Category: Blogs

US Engagement in the Balkans is Critical, Says Albania’s Foreign Minister

By Atlantic Council

Albanian Foreign Minister Ditmir Bushati says US engagement in the Balkans is critical to ensure that there will be no derailment of the effort by Greece and the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM) to normalize relations that would pave the way for the latter to join NATO. “Now that both countries [Greece and Macedonia] […]

Russia’s refugee ploy

By Frederic C. Hof

Moscow’s sudden interest in expediting the return of Syrian refugees to their homes is not prompted by humanitarian concerns. Neither is it motivated by a desire to promote political conditions inside Syria that would encourage people to return to the country from which they fled.

Good Things Are Happening in Ukraine, Even if They Don’t Make Headlines

By Tim Ash

Ukraine just got a big win. On July 25, the International Monetary Fund signaled its support for Ukraine’s amended plans to create an Anticorruption Court. The Rada passed the original bill in June and amended it on July 12 to address concerns subsequently raised by the IMF.

Why Mali’s election matters

By J. Peter Pham

While the July 30, 2018, general election in Zimbabwe—the first in almost four decades where longtime ruler Robert Mugabe won’t be on the ballot—has been attracting a great deal more attention, the presidential election in Mali one day earlier matters just as much and, arguably, is even more important to the security and geopolitical interests […]

Renewed Iran Sanctions Will Bolster the Regime and Undermine the Private Sector

By Sina Azodi

The Trump administration’s decision to withdraw from the Iran nuclear deal and pursue a policy of “maximum pressure” on the Islamic Republic has been coupled with a public diplomacy campaign in alleged support of the Iranian people. But the result is likely to be a stronger central government, as sanctions crush private enterprise and force […]

TRADE IN ACTION July 27, 2018

By Global Business & Economics Program

When America First Meets Italy First

By Nick Ottens

US President Donald J. Trump may not find the ally he expects when he meets with the new Italian prime minister, Giuseppe Conte, in Washington on July 30. The two appear to have gotten along at the recent Group of Seven (G7) and NATO summits. At the former, Conte agreed with Trump that Russia should […]

Russia’s Defense Minister Threatens Response To Sweden and Finland Increasing Cooperation with NATO

By Jason Lemon, Newsweek

Russia’s defense minister has said NATO’s increasing ties with Sweden and Finland are “worrying” and such actions force his nation to “take response measures.”

Iranians Await New Sanctions With Stoic Pessimism

By Giorgia Perletta

Tehran – President Donald Trump’s all-cap Twitter threats that Iran would “suffer consequences the likes of which few throughout history have ever suffered before” if it got into a war with the United States has only compounded a sense of gloomy expectation in the Iranian capital. Judging from this author’s recent visit to Tehran, Iranians are resigned […]

Of Soybean Sales and ‘Vast Amounts’ of LNG

By Teri Schultz

EU officials temper exuberant expectations of transatlantic truce “European Union representatives told me that they would start buying soybeans from our great farmers immediately. Also, they will be buying vast amounts of LNG!” That’s what US President Donald J. Trump tweeted after his meeting with European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker at the White House on […]