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Europe & Eurasia

US Special Representative for Ukraine’s Economic Recovery announced

President Joe Biden announced on September 14 the appointment of Penny Pritzker as the US Special Representative for Ukraine’s Economic Recovery.In this role, she...

Moldova’s Maia Sandu is the ‘Iron Lady’ of Eastern Europe

As the war in Ukraine passes the year-and-a-half milestone, a critical ally for Kyiv and Washington is the tiny nation of the Republic of...

With Armenia defeated tensions between Yerevan and Russia reach a turning point

Relations between Armenia and its traditional strategic partner Russia are deteriorating fast. With Yerevan's fundamental defeat in Nagorno-Karabakh - the 30-year-old Moscow-backed separatist region...

Uzbekistan’s remarkable resurgence is a tale of growth, reform, potential

In an era characterized by global turbulence and uncertainty, there are few stories as compelling as that of Uzbekistan. A country that has weathered...

Zelensky Athens visit eclipses Mitsotakis’ informal Western Balkans Summit

Receiving a full house of Western Balkan leaders, as well as several EU luminaries, in Athens on an evening when much of northern Greece...

Turkmenistan signals major change in energy-export stance

A big shift is brewing for Caspian Basin energy exports. In a diplomatic about-face, Turkmenistan has signaled its readiness to develop a Trans-Caspian pipeline...

The Beleri case as bellwether for democracy in Albania

The standard definition of a political prisoner is: “One imprisoned for their political activity. The political offense is not always the official reason for...

Possible new solutions to Ukraine’s grain export challenge emerge

In view of the collapse of the UN’s Black Sea Grain Initiative in July at Russia’s insistence, work is proceeding in multiple sectors to...

Latest gambit in North Macedonia seeks to break impasse with Bulgaria

At the end of July, the largest ethnic Albanian political party in North Macedonia, the Democratic Union for Integration, presented an innovative proposal to...

The accidental harm-reduction champion

Sweden is set to become the world’s first officially smoke-free country. This will save lives, reduce health costs, and improve the quality of life...

US-UK Strategic Sanctions Dialogue inaugurated

Building on the unique economic and security partnership between the two nations, the US Department of State hosted a senior UK government delegation for...

Kazakhstan’s Deputy FM says EU & US ties remain strong as Central Asia’s largest country emerges as regional power

In the three-plus decades since Kazakhstan emerged as an independent nation from the ashes of the Soviet Union's 1991 collapse, the Central Asian giant...

Energy crisis prompts SMEs to boost renewables, energy savings

The energy crisis, high prices and threat of supply disruption following Russia’s war against Ukraine has prompted many small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to...

Uzbekistan’s Mirziyoyev re-elected

TASHKENT, Uzbekistan -  As expected, Uzbekistan’s presidential elections held on July 9 were won by the incumbent, Shavkat Mirziyoyev, with 87 percent of eligible...

Prigozhin’s inglorious rebellion

Images of camouflaged gunmen seizing government buildings in a post-Soviet city were eerily reminiscent of what the world witnessed in the spring of 2014...

Back to Business: Greek conservatives rout socialist opposition parties in second round elections

Delivering an undeniable demonstration of Greece’s current focus on stability and the need to generate continued economic growth, the June 25 election produced the...

Iranians hold rallies to protest police raid on opposition’s Albania-based HQ

Protests were held outside Albanian embassies and consulates in at least ten cities on June 20th and 21st following a raid by police on...

Conflict, migration, and demography in Russia and its border regions

Despite the absence of a clear definition of “ethnic group,” the term generally refers to people with a common history, culture, and ancestry. Russians...

Working against Ukraine’s own interests

As the Ukrainian counter-offensive begins, maintaining American support is absolutely vital to Kyiv’s success. The Ukrainian Armed Forces have proven their courage, but even...

A post-Berlusconi Italy could find itself at an era-defining political turning point

A new era began in Italy on June 12 when Silvio Berlusconi, the polarizing and towering political figure who dominated Italian politics for nearly...

Astana International Forum addresses climate change, energy security, green transition

As many countries are planning sustainability and decarbonization strategies to meet climate targets, Kazakhstan, one of the world’s largest energy producers, wants to be...

Strange goings on in Northern Greece seem to worry Ankara

Government-linked Turkish media have indicated concern about a series of visits and events in Greece’s Evros prefecture -- the Greek-Turkish border region -- which...

UK eyes energy security, increasing supplies amid stronger ties with Azerbaijan

Azerbaijan can play a special role in energy security in the new global environment, considering Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and transition to a green...

White House support for F-16s to Ukraine is a major momentum shift in the 18-month war

After months of waffling and amid increasingly desperate pleas from Kyiv, the White House has signaled to European allies in recent weeks that the...

Ukraine’s ‘Doolittle Raid’

Ukraine has proven that a numerically superior combatant can be defeated when confronted with superior tactics and a better-trained, motivated, and equipped opponent.

Belgium’s prisoner swap with Iran proves the EU is unwilling to punish state sponsors of terror

An Iranian terrorist, Asadollah Assadi, is heading home from Belgium just two years into a 20-year sentence. He is the beneficiary of the Islamic...

Serb boycotts, protests trigger new unrest in Kosovo

The latest cycle of unrest in Kosovo, a direct result of Serbian interference in Kosovo’s April 23 municipal elections, exploded into violence on May...

Boomerang! Greek socialists’ election jiggering backfires

Even though the Greek left-socialist party Syriza massively reconfigured the electoral system in 2016 to favor their long-term return plans before being ousted by...

Spain’s solution to the current high energy prices may end up costing it dearly

The announcement in mid-May by the Spanish Minister of Ecological Transition, Teresa Ribera, that Spain and Portugal have reached a “political agreement” with the European...

Washington issues reward offer for Russian ransomware actor

On May 16, the State Department announced a reward offer, under the Transnational Organized Crime Rewards Program, of up to $10 million, for information...

Former MI5 chief warns of national cybersecurity threats

Following the US, EU, and UK's decisions to ban China’s TikTok from government phones over security fears and recent reports of a Russian cyber...

Global Equality Fund: Spain becomes the 18th member country

On the occasion of Spain joining the Global Equality Fund, the Governments of Spain and the United States issued the following joint statement, dated...

Finland joins NATO

Before the Russian Federation invaded Ukraine, only a third of Finns supported joining NATO. Russia’s war, however, led to almost unanimous overnight support amongst Finnish voters for membership in the alliance.

The unfiltered truth about recent Serbia-Russia relations

Although Moscow perceives Serbia as a trading currency in the geopolitical market of great powers. Serbia believes that its destiny is not to be betrayed by beliefs, friends, allies or history.

When it comes to defense, the politicians must listen to those who know best – the generals

The halls of power are walked by people who know little, care even less and yet have the right to supersede and ignore the advice of those who know better.

Silicon Valley Bank financial contagion contained – for now

The world’s top policymakers and international financial leaders acted effectively in the days following the collapse of California’s Silicon Valley Bank. They appear to have dealt positively with the risk of wider global financial contagion.

France’s policies in Africa diminish its influence; inevitably opening the door to Russia & China

In a recent story titled "How Russia and China are trying to drive France out of Africa", what was not lost on the reader...

EU plan to centralize gas purchases near impossible to implement

The global gas supply market will be much tighter this year than it was in 2022. The need for the EU to buy more gas, especially more liquified natural gas, from elsewhere will be greater.

Kazakhstan’s new parliament could usher in green energy, rare earth investments

Kazakhstan held internationally monitored elections for the Mazhilis, the lower chamber of the Kazakh Parliament, on March 19, following major constitutional reforms, which most...

The Iranian regime is becoming ruthlessly paranoid about ethnic Azeri demands for civil rights guarantees

Complete disregard for the well-being of Iran’s Azeri minority has sparked a wave of intense anger within the community.

EU-Turkey earthquake relief conference: Time to get serious

The European Union is hosting a reconstruction conference in Brussels on March 20 to focus on the aftermath of Turkey’s devastating February 6 earthquakes,...

Energy supply diversification out of Russia’s orbit is a top priority for Bulgaria

Bulgaria intends to diversify its energy resources, including supplying the country’s main refinery in Burgas - the largest in the Balkans - with non-Russian...

Recovery from the disaster of the century needs more than a few months of international assistance

Two devastating earthquakes hit the Turkish-Syrian border on February 6. The epicenter of the first 7.7 magnitude quake struck 34 kilometers west of Gaziantep,...

Georgia has shown the world that a Kremlin project can be defeated

In early March, the world’s attention was on Georgia. We saw massive protests fueled by anger, concerns and fear, and eventually, we witnessed a...

Putin’s New START withdrawal has broad implications

Vladimir Putin continues to persuade Russians that the West provoked his imperialist war of aggression against Ukraine. His announcement that he would no longer...

Energy-strapped Germany sets ambitious 30 GW offshore wind target by 2030

Germany, which has been struggling to fill its massive energy gap following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and reduction of natural gas deliveries, is planning...

Sanctions, sanctions everywhere

On February 24, 2023, the US Government alongside G-7 leaders announced via a White House statement a new set of trade and economic measures...

Providing Ukraine with advanced Western fighters is a logical step towards battlefield success

While Ukraine may have weathered the storm of Russia’s initial onslaught and retaliated with a force and determination largely thought to have been beyond...

Eclipsed by Ukraine concerns, Blinken visits Turkey and Greece

After attending the Munich Security Conference on February on 17-19, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken departed for a brief regional mission to Turkey...

Georgia, Romania mull Black Sea undersea power cable to supply CEE Europe

Georgia, which is a transit country for oil and gas routes, is spearheading efforts to launch a very ambitious project that would create a corridor for green energy from the Caspian to the Balkans and CEE.

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