The response from the Obama administration was also immediate. In an effort at damage control, the White House and State Department denied any suggestion that the administration was changing its carefully crafted approach toward Russia, even as spokesmen for the administration reaffirmed U.S. principles about the independence of Russia’s neighbors. But the incident has demonstrated once again how easily U.S.-Russian relations can be derailed or diverted and how vulnerable they will remain until a firmer base is built for better ties. READ MORE

Ukrainian political analysts commented on the statement of Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, who accused current Ukrainian Government of leading anti-Russia course and announced the decision to postpone the coming of new Russian Ambassador to Ukraine. READ MORE

When the post-World War II German states the Federal Republic of Germany and the German Democratic Republic, West and East Germany, respectively, were united in 1990, it was for many in Europe and the world as a whole a heady time, fraught with hopes of a continent at peace and perhaps disarmed. READ MORE

On July 3 the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly has demonstrated its rare decisiveness: it adopted the resolution "Reuniting the divided Europe: encouragement of the human rights and civil liberties in the OSCE region in the 21st century." There were convicted both totalitarian regimes of the past age – Nazi’s and Stalin's, member states were called to reveal their historical and political archives, to fight with xenophobia and aggressive nationalism. It was also offered to condemn totalitarianism clearly and unconditionally, and to consider the August 23rd – day of the signing the Molotov-Ribbentrop pact – as a day of memory of the Stalinism and Nazism victims. READ MORE