Category: Blogs

Sadovyi: Stop Fighting, Start Working Together

By Melinda Haring

Andriy Sadovyi, the mayor of Lviv and leader of the Samopomich Party, hasn’t had an easy year. He was seen as the most likely challenger to President Petro Poroshenko in the 2019 presidential election before a fire at waste facility in May 2016 killed four and sullied his sterling reputation. As a result, his numbers […]

The Future of Kurdish Relations with the Assad Regime Post-ISIS

By Hosam al-Jablawi

Since the beginning of the conflict in Syria, the primary ally of the US in Syria and the largest forces of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), the Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG), recently entered into negotiations and coordination with the Assad regime to fight Syrian rebels and the Islamic State (ISIS, ISIL, Daesh). These negotiations […]

What the EU gets right about the Iran Nuclear Deal

By Mariam El Atouabi

 US President Donald Trump waived economic sanctions on Iran’s banks and oil exports on September 14, as part of a law passed by Congress in 2015, following the landmark Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) agreement—or Iran nuclear deal. The law requires every 120 days for the US president to decide whether to waive the […]

Trudeau Delivers Rallying Cry to Save Global Order

By Ashish Kumar Sen

Canadian prime minister, South Korean president, pianist Lang Lang receive Atlantic Council’s Global Citizen Award Justin Trudeau, Canada’s prime minister and the recipient of the Atlantic Council’s 2017 Global Citizen Award, on September 19 delivered a passionate rallying cry to protect the alliances that have underpinned global security and prosperity since the end of World […]

Trump’s Debut at the United Nations

By Ashish Kumar Sen

In his first address to the United Nations General Assembly in New York on September 19, US President Donald J. Trump threatened to “totally destroy” North Korea, called Iran a “rogue nation” and the nuclear deal with that country “an embarrassment,” said the United States was “prepared to take further action” on Venezuela, and lashed […]

Warrior’s Heart Program Helps Ukrainian Veterans Heal

By Iuliia Mendel

Late on the night of September 6, Oleksiy Tomilko posted a short line on social media: “Perhaps someone wants to visit me.” He was a fifty-year old soldier who had been brought to a military hospital in his native city of Lviv after he had been wounded in the Donbas, where Ukraine has been fighting […]

Trudeau, Moon, Lang Lang to Receive Atlantic Council Award

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, South Korean President Moon Jae-in, and Chinese pianist, educator, and philanthropist Lang Lang will be honored at the Atlantic Council’s eighth annual Global Citizen Awards reception in New York on September 19. The Global Citizen Award celebrates contributions by individuals toward improving the state of the world.

Why Arming Ukraine Would End the Deadlock in the Donbas

By Adam Reichardt and Maksym Khylko

Signals from the Trump administration are beginning to indicate a new direction in the United States’ support of Ukraine. At the end of August, Secretary of Defense James Mattis stated that the Pentagon is “actively reviewing” the issue of defensive weapons, rightly noting that “defensive weapons are not provocative unless you are an aggressor, and […]

Ukraine Is Back

By Anders Åslund

For the first time in five years, Ukraine sold its bonds on the international market. On September 18, the Ukrainian government sold $3 billion of fifteen-year Eurobonds with a 7.375 percent annual yield. The bond issue was oversubscribed by more than three times. Initial statements mentioned a planned sale of $2.5 billion, so the Ukrainian […]