Atlantic Council blogs

Is Brexit Good for the EU?

The United Kingdom’s decision to leave the European Union (EU) has strengthened solidarity among the bloc’s other twenty-seven member states, David O’Sullivan, the EU’s ambassador to the United States, said at the Atlantic Council on March 29. “The debate around Brexit has strengthened support for the European Union elsewhere around Europe,” according to O’Sullivan. “If […]

What to Expect from Sisi’s White House Visit

By Elissa Miller

On April 3, Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi will visit the White House to meet with US President Donald Trump. Sisi’s first visit to the White House is important for US-Egypt relations. Both leaders have repeatedly expressed admiration for one another, and Cairo appears eager to push for a stronger bilateral relationship that it perceives […]

Putin is Not Russia

By Ashish Kumar Sen

US senators, Russian opposition activist call for calibrated pressure on Vladimir Putin Two US senators—one a Republican and the other a Democrat—and a Russian opposition activist who has survived two apparent attempts on his life made a call for greater international pressure on Russian President Vladimir Putin to respect human rights. Speaking at the Atlantic […]

TRADE in ACTION, March 30, 2017

By Global Business & Economics Program

On March 25, the European Union celebrated the 60th Anniversary of the signing of the Treaty of Rome. They signed the Rome Declaration which resolves to create a “stronger more resilient” union that is ready to address current and future challenges.  A few days later, the United Kingdom officially triggered exit negotiations (as specified in Article 50 of the […]

Why Putin’s Flirtation with the French Far Right May Backfire

By Péter Krekó and Alina Polyakova

On March 24, Marine Le Pen, the leader of France’s National Front (FN) party and a contender for the French presidency, flew to Moscow for a surprise visit with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Le Pen’s photo op of a one-on-one meeting with Russia’s president certainly made her look presidential, but it’s an image that may […]

One Small Step for Georgia, One Giant Leap for the EU

By Alexandra Hall Hall

At a time when doors across the West are closing to migrants, one small country has managed to buck the trend: the ex-Soviet republic of Georgia. On March 28, the country secured visa-free travel to the Schengen area of the EU, which includes all member states except Ireland, the United Kingdom, Croatia, Cyprus, Romania, and […]

Ukraine Is in the Middle of a Counterrevolution Again. Is Anyone Paying Attention?

By Maxim Eristavi

While the world is distracted by multiple crises, Ukraine’s ruling elites are trying to undo the modest progress the country has achieved since the Maidan Revolution. Despite the mainstream narrative, when it comes to reforms in post-revolutionary Ukraine, the record has been anything but black and white. But if you need a consensus on the […]

ISIS Drags out the Battle for Mosul

By Feras Hanoush

The battle to liberate Mosul in northern Iraq from the Islamic State (ISIS, ISIL, or Daesh) has gone on for four months, reflecting the organization’s stamina and the fact that it has a sophisticated plan for arming, supplying, and defending itself. A combination of Iraqi army and security forces, Shia Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF), Kurdish […]

Rebels Advance in Hama Countryside as Regime Mobilizes Army Again to Defend City

By Saleem al-Omar

Syrian rebel forces have reached the village of Qamhana in the northern Hama countryside, the scene of fierce clashes between regime forces and Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (the Levant Liberation Committee), which includes jihadist factions such as the Fateh al-Sham Front (formerly the al-Qaeda affiliated Nusra Front). The village lies four kilometers (2.4 miles) from Hama […]

A responsibility to project? Power, law, and ‘nascent norms’ in the Levant

By Anthony Elghossain

America and its allies eviscerated in practice what they elevated in principle. They adopted a bunch of tactically disjointed, strategically counterproductive, morally abysmal, and logically barren half-measures and remedial programs.