Latest Articles about Foreign Policy
Muhammad Amin: Imam Shamil’s Naib to the Circassians (Part Two)
With the hope of Ottoman assistance, the North Caucasus mountaineers’ freedom from the claws of Russian colonialism seemed closer than ever. After a long wait, Muhammad Amin's wishes finally came true. The local holy war took on an imperial character. On 9 October 1853, five... MORE
Opposition to OSCE Police Forces Grows in Kyrgyzstan
More Kyrgyz political activists are speaking out against the prospective deployment of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe’s (OSCE) 52-member Police Advisory Group. Infringement of the country’s sovereignty, limited capacity to improve the situation in southern Kyrgyzstan, and the potential for increased instability... MORE
Russia Deploys S-300 Air Defense Systems in Abkhazia
Russian state news agencies announced today (August 11) that Russia’s armed forces have deployed the advanced S-300 air defense missile systems in Abkhazia, a territory that Moscow recognizes as “independent.” In a parallel move, air defenses of other types have been deployed in the Russian-recognized... MORE
Russia Insults Japan Even As It Seeks Peace and Friendship
As China becomes visibly more aggressive, tensions in Asia are visible, and Russian foreign policy changes to emphasize its economic relations with advanced countries who will sell it technology; it would make sense that Moscow and Tokyo should be drawing closer to each other. Yet,... MORE
Russia Counts on Western Input For Modern Arms Production
On August 2 in Sochi and August 8 in Sukhumi, Russian President, Dmitry Medvedev, took personal credit for the military dimension of Russia’s modernization campaign. He also stated that the August 2008 conflict with Georgia catalyzed Russia’s decision to equip its forces with advanced military... MORE
Luzhkov Again Raises Russian Right to Sevastopol
Optimism that the April 27 Black Sea Fleet base extension treaty would calm Russian-Ukrainian relations in the Crimea have been dashed by Moscow’s Mayor, Yury Luzhkov. On July 19, Luzhkov stated that he had not changed his mind about Sevastopol being a Russian city. Ukraine’s... MORE
The Second Anniversary of the Russian “Victory” is Barely Noticed
Two years ago, Russian tanks stopped on the outskirts of Tbilisi before slowly rolling back to the devastated Tskhinvali, but nobody in Russia appears interested in celebrating or even reflecting on that “victory,” which is still broadly approved by public opinion (www.levada.ru, August 4). Russian... MORE
The Japanese Archipelago through Chinese Eyes
China’s People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) forces took to the East China Sea in late June for live-fire maneuvers. These naval exercises were widely interpreted as expressions of preemptive Chinese displeasure over U.S.-South Korean exercises slated for the Yellow Sea. Washington dispatched the nuclear-powered aircraft... MORE
Arrests Mark Opportunity for Improved Relations Between Tajikistan and its Neighbors
In a rare moment of cross-border cooperation, the government of Tajikistan handed over two suspected terrorists to its neighbors at the beginning of July (www.azattyk.kg, July 8). Officials in Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan consider Abduvakhid Aliev and Atabek Toychiev, respectively, to be guilty of a variety... MORE
Moscow Prepares OSCE “Reform” Proposals for the Summit in Kazakhstan
Ahead of the OSCE summit under Kazakhstan’s chairmanship, Russian officials are resurrecting the agenda of “OSCE reforms” to reconfigure the organization in line with Russian foreign policy objectives. The reform proposals date back for the most part to 2004 and have been promoted since then... MORE