Atlantic Council blogs

Atlantic Council blogs provide short-form analyses from Council experts and a wider community of global voices on the world’s most important news stories.
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Congressional Relations

Jul 16, 2018

Senators Rubio and Warner Push Back on Trump’s Press Conference with Putin

By David Wemer

US Sen. Mark Warner (D-VA) described as “outrageous” US President Donald J. Trump’s July 16 press conference with Russian President Vladimir Putin, while his Republican colleague, Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL), maintained that “what the president said today was not accurate.” The two senators, who spoke at an Atlantic Council event on the Kremlin’s interference in […]

Russia

AfricaSource

Jul 16, 2018

Below the surface, a game changer in Congolese politics

By Pierre Englebert

“Shikata,” or “remain seated” in Swahili, claim the posters on Congolese President Joseph Kabila’s effigy in the streets of Lubumbashi. But while everyone’s attention is focused on the regime’s contortions to stay in power, despite constitutional impediments to doing so and deep domestic discontent, the 2015 break-up of Congo’s existing provinces has upended politics below […]

Africa Corruption

New Atlanticist

Jul 16, 2018

Trump Picks Putin

By Ashish Kumar Sen

US President Donald J. Trump on July 16 appeared to believe Russian President Vladimir Putin’s denials over the US intelligence community’s assessment that Russia meddled in the 2016 elections, saying he saw “no reason why” Moscow would have acted in that way. Speaking at a joint press conference following his first summit with Putin in […]

Russia United States and Canada

IranSource

Jul 16, 2018

Iran’s Renewable Energy Outlook Dims after US Withdrawal from the Nuclear Deal

By Omid Shokri Kalehsar

Countries across the world are planning to increase the share of renewables in their national energy baskets, particularly for electricity generation. Iran, as a major oil producer, has only recently begun to stress the role of renewables with the coming into force of its Fourth Development Plan (2004-2009). Iran has high potential for progress in […]

IranSource

Jul 16, 2018

Iran’s Renewable Energy Outlook Dims after US Withdrawal from the Nuclear Deal

By Omid Shokri Kalehsar

Countries across the world are planning to increase the share of renewables in their national energy baskets, particularly for electricity generation. Iran, as a major oil producer, has only recently begun to stress the role of renewables with the coming into force of its Fourth Development Plan (2004-2009). Iran has high potential for progress in […]

New Atlanticist

Jul 15, 2018

Trump-Putin Summit: Expect the Unexpected

By Ashish Kumar Sen

Just in the past few months, US President Donald J. Trump has blown up the G7 summit in Canada, berated the United States’ NATO allies, criticized British Prime Minister Theresa May on her handling of Brexit, described Germany as a “captive” of Russia, characterized the European Union as a “foe,” and directed the Pentagon to […]

Russia Ukraine

New Atlanticist

Jul 15, 2018

Helsinki: Why Not Win on Syria

By Frederic C. Hof

President Trump travels to Helsinki with impressive Syria-related leverage. If he chooses to use it in his meeting with his Russian counterpart, he can increase the chances for real Russian cooperation in ending the Syrian crisis on mutually acceptable terms. If he gives it up, his pockets will be emptied to the delight of Iran, […]

Russia Syria

UkraineAlert

Jul 14, 2018

Why Is the International Media Still Repeating Kremlin Propaganda about Ukraine?

By Peter Dickinson

When two members of Croatia’s World Cup squad recorded a nine-second video dedicating their quarter final victory over Russia to Ukraine, they chose to accompany it with the patriotic slogan “Slava Ukraini” (“Glory to Ukraine”). As former Dynamo Kyiv players, they appear to have believed they were sending a somewhat cheeky but essentially harmless message […]

Russia Ukraine

EnergySource

Jul 13, 2018

What Iran’s World Cup team says about oil production

By Brenda Shaffer

In the current tight oil market, where little wiggle room exists between supply and demand, any production outage has the potential to significantly impact the global oil price. And while observers frequently discuss many of the geopolitical risks that could lead to such outages, the potential for outages in Iranian production warrants further consideration—and not […]

Geopolitics & Energy Security Iran

New Atlanticist

Jul 13, 2018

Donald Trump and Theresa May: On the Issues

By Ashish Kumar Sen

Donald J. Trump and Theresa May attempted to paper over their differences—at least in public—at a joint press conference on July 13. This interaction followed a controversial interview Trump gave to the British tabloid The Sun in which  the US president criticized the British prime minister’s approach to Brexit. Here’s a look at where the […]

European Union International Organizations