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SyriaSource

Sep 26, 2018

Trump, Mattis, Bolton: on the same page?

By Frederic C. Hof

Recent remarks by National Security Advisor John Bolton suggesting that the United States will maintain a presence—presumably military—in Syria until the departure of Iranian-led forces from that ruined country have inspired a flurry of media commentary, questioning, and speculation.

Syria

IranSource

Sep 26, 2018

Not My Fault: Trump and Rouhani Exchange Blame Over Failure to Meet

By Holly Dagres

“Now I’m Trump’s lovely man!” one Persian language tweet read with a picture of a smiling President Hassan Rouhani. The tweet was from hashtag #LovelyMan, an Iranian social media response to US President Donald Trump’s tweet. On September 26, shortly before he addressed the United Nations General Assembly, Trump wrote on Twitter: “Despite requests, I […]

Iran

New Atlanticist

Sep 26, 2018

Trump accuses China of meddling in midterms. It’s all about trade.

By David A. Wemer

Trump offered no specific evidence of China’s purported “meddling” during his speech, but tied it directly to the trade issue, saying Beijing wants him to lose “because I am the first president ever to challenge China on trade and we are winning on trade.”

China Trade and tariffs

UkraineAlert

Sep 26, 2018

Ukraine’s Golden Opportunity to Integrate with Europe That Everyone Has Overlooked

By Stephen Blank

Ukraine’s European aspirations are irreversible. A majority of the public supports NATO membership, and EU membership has long enjoyed popular support. However, wishing for integration does not make it happen. In both instances, Ukraine’s passage toward eligibility will be long and arduous. Nevertheless, opportunities are currently opening up for Ukraine to integrate with its European […]

Central Europe Hungary

IranSource

Sep 25, 2018

Iran Plays ‘Who’s the Rogue Now’ at the United Nations

By Barbara Slavin

For a country that has so often been isolated in multinational forums, Iran is wrapping itself in international legitimacy and approbation not only from much of the United Nations General Assembly but four of the five permanent members of the Security Council plus the European Union. The night before US President Donald Trump excoriated the […]

Iran

New Atlanticist

Sep 25, 2018

Trump puts America first at the United Nations

By Ashish Kumar Sen and David A. Wemer

“The United States will not tell you how to live or work or worship,” US President Donald J. Trump told the assembled leaders, but “we only ask that you honor our sovereignty in return.”

International Organizations Iran

UkraineAlert

Sep 25, 2018

Serhiy Taruta: Yet Another Champion of “Painful Compromises”

By Vitalii Rybak

At the end of 2016, Victor Pinchuk—one of Ukraine’s wealthiest oligarchs and sponsor of the recent YES 2018 conference—published an op-ed in The Wall Street Journal calling for “painful compromises” to establish peace with Russia. In particular, he urged Ukraine to table its NATO and EU hopes and put the Crimean issue on hold for […]

New Atlanticist

Sep 25, 2018

GCA 2018 highlights: Crushing on Christine Lagarde, Chobani’s Ulukaya is more than just a yogurt maker, and more

By Ashish Kumar Sen

The award was presented to Norwegian Prime Minister Erna Solberg; Argentine President Mauricio Macri; Hamdi Ulukaya, founder, chairman, and chief executive officer of Chobani; and the late Arizona Republican Sen. John S. McCain.

UkraineAlert

Sep 25, 2018

US and EU Need to Take on Crimea Sanction Sneaks

By Maria Shagina

Despite a comprehensive sanctions regime established by Western governments barring foreign investment in Crimea, many foreign companies nonetheless maintain operations there. Recent reports reveal that a number of companies such as Visa, MasterCard, Volkswagen, Auchan, Metro Cash & Carry, DHL, and Adidas are still willing to continue business as usual despite the reputational risk. The […]

Russia Ukraine

New Atlanticist

Sep 25, 2018

Europe unlikely to avoid Trump’s Iran sanctions

By Samantha Sultoon

The establishment of a sanctions evasion tool would undermine the EU’s own sanctions enforcement by creating a domestic workaround that could to be applied to any other sanctions program now or in the future.

Financial Sanctions and Economic Coercion France