Latest Articles about Foreign Policy
Armenia and Karabakh Encouraged by UN Court Ruling on Kosovo
Authorities in Armenia and Karabakh have reacted very positively to the July 22 decision by the highest UN court to uphold the legality of Kosovo’s 2008 declaration of independence from Serbia. They say it strengthens the Armenian case for international recognition of Karabakh’s de facto... MORE
Kazakhstan Building a Legacy in its Chairmanship of the OSCE
Kazakhstan’s OSCE chairmanship has passed its mid-point and is working against the clock to prepare the summit in Astana, which will exceptionally be held well before the year’s end. The issue of Kazakhstan’s legacy in chairing the OSCE has suddenly gained urgency; following the 56... MORE
Vladimir Putin, Moscow Mayor and Patriarch Kirill Promote Russian Interests in Ukraine
Russian Prime Minister, Vladimir Putin, Moscow Mayor, Yury Luzhkov, and Patriarch Kirill flocked to Ukraine last week. While the official goals of the visits were different, each promoted the Kremlin’s ideology of a single Russian worldview and personally congratulated President, Viktor Yanukovych on his birthday,... MORE
Possible Deliverables at the OSCE Summit in Kazakhstan
(Part Two) The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) is the primary international organization in charge of resolving the Transnistria conflict since 1993. This task forms the basis, and sole raison d’etre, of the OSCE Moldova Mission’s mandate. Russian veto power, however, has... MORE
Possible Deliverables at the OSCE Summit in Kazakhstan
(Part One) Kazakhstan’s chairmanship of the OSCE, to be crowned by the summit of 56 heads of state in Astana, can hardly ignore Russia’s challenges to the post-Cold War international order (EDM, July 27). Fortuitously, Kazakhstan’s chairmanship and the summit coincide with round anniversaries of... MORE
Turkish-Iranian Energy Cooperation in the Shadow of US Sanctions on Iran
Iranian Petroleum Minister, Masoud Mirkazemi, visited Turkey last week to discuss Turkish-Iranian energy cooperation. The Iranian oil ministry announced that during the visit, a deal was concluded with a Turkish private energy company, worth $1.3 billion to build a pipeline from Iran to Turkey. The... MORE
OSCE Summit in Astana Likely to Emphasize Security Issues
Seven months into chairing the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), Kazakhstan has achieved yet another foreign policy milestone –the heads of all 56 OSCE member-states will convene in Astana this fall for the first summit since 1999. The decision was announced at... MORE
OSCE to Hold Summit in Kazakhstan After Eleven Year Hiatus
On July 16-17, in Almaty, an informal meeting of 56 Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) countries’ foreign affairs ministers decided to hold a summit of the organization this year in Kazakhstan’s capital Astana. This will be the OSCE’s first meeting at the... MORE
French “Tin Cans” or Technology Transfer? Vysotskiy on the Mistral
On July 23, French President, Nicolas Sarkozy, confirmed that France will build two Mistral-class amphibious assault ships for Russia, each costing up to 500 million Euros ($650 million), as negotiations continue over additional platforms. Despite Sarkozy’s confidence, Russian military officials remain more cautious about the... MORE
Will Russia Buy Up Ukraine?
The description of Belarusian President, Alyaksandr Lukashenka, as “pro-Russian” has side-stepped the fact that he is a Soviet Belarusian nationalist which developed after 2002, when he rejected the then Russian President, Vladimir Putin’s, offer to unite both countries. One factor behind Lukashenka’s Soviet Belarusian nationalism... MORE