Defeated in Slovyansk and three other districts in Donetsk province on July 5–6 (see EDM, July 10), Russia’s proxy forces have regrouped in the city of Donetsk. Anticipating a Ukrainian blockade or siege-type operation, the secessionists are consolidating their military organization, taking shelter behind the... MORE

The upcoming BRICS (a loose political-economic grouping of the large emerging economies of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) summit, scheduled to take place in Fortaleza, Brazil, on July 15–17, provided an occasion for President Vladimir Putin to make a lengthy tour around Latin... MORE

On June 17, the Mongolian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Mongolia’s Institute for Strategic Studies (ISS) organized an international seminar entitled “Ulaanbaatar Dialogue on Northeast Asia.” The brainchild of Mongolian President Tsakhia Elbegdorj, this new security dialogue mechanism was announced in 2013 at the VII... MORE

In late June and early July, German Chancellor Angela Merkel as well as Presidents Vladimir Putin of Russia, Petro Poroshenko of Ukraine and Francois Hollande of France held a series of telephone conferences in variable formats to negotiate control arrangements for the Russia–Ukraine border. Russia... MORE

On June 27, Georgian Prime Minister Irakly Garibashvili signed a historic Association Agreement between Georgia and the European Union (EU). People in Tbilisi celebrated this event as a national holiday. Political forces in the country unanimously agree on the necessity and benefits of association with... MORE

This week in Moscow President Vladimir Putin made a major foreign policy statement, while speaking to a worldwide gathering of Russian ambassadors and permanent diplomatic representatives. According to Putin, the West did not give Moscow a choice, but to move to annex Crimea last March... MORE

The foreign affairs ministers of Russia, Germany, France, and Ukraine conferred on July 2 in Berlin, in a format designed to subject the Ukrainian side to pressure from the other three parties. The Ukrainian side has made far-reaching concessions in this meeting. Those terms are... MORE

Over the past few months, criticism by Indonesian officials of China’s conduct in the South China Sea has fueled speculation about a policy departure in Southeast Asia’s largest state (Jakarta Globe, March 13; PacNet, April 1; Strat.Buzz, April 2). While this does signal rising concern... MORE

On July 1 in the Kremlin, President Vladimir Putin addressed the annual conference of Russia’s ambassadors accredited to foreign countries and international organizations, top foreign affairs ministry officials, leaders of both chambers of parliament, government ministers and agency chiefs, representatives of think-tanks and Russian business... MORE

While the dominant narrative in the West is that President Vladimir Putin is personally responsible for the crisis in Ukraine’s eastern region of Donbas and seeks to use it to Russia’s advantage, such a Manichean view disguises the nuances and complexities surrounding the issue.  One... MORE