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UkraineAlert

Apr 5, 2016

Ukraine’s Got a Real Shot at NATO Membership

By Stephen Blank

A Reply to Andreas Umland Andreas Umland writes that it would be senseless for Ukraine to aspire to NATO membership though it is desirable. The main reasons he cites are the dawning realization of the danger and potent threat that Russia presents to both Eastern Europe and the West, coupled with a residual unwillingness to […]

Russia Ukraine

SyriaSource

Apr 5, 2016

#5YearsWeFled: Crossing the Border

By SyriaSource

This series is from interviews with the lawyer Ayman Jalwan. It highlights the difficult choice that Syrians face—dying in the war zone that Syria had become, or flee the land he loved. Last year, he and his wife said goodbye to their families and joined the wave of citizens leaving the country. First they had […]

Syria

UkraineAlert

Apr 5, 2016

Ukraine’s Understandable But Senseless Hope for NATO Membership

By Andreas Umland

Moscow’s aggression against Kyiv has led to a marked growth in Ukrainians’ support for their country’s accession to NATO. During the last two years, Ukrainian public opinion has made a U-turn, from skepticism of the Atlantic alliance to an enthusiastic embrace. Until 2013, almost two-thirds of Ukrainians strongly opposed NATO membership. In a July 2015 […]

Russia Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Apr 5, 2016

Now Is Not the Time to Bury Minsk

By Paul Niland

Is the Minsk peace process dead? Not yet. But it is not being respected, and a great deal of work is being done to undermine the process and essentially call it off. Sometimes this is even being done by well-meaning people who actually support Ukraine in one way or another. Comments and tweets from politicians […]

Russia Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Apr 5, 2016

The New York Times Was Right about Ukraine’s Corruption Problem

By Halya Coynash

Ukraine’s President Petro Poroshenko dismissed the recent New York Times editorial “Ukraine’s Unyielding Corruption” as “part of the hybrid war against Ukraine” at a press conference on April 1 in Washington, DC. The editorial’s tone and substance were certainly lightyears away from the President’s own rosy assessment given on March 31. So who’s right? While […]

Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Apr 4, 2016

The Battles Are in the Donbas, But the War Is in the Energy Sector

By Anders Åslund

The energy sector is key to the success of Ukraine’s economic reforms, battle against corruption, and independence from Russia. Ukraine carried out far-reaching reforms to the energy sector in 2015; now it must complete the substantial reforms that have been undertaken. Energy is the linchpin of Ukraine’s dependence on Russia. The Kremlin has used energy […]

Russia Ukraine
Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg and President Barack Obama, April 4, 2016

NATOSource

Apr 4, 2016

Obama says NATO Alliance Remains Key to Collective Security

By Kathleen Hennessey, AP

President Barack Obama on Monday called NATO “the linchpin” of U.S. security policy and a critical ally in the fight against terrorism, indirectly countering Republican Donald Trump’s recent claims that the 67-year-old alliance is obsolete

NATO Security & Defense

SyriaSource

Apr 4, 2016

Assad: Total Defiance

By Frederic C. Hof

Without minimizing for a moment those things dividing Washington and Moscow over Syria, there is at least agreement in principle on three fundamental points: all-Syrian peace negotiations in Geneva should focus on United Nations-mandated political transition leading to democracy and pluralism; that a “cessation of hostilities” in western Syria should boost these negotiations by suppressing […]

Syria
Donald Trump, Feb. 10, 2011

NATOSource

Apr 4, 2016

Trump Willing to Break Up NATO

By Ashley Parker, New York Times

Donald J. Trump on Saturday went further than ever before in his criticism of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, telling a crowd here that he would be fine if NATO broke up.

NATO Security & Defense

IranSource

Apr 4, 2016

Iran Can Overcome Low Oil Prices

By Nazia Khan

Low oil prices have had an impact as great as nuclear-related sanctions on Iran, which ended its 2015 fiscal year on March 20 with a disappointing estimated growth rate of 1 percent. Nevertheless, Iran is in a better position to weather this situation than many other oil-producing countries. 

Iran
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