The annual session of the United Nations General Assembly is being run this year as a video-conference, but President Vladimir Putin deemed his address so important that the key points of his planned speech were discussed ahead of time with his Security Council (Kremlin.ru, September... MORE

Since early September, media in Caspian littoral countries have been filled with stories about the expansion of Chinese rail operations there, a development that represents a double challenge to Moscow (Kaspiyskiy Vestnik, September 17). First, this expanded Chinese presence undermines Russia’s influence over these countries... MORE

Media in Russia report that United States President Donald Trump’s administration wants to secure a nuclear arms control agreement with Moscow before Election Day, November 3, to be able to publicly tout one more foreign policy success on top of the one just sealed in... MORE

On August 25, the Armenian media announced the arrival of two ethnic-Armenian families from Beirut, Lebanon, to the occupied territories of Azerbaijan (Asbarez, August 25). This was declared part of Yerevan’s assistance programs to Lebanon’s Armenian community. The wider initiative specifically includes a plan to... MORE

On September 2, the parliament in Tbilisi approved the Law “On the Rules and Procedures for Georgian Citizens Exiting and Entering Georgia” (Matsne.gov.ge, September 4). This legislation is not related to the pandemic; rather, it addresses Georgia’s long-term relationship with the European Union and introduces... MORE

As serious as the post-election political turmoil in Belarus has been, the upcoming presidential election in Moldova could pose an even greater challenge to policymakers in both Europe and the United States. Some observers warn that the Moldovan election could lead to disputes about the... MORE

With its latest double breach of norms of international behavior—poisoning the opposition leader Alexei Navalny and embracing the discredited Belarusian autocrat, President Alyaksandr Lukashenka—Russia has managed to unite Europe in outrage. Last week (September 17), the European Parliament approved, by a large majority, a harsh... MORE

President Alyaksandr Lukashenka naturally wants to extend his rule as long as possible, while Belarusians protesting in the streets want to bring it to an end as soon as they can. But Moscow, which has more than a little say in the matter (see EDM,... MORE

On September 14, Russian President Vladimir Putin met at his Sochi residence with his beleaguered Belarusian counterpart, Alyaksandr Lukashenka, who is under immense international and domestic pressure following the August 9 presidential elections. Lukashenka has ruled Belarus since 1994; last month, he claimed overwhelming victory,... MORE

Introduction The China-U.S. Exchange Foundation (中美交流基金会, Zhong-Mei Jiaoliu Jijinhui) (CUSEF), a nominally private civic organization founded in Hong Kong in 2008, first emerged in early 2018 as a subject of public debate in the United States. At that time, controversies emerged over grants made by... MORE