Latest Articles about Foreign Policy
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Possible Window of Opportunity for Diplomacy in the Ukrainian Crisis
The Russian military seems to have begun a genuine pullback of combat forces, which had been poised for almost three months on the eastern borders of Ukraine. On May 19, President Vladimir Putin flew to Shanghai to oversee the signing of a grandiose agreement to... MORE
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Kazakhstan Nervously Contemplates Possible Impact of Sanctions Against Russia
As the United States and the European Union continue to further step up sanctions against Russia for its annexation of Crimea and its subsequent fractious relations with Ukraine (ITAR-TASS, May 21), government officials in neighboring Kazakhstan are increasingly anxious about the potential impact these sanctions... MORE
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Border Clashes With Kyrgyzstan Threaten Tajikistan’s Regional Integration
On May 7, 2014, clashes occurred along the disputed border between Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan, injuring as many as 60 people (Ozodi, May 8). Reportedly, the clashes began with a small group of drunk youths throwing stones at each other, but the incident soon escalated to... MORE
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Tbilisi, Baku and Ankara Affirm an Informal Tripartite Union
Against the backdrop of the events in Ukraine, Georgia, Azerbaijan and Turkey have agreed to cooperate more closely in economic, transport and energy safety spheres.The first tripartite summit of the presidents of Georgia, Azerbaijan and Turkey took place in Tbilisi on May 6 (Civil Georgia,... MORE
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Going to Beijing, Putin Opted for Backing off in Ukraine
A week ago, after the boost of patriotic emotions in the Victory Day celebrations and the blatantly fake quasi-referenda in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions (see EDM, May 12, 14), Russia appeared ready to make a decisive move into eastern Ukraine. The procedure of voting... MORE
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Bulgarian President: Kremlin Wants to Destabilize the Balkans
During his official visit to Germany, Bulgarian President Rosen Plevneliev warned that the Kremlin’s aggression is not limited to Ukraine or the territory of the former Soviet Union, but also threatens Southeastern Europe. “Today we see an aggressive and nationalistic Russia, which pursues a policy... MORE
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Is Egypt Russia’s Next Major Middle Eastern Arms Customer?
Today, Russia is being associated almost exclusively with the crisis it has generated in Ukraine. But that is a myopic and excessively complacent view. Indeed, Russia is carrying on a global foreign policy directed at exploiting the United States’ retreats, mistakes or vacuums created by... MORE
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US Restrictions Hurt Russian Space Defense and Commercial Projects
In response to Russia’s involvement in the Ukrainian crisis, the United States has tightened its export controls, and this has seriously hurt important Russian space projects. US authorities are apparently denying export licenses that allow European and other foreign communications satellites containing US components to... MORE
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Lukashenka’s New Victory and a Fight for Belarusian Identity
Less than ten days after Russia declined to cancel export duties on refined oil products that Belarus sells to the West (see EDM, May 9), President Alyaksandr Lukashenka managed to wrest some critical concessions from the Kremlin. Following his May 8 visit to Moscow, Lukashenka... MORE
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The Question of Political Power in Ukraine’s East (Part One)
President Vladimir Putin and Russian diplomacy have recently invented the concept of “South-Eastern Ukraine” as a would-be political entity. Moscow promotes this idea as part of its project to dismantle the Ukrainian state through “federalization.”Following the overthrow of then-president Viktor Yanukovych by the Kyiv Maidan... MORE