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MENASource

Sep 16, 2015

Top News: Tobruk Government Recalls Team from Morocco Talks

By MENASource

Delegates for Libya’s Tobruk-based House of Representative (HOR) says it has recalled its team from UN-mediated talks in Morocco, where rival Libyan sides are supposed to agree on a unity government by September 20.

MENASource

Sep 16, 2015

Top News: Shoukry Pens Open Letter to the ‘People of Mexico;’ Sisi to Receive Mexico’s Foreign Minister

By EgyptSource

Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry addressed the people of Mexico in an open letter to be published in major Mexican newspapers Wednesday regarding the accidental killing of Mexican tourists in Egypt last Sunday.

MENASource

Sep 16, 2015

EconSource: Libya’s Internationally Backed Government May Block Exports by Some Oil Companies

By EconSource

Libya’s internationally recognized government in Tobruk may block exports via oil companies that refuse to deal with its new state oil company, an official said on Tuesday.

New Atlanticist

Sep 16, 2015

Snapback: An Innovative Feature of the Iran Nuclear Deal

By Gérard Araud

Over the past two months, much has been said and written about the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) agreed with Iran on July 14. We are now drawing to the end of this phase, with the review of the agreement by the US Congress expected to come to its conclusion by September 17. During […]

France Iran

UkraineAlert

Sep 16, 2015

Ukraine After Euromaidan: What Difference Does a Revolution Make?

By Viktoriya Sereda

Many people claim that following the 2013-14 protests against former Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych, Russia’s annexation of Crimea and worsening violence in the Donbas, Ukrainian attitudes have significantly changed—mainly towards European integration, support for democracy and the fight against corruption. Our project—“Region, Nation, and Beyond: An Interdisciplinary and Transcultural Reconsideration of Ukraine”—attempts to verify those […]

Russia Ukraine

New Atlanticist

Sep 15, 2015

Russia’s Gazprom Unable to Do Without Europe

By John M. Roberts

Russia has confirmed the primacy of Nord Stream—a natural gas pipeline through the Baltic Sea—in its efforts to replace Ukrainian transit routes for gas exports to Europe, diminishing the likely role to be played by its southern counterpart, Turkish Stream. The agreement, signed September 4 in Vladivostok, sets out the shareholding arrangements for the project […]

Energy & Environment Energy Markets & Governance

SyriaSource

Sep 15, 2015

Syria: What to do About the Russian Challenge

By Frederic C. Hof

Russia’s military buildup on a Syrian airbase south of Latakia combined with the escalating hemorrhage of Syrian humanity confronts President Barack Obama’s administration with facts it has tried mightily to avoid for years: the Syrian crisis is not containable; it cannot be held at arm’s length; and it cannot be treated with mantra-like incantations about […]

Iran Russia

UkraineAlert

Sep 15, 2015

Five Questions GOP Candidates Should Answer About Putin

By Terrell Jermaine Starr

Donald Trump, the Republican Party’s most bombastic presidential candidate, thinks President Barack Obama is a wimp and that he’s weak on Ukraine. “Putin does not respect our president whatsoever,” Trump said via Skype at the Yalta European Strategy Summit in Kyiv on September 11. Trump’s language is consistent with other Republican critiques of Obama’s handling […]

Russia Ukraine
Russian Su-27 fighter jets, Aug. 27, 2013

NATOSource

Sep 15, 2015

Russia has Closed the Air Power Gap with NATO, US General Warns

By Sydney J. Freedberg Jr., Breaking Defense

“The alarming thing,” said the commander of US Air Forces in Europe, is that the Russians are catching up. “They’ve closed the gap.”

Europe & Eurasia Missile Defense

UkraineAlert

Sep 15, 2015

A Rock Star, The Donald, and Former Presidents All Agree: Ukraine’s Fate Matters to World

By John E. Herbst

Kyiv is famous for its golden Septembers, clear, cool days, where the sun shines brightly on the city’s many golden cupolas. The weather did not disappoint Ukrainian businessman Victor Pinchuk and the distinguished crowd at his 12th Yalta European Strategy Summit (YES) on September 10-12 in Kyiv. The summit was an impressive mix of glitz […]

Russia Ukraine