Atlantic Council blogs

Here’s Why the US-Mexico Energy Relationship is Important

By Robert F. Ichord, Jr.

While the US-Mexico relationship has been making headlines because of the political fallout from US President Donald Trump’s demand that Mexico pay for a border wall, it is important to consider Mexico’s role in global and regional energy markets as well as its energy relationship with the United States.  

The Euphrates Dam Is at Risk in the SDF Operation to Capture It from ISIS

By Abdel Jawad Sakran

The condition of the Euphrates Dam has deteriorated throughout the Syrian conflict, putting the region at risk of environmental disaster. The greatest threats are international coalition airstrikes against Islamic State positions, and neglect for dam maintenance.

In Astana, a Deal That Leaves Assad’s Power Intact

The ceasefire agreement recently negotiated by Russia, Turkey, and Iran preserves Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s grip on power, but the deal itself is significant because for the first time the key players, with the exception of the United States, have come to the table with an understanding that a political solution to the conflict is […]

Stability in Europe’s Southern Neighborhood: A Priority for Malta’s EU Presidency

By Matthew Lowell and Frank Talbot

The recent ripples of insecurity across the southern Mediterranean have presented profound challenges for the European Union (EU).  While Libya and Syria continue to experience protracted violence and lawlessness, many other countries in the region face acute economic and social difficulties.

NATO Chief Confident Trump is Committed to the Alliance

By Jens Stoltenberg, NATO

One key element in that is to make sure that we have a strong transatlantic bond also in this new security environment

Trump’s Wall Drives a Wedge Between the United States and Mexico

By Ashish Kumar Sen

US President Donald Trump’s demand that Mexico pay for a border wall has plunged the US-Mexico relationship into an unseemly crisis, according to two Latin America analysts at the Atlantic Council. “It is a troubling development for a relationship that has few parallels throughout the world,” said Peter Schechter, director of the Atlantic Council’s Adrienne […]

Can Trump’s Anti-EU Rhetoric Unite Europe?

By Ashish Kumar Sen

Guy Verhofstadt, the European Parliament’s chief Brexit negotiator, sees a silver lining While US President Donald Trump’s predictions that other member states, besides the United Kingdom, will desert the European Union (EU) are unhelpful, they serve as a wake-up call for the EU to set its house in order, according to a senior European official. […]

Astana Peace Talks: To the Victor Go the Spoils

By Nabeel Khoury

The Syrian peace talks in Astana, Kazakhstan, consecrate Russia’s primacy in Syria, launched with its entrance into the conflict in 2015, and extended with its ability now to convene peace talks and dictate terms. The outcome of the talks on January 23 also put on display the ascendant axis of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, Lebanese […]

TRADE in ACTION – January 26, 2017

By Global Business & Economics Program

This week in TRADEinACTION: President Trump abandons TPP and announces to renegotiate NAFTA, British  Supreme Court says Parliament must give Article 50 go-ahead, European Parliament’s trade committee endorses CETA, , and UK’s Theresa May to visit DC on Friday.

How to Trump-Proof Sanctions on Russia

By Alina Polyakova

US President Donald J. Trump has said he is open to ending sanctions on Russia in exchange for a nuclear arms reduction deal with the Kremlin. “[L]et’s see if we can get some good deals with Russia,” he said. Trump has the authority to reverse sanctions because the Obama administration used executive orders to mandate […]