Latest Articles about Foreign Policy
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The Finnish Foreign Fighter Contingent in Syria and Iraq
By August 2015, at least 70 individuals from Finland had travelled to Syria and Iraq (Suomen Uutiset, July 30). [1] According to an Interior Ministry report from August 2014, the vast majority intended to join “radical opposition groups” operating in the conflict zone. [2] The... MORE
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Chinese Military Parade Emphasizes Peace, Displays Military Might While Cutting Troop Numbers
On September 3, China held a military parade commemorating the end of World War II (WWII). A departure from previous parades, which only took place on China’s October 1 National Day, this parade had a significant international focus, featuring troops from 17 countries, veterans of... MORE
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Action Plan to End War in Ukraine Charted at Berlin Meeting (Part Two)
*To read Part One, please click here. On August 24, German Chancellor Angela Merkel called together a unique meeting, in Berlin, of the “Normandy” format minus Russia (though essentially in consensus with Moscow). Merkel, along with French President François Hollande and Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko,... MORE
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Action Plan to End War in Ukraine Charted at Berlin Meeting (Part One)
An overall consensus, in broad outline, seems to have taken shape among the main European players, pre-eminently Moscow and Berlin, to accelerate a solution to the conflict “in” Ukraine by the end of this year, on Russia’s terms. German Chancellor Angela Merkel hosted a meeting... MORE
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Putin Absent, His Agenda Dominates at Normandy Group Meeting on Ukraine
German Chancellor Angela Merkel hosted Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko and French President François Hollande, on August 24, in Berlin (“Normandy” format minus Russia), at Poroshenko’s urgent request. This unprecedented meeting followed systematic violations of the ceasefire and open sabotage of the international monitoring mission by... MORE
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Spain’s African Exclave of Ceuta: Mainstay of the Russian Navy in the Mediterranean?
On August 5, 2015, four Russian warships—the missile cruiser Moskva, the escort ship Pytlivy, the large sea tanker Ivan Bubnov and Shakhtyor, a rescue tug—docked at the Mediterranean port of Ceuta, a Spanish exclave in North Africa, claimed by Morocco, and located just south of... MORE
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Armenia’s Regional Energy and Transport Cooperation Squeezed by Russia
Shortly after the deal on Iran’s nuclear program, Iranian ambassador to Armenia, Mohammad Reyisi, gave several interviews to Armenian newspapers and news agencies concerning perspectives for future bilateral cooperation. Ambassador Reyisi noted that the joint construction of a hydroelectric plant on the river Arax could... MORE
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Possible Introduction of Russian Peacekeeping Forces Into Karabakh Opposed by Armenia
A resolution of the “frozen conflict” between Armenia and Azerbaijan over the disputed Karabakh region—though internationally recognized as legally part of Azerbaijan—continues to slowly move forward. The question is what form it will take, and what outside powers will be most influential in promoting it.... MORE
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Putin’s Pivot to China: Profit-Free, but Problem-Rich
China will host a huge military parade in Beijing on September 3, and President Vladimir Putin will be in attendance—returning President Xi Jinping’s earlier gesture of Sino-Russian partnership, which the Chinese head of state expressed as the top guest of honor at the parade in... MORE
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Almir Daci: The Albanian Recruiter for the Islamic State
According to recent reports, over 1,000 foreign fighters from the Western Balkans have joined the Islamic State, predominantly coming from Muslim communities throughout the region (Illyria Press, August 8). Several Balkan think tanks have attempted to provide the generic profiles of foreign fighters that have... MORE