Latest Articles about Foreign Policy
![](/wp-content/uploads/2009/08/pipelines2.jpg)
Little Substance in the Russo-Turkish Agreement on South Stream
Putin's visit and gas offer to Ankara is first and foremost intended as a counter-strike to the Nabucco project. The Nabucco inter-governmental agreement was signed, also in Ankara, on July 13 ("they barely had time to clean the red carpet" - Die Presse, August 7).... MORE
![](/wp-content/uploads/2009/08/putin_erdogan.jpg)
Putin Entices Turkey with Grander Version of South Stream
On August 6 in Ankara the Russian Prime Minister, Vladimir Putin, with a delegation of government ministers and state corporations' executives, announced vast plans for energy cooperation with Turkey (EDM, August 7). The Russian offers seem designed primarily for political effect in Europe, and secondarily... MORE
![](/wp-content/uploads/2009/08/putin_vacation.jpg)
Ten Years at the Helm: Putin Holds a Photo Shoot and Visits Turkey
It appeared to be just another of ailing President Boris Yeltsin's oddities when on August 9, 1999 he appointed Vladimir Putin as prime minister and announced his support for this unknown bureaucrat as the next president of Russia. In a matter of a few weeks... MORE
![](/wp-content/uploads/2009/08/erdogan_putin.jpg)
Turkish-Russian Grand Bargain in Energy Cooperation
Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin's August 6 visit to Ankara marked a new era for "enhanced multi-dimensional partnership," between Ankara and Moscow. Putin and Recep Tayyip Erdogan signed some twenty agreements covering energy, trade and other fields. Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi also attended part... MORE
![](/wp-content/uploads/2009/08/luka.jpg)
Lukashenka’s Gambit in Relations with Moscow
On July 31, the Belarusian President Alyaksandr Lukashenka participated in an informal summit of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) held in Cholpon Ata on the shore of Lake Issyk-Kul in Kyrgyzstan. However, he refused to sign any documents on the Russian proposal to create... MORE
![](/wp-content/uploads/2009/08/turkman.jpg)
Baku Surprised by Berdimuhamedov’s Inflammatory Statement
On July 24 Turkmenistan's President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov declared his country's intention to take Azerbaijan to the international court of arbitration (ICA) over disputed oil fields. This announcement has shocked the Azeri government. Berdimuhamedov, speaking at a cabinet meeting, blamed Azerbaijan for the unsettled legal status... MORE
![](/wp-content/uploads/2009/08/borisov.jpg)
Bulgarian Government Suspends Energy Negotiations with Russia Pending Review
Bulgaria has a chance for another national emancipation (Vazrazhdene), in this case from total dependence on Russian energy supplies, under the new government. As an E.U. member country, Bulgaria can also contribute significantly to reducing European dependence on Russian energy monopolies. Given Bulgaria's key location... MORE
![](/wp-content/uploads/2009/08/russia_georgia.jpg)
Nuclear Submarines Deployed to Deter U.S. Interference in Russia’s Confrontation with Georgia
As the anniversary of the Russian invasion of Georgia in August 2008 approaches, the situation on the ceasefire line is becoming increasingly tense. Russia and its South Ossetian allies accuse Georgian forces of constant "provocations" (EDM, July 5). The E.U. Special Representative in the South... MORE
![](/wp-content/uploads/2009/08/fishery_patrol_vessels.jpg)
Strategic Implications of Chinese Fisheries Development
With much attention focused on China’s growing naval, shipbuilding and port infrastructure developments, it is easy to forget another important dimension of China’s maritime rise: China’s status as a major global fishing power. With a total haul of over 17 million tons in 2007, China’s... MORE
![](/wp-content/uploads/2009/08/medvedev_hu_01.jpg)
China’s Russian Far East
On April 21, 2009, China formally concluded an agreement to lend $25 billion to Russian state-owned oil company Rosneft and pipeline monopoly Transneft in exchange for the completion of an oil pipeline from Skovorodino in Russia to Daqing in China. Russian commentators claim that the... MORE