Latest Articles about Foreign Policy
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Nord Stream Two in Ukrainian Perspective
At Russia’s initiative, the Nord Stream Two natural gas pipeline project has advanced from agreements of intent to a binding agreement; and Gazprom has formed the project consortium with several major European energy companies. Planned to connect Russia with Germany through the Baltic Sea by... MORE
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Is Russia Training Chechen Commandos to Help Syrian Government Forces?
Politicians in the North Caucasus are increasingly calling on the government to step up efforts against the so-called Islamic State (IS) and take action against Russian citizens who support it. Meanwhile, the militants who became affiliated with the IS in the North Caucasus one year... MORE
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Putin Tests His Future New York Speech in Dushanbe
Speaking this week (September 15) in Dushanbe, Tajikistan, at a summit of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO)—the Russian-dominated regional defense alliance—President Vladimir Putin detailed his understanding of regional and global security threats. The CSTO summit was notably held in former Soviet Central Asia, in... MORE
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Xi Jinping’s Visit to the United States to Highlight Internet Rules, Economic Cooperation, Differences
Chinese President Xi Jinping is set to visit the United States next week, the seventh time since he first visited the country as Secretary of Zhengding County in Hebei in 1985 (People’s Daily Online, September 16). According to Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) Spokesperson... MORE
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Turkey’s New Syria Policy: Preventing Islamic State and Kurdish Expansion
On June 16, the Kurdish militia group People’s Protection Units (Yekîneyên Parastina Gel—YPG) and its Free Syrian Army (FSA) allies captured the Islamic State-controlled Syrian town of Tal Abyad on the Turkish border (YPG Rojava, June 16). In addition, in May, a surprise offensive by... MORE
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The Gloves Come Off: The Dutch Response to Jihadists in Syria and Iraq
In December 2014, a video testament emerged in which 19-year-old Sultan Berzel, from the Netherlands’ southern city of Maastricht, called on Muslims to make hijra (a religious migration) to the self-proclaimed Islamic State group. He delivered his message in a quiet voice and with a... MORE
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The Park-Xi Friendship and South Korea’s New Focus on China
While the 12,000-troop parade at China’s September 3 ceremony commemorating the 70th anniversary of the end of WWII was a striking sight in Beijing, those who closely follow China’s relationship with the Korean Peninsula may have watched the guests of President Xi Jinping just as... MORE
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Are Georgia’s Friends Violating Tbilisi’s ‘Law on Occupied Territories?’
Georgia’s 2008 Law on Occupied Territories explicitly bans all domestic and foreign companies from conducting any type of economic (commercial or non-commercial) activities in the Russian-occupied territories of Abkhazia and Tskhinvali region (South Ossetia). Exceptions can be made in certain circumstances but only with the... MORE
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ENI’s Gas Discovery in Egypt Puts Pressure on Italian-Russian Energy Ties
The discovery of a world-class supergiant gas field in the waters off Egypt’s Mediterranean coast by Italian state-owned energy producer ENI is another step forward in Italy’s attempt to become an energy hub in southern Europe. Despite the silence of both the Russian government and... MORE
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Putin Threatens ‘Below the Threshold’ Operation in Syria
Moscow has attached credibility to reports that it reserves the right to commence military operations in Syria, following growing evidence that it has increased the supplies of military hardware and enhanced the numbers of military advisors working in-country (see EDM, September 4, 10). This was... MORE