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UkraineAlert

Oct 6, 2015

Don’t Blame the Oligarchs: Why Have Ukraine’s Cultural Reforms Gone Nowhere?

By Kateryna Smagliy

The demonizing of Ukrainian oligarchs as major impediments to democratization and reform has become a shared mantra of Western and domestic pundits alike. Whenever explaining the slow pace of Ukraine’s changes after the Euromaidan, analysts argue that oligarchs only gained influence and that by controlling whole chunks of the state apparatus, mass media, and economy, […]

Ukraine

MENASource

Oct 6, 2015

Top News: Muslim Brotherhood Spokesperson Gehad Haddad’s Family: We Don’t Know if He’s Alive or Dead

By EgyptSource

The family of prominent Muslim Brotherhood spokesperson Gehad Haddad say they haven’t been allowed to visit him or receive any information about him since he was taken to Tora Prison Hospital on Sunday.

MENASource

Oct 6, 2015

EconSource: World Bank Suggests New Strategy for Middle East

By EconSource

The World Bank has suggested a new strategy to help countries in the Middle East achieve stability that will be based on four axes, according to the Bank’s Vice President for Middle East and North Africa region Hafez Ghanem.

Russian Su-27 fighter jet intercepted by UK Typhoon participating in NATO's Baltic Air Policing mission, June 17, 2014

NATOSource

Oct 5, 2015

A ‘New Normal’ for NATO and Baltic Sea Security

By Anna Wieslander

It might appear natural that focus on Baltic Sea security would have come quickly for NATO after the Russian annexation of Crimea in March 2014, but this was not the case.

Germany NATO

UkraineAlert

Oct 5, 2015

Testing Putin’s Intentions

By John E. Herbst

The October 2 Paris Summit with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, French President François Hollande, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko, and Russian President Vladimir Putin produced no breakthrough for peace in Ukraine. But it provided additional proof that, for the moment, Putin wants to lower tensions in the region. The parties spoke about three issues: the withdrawal […]

Russia Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Oct 5, 2015

How to Fight Corruption in Ukraine

By Anders Åslund

We all agree: The greatest threat facing Ukraine, after its war with Russia, is corruption. But few agree how to do so, though it should not be that difficult. In 1998, Ukraine’s main gas importer, Ihor Bakai, stated that “all rich people in Ukraine made their money on Russian gas.” The technique was simple. A […]

Russia Ukraine

SyriaSource

Oct 5, 2015

Syria: Taking the Initiative, Acquiring Some Leverage

By Frederic C. Hof

Responding to reporters’ questions on October 2, President Barack Obama made clear the inadmissibility in Syria of any US cooperation with “a Russian campaign to simply try to destroy anybody who is disgusted and fed up with Mr. Assad’s behavior.”

Iran Russia
Meeting of the North Atlantic Council, July 28, 2015

NATOSource

Oct 5, 2015

Allies Respond to Russia’s Violations of Turkish and NATO Airspace

By NATO

The North Atlantic Council met today to hold consultations on the potential implications of the recent dangerous military actions of the Russian Federation in and around Syria.

NATO Russia

NATOSource

Oct 5, 2015

Turkey: Russian Fighter Jet Violated Our Airspace

By Turkish Foreign Ministry

A fighter aircraft belonging to the Russian Federation violated Turkish airspace at 12:08 on 3 October 2015 south of the Yayladağı/Hatay region.

NATO Russia

MENASource

Oct 5, 2015

Top News: Egypt Says Russia’s Intervention in Syria Will Counter Terrorism

By EgyptSource

Russia’s intervention in Syria will curtail the spread of terrorism and help deal a fatal blow to Islamic State (ISIS or ISIL) in the war-torn country, Egypt’s Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry said on Saturday.

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