Lithuania wants visa-free travel for Ukraine in 2013
Lithuanian Foreign Minister Audronius Ažubalis said he would make visa-free travel for Ukrainian citizens travelling to Europe a priority when his country takes over the rotating EU presidency in the first half of 2013. But he admitted that progress was dependent on Kyiv. READ MORE
Medvedev’s Foreign Policy: Period of Stabilization
The presidential election is still two weeks away and the inauguration of the next president more than two months off, but we can already analyze the results of Dmitry Medvedev’s presidency. The current focus is on his mentor and most likely successor, Vladimir Putin, who has made a number of policy statements as part of his tireless campaign efforts, including on foreign policy, which was not part of his brief as prime minister. READ MORE
Ukraine Expects “Explosive” Autumn
Ukrainian opposition is getting ready to a series of protests against unpopular social-economic reforms of the power. Authorities yet limit with only “decorative” reshuffle in the government. Which shall be the result of such situation? How probable is “Ukrainian spring” under Arab scenario? These and other questions “Politkom.ru” asked Ukrainian political analyst, Director of Applied Political Studies Center “Penta” (Kiev) Vladimir Fesenko. READ MORE
EU's geopolitical improvidence towards Turkey and Ukraine
European bureaucrats are clearly not keeping pace with the geopolitical dynamics of the modern world. While the U.S. and China are expanding their spheres of influence in the Pacific, and Russia is working to create a Eurasian bloc, the EU actually fell out of big geopolitical games, limiting the expansion of its own influence and being fully concentrated on the internal redistribution of political and economic powers. Ignoring the European aspirations and foreign policy ambitions of Turkey and Ukraine, the EU shows geopolitical improvidence, limiting its own ability to conduct more effective policy in the Middle East and former Soviet space. READ MORE
Ukrainian Vector of Vladimir Putin
In Russia foreign policy course is defined by the President – that is why a political decision that Putin returns to this post in spring 2012 has become a significant event affecting the development of Russian-Ukrainian relations. At first sight these relations should get worse considering traditionally more rigid foreign political line of Putin and political stakes of Yanukovych to establish contacts first of all with Medvedev, who becomes Prime-Minister in the new system of power. “Yanukovych, who is evidently more prone to communicate with liberal Medvedev, was made clear that now he’ll have to deal with rough Putin. If someone had illusions, that one can come to an agreement with one of the Kremlin leaders individually, playing on contradictions, then now there are no such”, - considers political analyst Vladimir Fesenko. READ MORE
Ukraine’s gas, security interests may trump trade offers
As Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych weighs the economic benefits of the EU’s deep and comprehensive Free Trade Agreement and Russia’s Customs Union offer, Ukraine’s energy and security needs must be taken into consideration, argues Stephen Christensen.
Stephen Christensen is a resident fellow at the Prague Security Studies Institute. READ MORE
Democratic development of Ukraine should raise no doubts
President Dalia Grybauskaitė, currently on a working visit in Ukraine, met with Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych to discuss the relationship between the European Union and Ukraine, and the progress in terms of European integration. READ MORE
Sergey Sobolev: “The Faster Ukraine Integrates into the EU the Better”
Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych has reached his X time of European strategy. This December the Summit Ukraine-EU shall take place, within the frameworks of which during two years of Yanukovych’s presidency they have planned to sign an Association Treaty of Ukraine and the EU that would include into itself also the treaty on the establishment of free trade area Ukraine-EU. However, considering imprisonment of Yulia Timoshenko and approach with Russia this prospect is doubted by experts. “Politcom.ru” asked the Chairman of the “shadow government” of Ukraine one of the leaders of “Batskivshchina” party Sergey Sobolev to answer the questions whether Ukraine is ready to go the unstable EU and whether it can count on further integration. READ MORE
A jump of the Asian “tiger” to Eastern Europe
For China is not enough to conquer all of the Far East and Asia’s neighbors. According to the Russian journal Vlast, China seeks to consolidate its influence in the countries which are considered by Moscow as the zones of its influence: Ukraine and Belarus. Beijing started investing to the economies of the above post-soviet countries. READ MORE
Military Cooperation of Ukraine and NATO Shall Be Assessed by the Alliance within the Context of Political Events in the Country.
The interview of Vice Secretary General of NATO on political issues and security James Appathurai. READ MORE
