NATO's Rasmussen Worried About US, Not Russia
In interview, secretary general dismisses concerns about Russian belligerence. READ MORE
Putin and Medvedev Threaten a Renewed Arms Race
In his annual address Tuesday to both houses of parliament, Russian President Dmitri Medvedev warned that a new arms race would erupt if Moscow and the West cannot agree on a joint European missile defense program. Medvedev gave the following ultimatum: “Either we reach agreement on missile defense and create a full joint cooperation mechanism, or, if we don’t go into a constructive agreement, a new phase of the arms race will begin. And we will have to make a decision on deploying new means of attack.” READ MORE
BRIC A Convenient Illusion, Not A Lasting Alliance
Judging from the anti-China rhetoric that has dominated the mid-term election campaign in the United States, the potential for stronger ties between a surging and dynamic China, and a defensive and declining US seems very limited. READ MORE
Ukraine And The Transformation Of Europe
A potentially seismic geo-political shift is taking place in Europe. The pan-European settlement that has eluded the continent since the fall of the Berlin War is emerging into view. READ MORE
Russian President Medvedev Sees New Arms Race If Cooperation Fails
In a state-of-the-nation speech Tuesday that dwelled on overcoming the persistent weaknesses sapping Russia, President Dmitry Medvedev suggested that failure to reach agreement on missile defense cooperation in Europe could set off a new arms race in the decade ahead. READ MORE
Russia Will Build Up Forces Without New START, Putin Says
Russia will have to build up its nuclear forces if the United States fails to ratify the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty the two countries signed this year, Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin warns in an upcoming CNN interview. READ MORE
Russia Sees ‘Too Much’ EU Energy Diversification
Russian Energy Minister Sergei Shmatko said the European Union is pursuing “too much” a policy of energy-source diversification and assured his country can provide “good and economically viable” supplies. READ MORE
Eastern Europe’s Tito Option
Success stories in what the European Union calls “the neighborhood” have been hard to come by. First Georgia, then Ukraine, and most recently Moldova have all been big EU hopes. But, in each case, those hopes were dashed. Unfortunately for the EU, this year’s annual summit with Ukraine (on November 22) will likely showcase this failure. READ MORE
Foreign Policy Setbacks Deepen Obama's Wounds
Presidents have often turned to foreign policy after domestic setbacks - from Ronald Reagan's Latin American tour and speech calling the Soviet Union the "focus of evil in the modern world" in the months after his party's 1982 congressional losses to Bill Clinton's escape to Indonesia and the Philippines following his own midterm trouncing a dozen years later. Both found redemption at the polls. READ MORE
How Can the EU Respond to Kazakhstan's Starry Ambition?
The following commentary was sent to EurActiv by Aleksander Kwasniewski, a former president of Poland and current advisor to the Kazakh government, on the occasion of the launch from Kazakhstan of one of the world’s largest commercial satellites. READ MORE
