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Archive - 2009

October 16th

Negotiations On The Transnistria Conflict In A Deep Freeze

By Vladimir Socor

Authorities in Tiraspol are watching the political deadlock in Chisinau with barely concealed satisfaction. Moldova’s political and constitutional crisis since April has further deepened the freeze on both tracks of negotiations on the Transnistria conflict: the international 5+2 format and the bilateral right bank – left bank dialogue. Tiraspol is in a position to argue irrefutably that negotiations can only resume after Moldova resolves its internal crisis and elects a head of state. READ MORE

October 14th

Germany Welcomes Polish Approval Of Lisbon Treaty

German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier said he was "delighted" that the Polish had signed the EU's reform treaty, describing Warsaw's move as the "penultimate step" toward the treaty's implementation. READ MORE

Belarussian President Return Into Russian Politics?

By Anton Rubesh

Even the experienced political observers – those who monitor every step and word of Alexander Lukashenko – remain in the state of shock after he spoke to Russian journalists in Minsk. READ MORE

Turkey Casts Doubt Over Landmark Agreement With Armenia

The agreement between Turkey and Armenia to re-establish ties has sparked controversy on both sides of the border. The deal also received heavy criticism from Azerbaijan over unsolved Armenian-Azeri territorial disputes. READ MORE

Customs Triumvirate Wants to Join WTO

By Evelina Titova

An unexpected initiative of Moscow doesn't promote WTO joining for Russia, Kazakhstan and Belarus. The participants of the Customs Union received two variants of WTO joining: together and separately. READ MORE

October 12th

Patriot Missile Procurement Option Sparks Controversy In Turkey

By Saban Kardas

The Turkish government's possible purchase of missile defense systems from the United States, as part of an ongoing tender, has sparked a new debate on Ankara's new regional policies and its domestic arms procurement projects. On September 9, the Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) notified the U.S. Congress of a possible sale to Turkey of 13 Patriot fire units, various Patriot missiles including the advanced capability (PAC-3) missiles, and other related support equipment. Raytheon Corporation and Lockheed-Martin are the principal contractors and if they are awarded the tender, the project is estimated to cost $7.8 billion. READ MORE

October 9th

The European Parliament Cares About “Eastern Partnership”

By Aleksey Medvetskij

Diplomatic Adviser Arnold Pranckevicius dwells on priorities of the new staff of the European Parliament. READ MORE

October 7th

The Mission Of Kaliningrad Is In European Presence Of Russia

By Konstantin Ameliushkin

Lithuania should be a priority within interrelations of the Parliament and the Administration of Kaliningrad region, as considers the Head of Foundation “Regional Policy” Solomon Ginzburg. He thinks that the Administration of Kaliningrad region pays little attention to Lithuania, meanwhile at unofficial level “RUR and LTL” vote for cooperation. READ MORE

October 5th

Russia's New Ukrainian Disinformation Campaign

By Roman Kupchinsky

Disinformation, or the planting of false information to deceive or smear an enemy, is now being regularly used by both government and non-governmental players in  Russia and Ukraine in the fierce battles for control of power and assets in these countries. During the January 2009 "gas war" between Ukraine and Russia, the Russian leadership accused Ukraine of preventing Russian gas from reaching customers in the E.U. READ MORE

David Miliband: Europe Is Tories' Massive Weakness

By Bruno Waterfield and Adrian Michaels

David Miliband was combative while defending European Union foreign policy and the Lisbon Treaty. READ MORE