German foreign minister calls on Kosovo and Serbia to resolve crisis
On a visit to Kosovo, German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle has urged both Pristina and Belgrade to settle their border crisis. He said all of Europe had an interest in a peaceful solution. READ MORE
Thoughts on the U.S.-Russian “Reset”
It has been three years since the start of the August 2008 war between Russia and Georgia. The anniversary of the war’s beginning is a good occasion to reflect on how far U.S.-Russians relations fell during the Bush years, and how much they have been repaired in the last two and a half years. At present, inveterate opponents of the “reset” policy are doing their best to undermine this improved relationship. The “reset” was designed in no small part to undo much of the damage caused by Bush administration policy and the aftermath of the 2008 war, and in many respects it has been such an obvious success that its critics are usually reduced to whining about how it has failed to solve things it was never intended to fix. Russia still has a culture of “legal nihilism,” it is a one-party, illiberal authoritarian state that suppresses and criminalizes dissent, and real political opposition is not permitted. The “reset” has not changed any of this, but it was never supposed to, and there is no way that U.S. policy towards Russia can change this. READ MORE
The Euro-American Debt Dilemma
Wealthy Europe and America, crown jewels of mixed capitalist democracies, are drowning in deficits and debt, owing to bloated welfare states that are now in place (Europe) or in the making (the United States). As Europe struggles to prevent financial contagion and America struggles to reduce its record deficits, their dangerous debt levels threaten future living standards and strain domestic and international political institutions. The ratings agencies are threatening additional downgrades; others envision an eventual breakup of the euro and/or demise of the dollar as the global reserve currency. READ MORE
The New Power Alliance: Russia, Germany and France
Moscow is flush with cash from energy sales and arms producers in France, Italy and Germany are happy to take large chunks of it. They are busily selling Russia advanced weapons, sensitive dual-use systems and military supplies. All this indicatesunprecedented Russian openness about (and need to) buy advanced weapons systems. Moreover, Moscow-based experts say privately that the Kremlin hopes the arms deals help revive the Russian-French-German axis that began to emerge in 2003 in opposition to the US-Iraq war. READ MORE
Serbia blames Kosovo for change of status quo in disputed north
Serbia has said Kosovo wants to create a political fait accompli by trying to seize two border checkpoints with force. Meanwhile, a NATO convoy was unable to reach its soldiers due to a blockade by ethnic Serbs. READ MORE
The New Rules: A Post-NATO Europe Should Look East
Among the mutual recriminations ringing out between the U.S. and Europe regarding NATO's already stressed-out intervention in Libya, we have seen the usual raft of analyses regarding that military alliance's utility -- or lack thereof. As someone who has argued for close to a decade now that America will inevitably find that China, India and other rising powers make better and more appropriate allies for managing this world, I don't find such arguments surprising. You don't have to be a genius to do the math: Our primary allies aren't having enough babies and have chosen to shrink their defense budgets, while rising powers build up their forces and increasingly flex their muscles. In terms of future superpowers, beyond the "CIA" trio -- China, India and America -- nobody else is worth mentioning. READ MORE
Erdoğan urges Sarksyan to apologize for occupation remarks
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has said in Baku that Armenian President Serzh Sarksyan should apologize for calling on school children to occupy eastern Turkey. READ MORE
Kazakhstan, Germany reached high level of mutual understanding and share similar positions on current int’l issues - Y. Kazykhanov
Minister of Foreign Affairs of Kazakhstan Yerzhan Kazykhanov has visited Belgium, Great Britain and Germany on July 18-20. READ MORE
“Reset” Regret: Russian “Sphere of Privileged Interests” in Eurasia Undermines U.S. Foreign Policy
For many years, Russian diplomats have openly proclaimed that the former Soviet republics that make up the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) are not truly sovereign states. Russian analysts have stated that Russia regards the Obama Administration’s “reset” policy as a U.S. admission that the CIS is within Russia’s sphere of influence. The reset policy has hitherto conspicuously failed to address important U.S. interests in Eurasia, including preventing the emergence of a hegemonic power in Eurasia, maintaining a level playing field in access to markets and natural resources, and developing democracy and free markets based on the rule of law. Since the “reset,” President Obama has downgraded his meetings with post-Soviet heads of state, signaling a lesser U.S. involvement and interest. Some senior U.S. officials have even told their subordinates not to bother them with the problems of the Caucasus. READ MORE
Russia eyes closer links with US and China as relations with EU cool
Despite continuing dependence on trade ties with the EU, Russia is seeking closer links with US and China and makes joining WTO a priority READ MORE
