Russia
Op-Eds & Guest Contributors
Turkmenistan is finally in the right place at the right time
Turkmenistan has for decades talked about making much greater use of its vast gas reserves to both expand export volumes and to diversify its...
Op-Eds & Guest Contributors
Moldova’s foreign policy goals for 2026: No unification, but more European integration
Moldovan President Maia Sandu said in a recent media interview that she would support Moldova’s unification with Romania if the Moldovan population voted in...
Invasion of Ukraine
EU writes itself out of the Ukraine war peace drive
By settling for a “Plan B” style Ukraine relief loan using the EU’s financial creditworthiness instead of making a politically decisive but risky decision...
The Negroni Diaries
Another Russia-tilting Trump peace proposal emerges
President Donald Trump apparently has no more refined strategy than to disrupt the flow of world business/diplomacy with an outrageous opening salvo to make...
Russia Sanctions
Watering down U.S. Russia sanctions for Hungary – what was gained?
For a while, it appeared as if the war in Ukraine was again a top priority in the White House, but ultimately that turned...
Op-Eds & Guest Contributors
Serbia’s energy dilemma: How to break from Russia and save its stability
Serbia’s energy “decoupling” from Russia seems to be on the horizon. The Southeast European nation, long heavily dependent on Russian gas -- and, to...
Russia Sanctions
As Trump’s Ukraine peace initiative fades, new U.S. sanctions unleashed
The war in Ukraine is again front and center in the White House. While U.S. President Donald Trump’s Gaza peace drive had started to...
Op-Eds & Guest Contributors
When Will Ukraine Become the Outpost of European Defense?
The security landscape of the European continent hinges on the European Union’s determination to halt Russia’s unprovoked aggression against Ukraine and to prevent the...
Sanctions and related policies
UN sanctions reimposed on Iran after commitments breached
Back on August 28, France, Germany, and the UK (the so-called “E3”) formally initiated the process to reimpose UN sanctions on Iran aka "snapback."...
United Nations
The UN at 80 — Little to celebrate with multilateralism under stress
Like clockwork, at the end of September, many of the world’s leaders converge on New York for the annual UN General Assembly (UNGA) session...
Op-Eds & Guest Contributors
When Drones Cross the Line
In the early hours of 10 September, a wave of Russian drones launched against targets in Ukraine crossed a dangerous threshold both literally and...
China
Symbolic optics from China or movement toward a new global order?
With the UN General Assembly in New York less than a month away, China’s leadership was able to grab global attention for many days...
Invasion of Ukraine
Trump’s Ukraine peace initiative stalls out
U.S. President Donald Trump’s summer of disrupting almost everything is now winding down with major peace agreements still eluding him, along with a potential...
Invasion of Ukraine
Alaska summit hands Putin formal recognition but yields few results
U.S. President Donald Trump and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin met for the first time in six years to discuss peace for Ukraine in...
Russia Sanctions
EU finally clears the roadblocks, adopts new Russia sanctions package
On July 18, the EU finally adopted its long-delayed 18th package of sanctions on Russia, focusing heavily on the oil trade, but which also...
Interviews
Cyprus Energy Minister warns against creating new dependencies
The European Union needs to avoid “new dependencies” as it plans to phase out Russian energy supplies and meet its green transition goals, Cyprus...
Sanctions and related policies
U.S. sanctions malicious North Korean and Russian cyber actors
The U.S. has been working to crack down on what it warns is a wide-scale, concerted effort by North Korea to dupe American firms...
Canada
Alberta G7 Summit – forgotten before it ended?
One song that will never be associated with the June 15-18 Alberta G7 Summit is Nat King Cole’s “Unforgettable."
While this year’s Canada-hosted G7 Summit...
Columns
What to do about Nord Stream?
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz told a press conference with Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky in Berlin on May 28 that his government will do everything...
Op-Eds & Guest Contributors
From shovels to shadows: The Soviet legacy behind Georgia’s authoritarian drift
In the early hours of April 9, 1989, Soviet paratroopers launched a brutal crackdown on peaceful protesters in Tbilisi, the capital of the then-Georgian...
Columns
EU Commission plans Russian gas phaseout as MEPs propose easing pre-winter storage targets
Ensuring gas supply security ahead of the winter season, the European Parliament approved in Strasbourg on May 8 the Commission's proposal to extend the...
The Negroni Diaries
False economy: Washington will regret closing important diplomatic posts
At this point many readers will have seen press reports indicating that a large number of American embassies and consulates are being studied for...
Sanctions and related policies
Ignoring Russia, latest Trump administration Iran sanctions increase pressure on an old enemy
On March 13, the Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) sanctioned (“designated” in OFAC language) Iran’s Minister of Petroleum, Mohsen...
Op-Eds & Guest Contributors
Weaning Europe off its Russian gas addiction
The Viking hero Ragnar Lodbrok once said “don't waste your time looking back. You're not going that way.” The words of the former king...
Op-Eds & Guest Contributors
Tashkent’s busy diplomatic agenda
In the coming months, Uzbekistan will host high-profile summits between Central Asia with the European Union and the Gulf Cooperation Council. As global geopolitics...
Invasion of Ukraine
EU leaders in Kyiv back Ukraine, but Trump won’t blame Russia
On the three-year anniversary of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, European leaders travelled to Kyiv to meet President Volodymyr Zelensky and to declare their...
Invasion of Ukraine
The dance begins: Rubio and Lavrov engage (alone) on Ukraine
Clearly working overtime to move the U.S.-Russia peace effort for Ukraine forward, both countries’ foreign ministers met on February 18 in Riyadh for the...
Economy & Business
Global reaction to Trump tariffs only reinforces his use of this tired and risky strategy
True to form, U.S. President Donald Trump disrupted global markets with a three-day surge of tariff announcements, border security negotiations and ultimately a 30-day...
Russia Sanctions
The Biden administration’s parting gift to Russia: Still more sanctions
Clearly working overtime to underscore the Biden administration’s desire to inflict maximum economic pain on Moscow and its coterie of Ukraine invasion supporters outside...
Russia Sanctions
Stringent new energy sector sanctions on Russia announced
On January 10, the U.S. Government released a massive new listing of over 200 entities and individuals involved in Russia’s energy sector for Ukraine-related...
Democracy & Human Rights
Biden administration takes final steps to counter global corruption and human rights abuses
Announcing a global grab-bag of new sanctions, possibly some of its last, the Biden administration took major steps on December 9 by authorizing new...
Democracy & Human Rights
Georgia’s political confrontation continues at low boil
It is difficult to find anyone other than current government officials from the “Georgian Dream” party that will claim the country’s October 26 Parliamentary...
Russia Sanctions
U.S. sanctions Russian banks, finance officials and securities registrars
The U.S. announced on November 21 new sanctions targeting Russia’s largest remaining non-designated bank (Gazprombank), as well as dozens of other financial institutions and...
Op-Eds & Guest Contributors
Maia Sandu’s slim win: Moldova struggles between Europe and tradition
The results of Moldova’s recent presidential elections and referendum are final. President Maia Sandu won a re-election bid, while a referendum to cement the...
Defense & Security
Allies condemn the DPRK’s deployment of troops to Russia
The G7 countries, the EU as well as Australia, South Korea, and New Zealand on November 6 expressed "grave concern" over the deployment of...
Democracy & Human Rights
Georgia’s democratic election dream becomes a screamer
Georgia’s October 26 Parliamentary elections did not hold up as “free and fair” even under the lightest of scrutiny. Despite the presence of a...
Zero Tolerance
IMF pronounces victory over inflation while sounding debt and tariff warnings
The 2024 Annual Meetings of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank Group (WBG) took place in Washington D.C. from October 21...
Op-Eds & Guest Contributors
The complex politics of Caspian gas
For the countries bordering the Caspian Sea, gas has always been a major economic resource and, in most cases, one of the biggest contributors...
Op-Eds & Guest Contributors
Supplying Russia and Iran, Armenia emerges as a new sanctions black hole
For the past two years, Armenia has been attempting to demonstrate its shift towards the West, all the while maintaining its geopolitical role as...
Invasion of Ukraine
G7 Foreign Ministers condemn Tehran’s export and Russia’s procurement of Iranian ballistic missiles
The foreign ministers of the Group of Seven (G7) industrialized powers condemned on September 14 "in the strongest terms" Iran's sales and Russia's purchases...
Azerbaijan
Romania talks bring green power line deal for Caspian Sea – EU energy
At a meeting in Bucharest, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Romania and Hungary reached milestone agreements on the establishment of a Green Energy Corridor, aiming at bringing...
Disinformation & Propaganda
Washington hits back at Russia’s covert influence activities aimed at 2024 U.S. elections
In a wide series of actions on September 4, the Biden administration froze Kremlin-run websites and charged two Russian state media employees in its...
Op-Eds & Guest Contributors
The European Legion’s Activities in Libya
NATO seems to be seeking to intervene in Libya’s internal affairs and impose its control over the Libyan people’s oil and gas capabilities using...
Oil & Gas
Hungary, Slovakia sweetheart deal with Brussels keeps the Russian oil flowing through Ukraine
The energy crisis that has been caused by Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine continued after Kyiv imposed in late June of this year a...
Energy
Russia failing to replace lucrative European gas deliveries with sales to China
Russia’s attempts to build the Power of Siberia 2 (PS-2) natural gas pipeline to China appear to be stalling despite repeated statements from Moscow...
Op-Eds & Guest Contributors
Jeffrey Sachs: three times a traitor
An economist with an international reputation, Professor Jeffrey Sachs has increasingly raised his profile in the world media. A U.S. citizen, he accuses his...
Asia & Pacific
Japan, the Republic of Korea (ROK), and the U.S. condemn DPRK-Russia Cooperation
During his June 19-20 visit to Pyongyang, Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un signed a comprehensive strategic partnership treaty...
Invasion of Ukraine
G7 Summit focuses on Ukraine support and shattering Russia’s wartime economy
Despite last week’s expert punditry (itself almost indistinguishable from AI) on the latest G7 decisions as exhibited by the “instant experts” on global issues...
Disasters and Reconstruction Initiatives
Berlin Ukraine Recovery Conference
Although partially overshadowed by urgent Ukrainian requests for emergency help with its immediate air defense needs, as well as political shockwaves emanating from the...
China
Xi challenges a divided Europe
After the May 5-9 visit of President Xi Jinping to Europe most of the political analysts in Brussels who argued that the Chinese President's...
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