surprise strategic concession to the Donald Trump administration—apparently against the consensus opinion of Russia’s military and diplomatic bureaucracy. The Kremlin proposal looks designed to help US President... MORE

The geopolitical and geo-economic impact of the three-decades-old Karabakh conflict on the stability of the broader South Caucasus is clear and broadly recognized. Given the importance of the South Caucasus as a transcontinental energy corridor, any intraregional instability or periodic flare-ups in violence there pose... MORE

*To read Part One, please click here. *To read Part Two, please click here. Russia’s interests in Belarus at this stage may be categorized as status quo–oriented interests and those going beyond the status quo; the latter category clearly prevails in the political, institutional, and... MORE

The virtual meeting of the Russian Security Council last Friday (October 16) started with a surprise meant to signify a major foreign policy initiative. Namely, President Vladimir Putin instructed Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov to present to the leadership of the United States with the suggestion... MORE