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First grain ship left Ukraine but agreements have limited succes
For the first time since the Russian invasion, a ship carrying grain was able to leave the port of Odesa on August 1. A day after the agreement was signed, however, Odesa was hit by a Russian missile strike. And a week later, Ukrainian agricultural tycoon Oleksiy Vadatursky was killed when a Russian missile destroyed his house. -
With belligerent Ankara, Russia’s global ambitions hit a regional snag
As the international global order is unraveling, Russia is facing a belligerent Turkey in the deadly Nagorno-Karabakh escalation. -
US and Europe must engage in stemming Karabakh-conflict
Two new factors make the hostilities, which erupted between Armenia and Azerbaijan over the enclave Nagorno-Karabakh, more dangerous. For the first time Turkey is openly backing one of the parties, Azerbaijan, and the United States is unusually disengaged. Russia has leverage, but will never be able to deliver a peace agreement on its own. Region-expert Thomas de Waal calls for serious American and European engagement to stem the conflict. -
As Trump leaves Syria, Putin becomes the region's power broker
The decision of president Trump to withdraw the American military from northern Syria clears the way for Russia to become the referee in Syria and the wider region. Russia must feel excited that it has finally returned to the world stage as a major recognized force, argues Maxim Trudolyubov, senior fellow at the Kennan Institute. -
How alarming is Turkey’s purchase of Russian arms?
The decision by Turkey to buy a Russian missile defense system, has caused concern in NATO. Is Turkey drifting away from the West
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Deciphering Gazprom’s pipeline agenda in Europe
Gazprom seems ready to make concessions to the European Union in a deal about liberalization of gas markets in Central and Eastern Europe. But it
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Putin and Erdogan, despite Assad, against the West
Russia and Turkey have surprisingly quickly found each other again in their mutual aversion against the West, which in their opinion
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No reason for Moscow to cheer a Turkish solo
The meeting between Russia’s president Vladimir Putin and his Turkish colleague Recep Tayyip Erdogan on August 10 did not turn into
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Turkey, Russia and NATO: a reset of relations
5 augustus 2016
The failed military coup against president Erdogan will affect the foreign policy of Turkey. The military
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