Latest Articles about Foreign Policy
![](/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/Orsha-protests-640x360.jpg)
Belarus Policies and Their Existential Jetlag
Belarusians continue to protest the presidential decree on social parasites (DSP). Already, President Alyaksandr Lukashenka has backed off, if only in part. Short of abandoning the infamous decree altogether, he postponed its implementation by one year. At the same time, three opposition leaders who tried... MORE
![](/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/Eastern-Theater-Command_small-640x320.jpg)
Snapshot: China’s Eastern Theater Command
Delivering his work report to the National People’s Congress, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang noted that “the Chinese mainland will resolutely oppose and contain ‘Taiwan independence separatist activities’” (“台独”分裂活动) (Xinhua, March 5). [1] President Xi Jinping, however, was even more explicit in early November 2016, when... MORE
![](/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/Armenian-troops-ISAF-EDM-March-13-2017-640x466.jpg)
Armenia Pushes to Reinvigorate Its Relationship With NATO
Armenia—Russia’s closest ally in the South Caucasus—appears intent on revitalizing its partnership with the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). This agenda turned explicit on February 27–28, when Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan paid a visit to Brussels. Besides holding several important meetings with high-level European Union... MORE
![](/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/Vladimir-Putin-and-Recep-Tayyip-Erdogan-EDM-March-13-2017-640x453.jpg)
Moscow Spins Overextended Intrigues in the Middle East
The whirlwind of Russian scandals continues to spread across government offices in Washington, DC; but in Moscow the impression is gradually forming that those scandals will soon blow over, so it is time to prepare Russia’s diplomatic moves and pile up the bargaining chips. The... MORE
![](/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/Article-1-Picture-3.9.17-640x346.jpg)
Kremlin’s Hopes for a ‘Post-West’ World Order Recede
Just a couple of months ago, things looked to be going thoroughly President Vladimir Putin’s way. The 2016 elections in the United States gave the presidency to Donald Trump—a flamboyant real estate mogul and reality TV star, a nationalist and an isolationist. Throughout his campaign,... MORE
![](/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/Hassan-Rouhani-and-Vladimir-Putin-EDM-March-8-2017-640x400.jpg)
Russian Advances in the Gulf
All too often, Russian policy in the Middle East is perceived as tied mainly or exclusively to Syria and its ongoing civil war. But in fact, Moscow has long sought to expand its influence across the entire region; its intervention in Syria, in turn, has... MORE
![](/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/jfarm-640x427.png)
Russia Progressively Pulls Georgia Tighter Into Its Orbit by Way of New Transit Routes
After Georgian Prime Minister Giorgi Kvirikashvili met with his Armenian counterpart, Karen Karapetyan, in Tbilisi, on February 23–24, the initial reports in the Georgian media were vague. Kvirikashvili provided general statements on the meeting’s purpose: “Armenia is a country with which we share centuries-old good-neighborly... MORE
![](/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/Spanish-police-EDM-March-6-2017-640x346.jpg)
Spanish Arrests of Russia-Connected Individuals Illustrate Complex Dynamics of Madrid’s Relations With Moscow
Two arrests in Spain’s two biggest cities have brought to the fore the complex issues of Russian cyber activities in the West and relations between Madrid and Moscow. On January 13, at Barcelona’s El Prat Airport, Spain’s Civil Guard (constabulary-type police force) arrested computer programmer... MORE
![](/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/Dmitry-Medvedev-and-Vladimir-Putin-EDM-March-6-2017-640x457.jpg)
The Problem With Russian Connections Is Corruption, Not Espionage
Revelations of improper and conveniently forgotten meetings and conversations with Russian officials bedevil the Donald Trump administration with such relentless intensity that its ability to perform the basic functions of government has been compromised. The grandfatherly looking Russian ambassador to Washington, Sergei Kislyak, is being... MORE
![](/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/Article-3-Picture-640x426.jpg)
New Outbreak of Violence in Karabakh: Cause and Effect
Almost a year has passed since fierce fighting broke out for four days in April 2016, between Armenian and Azerbaijani troops in Karabakh. However, the situation along the Line of Contact (LoC) remains tense and explosive to this day. According to the February 26 statement... MORE