Europe & Eurasia

Transcript: Missile Defense in Europe – Panel 3

Full transcript of the third panel entitled “The Way Forward with Moscow” at the 2009 missile defense conference “Missile Defense in Europe: Next Steps.”

The Russia-Georgia Conflict: An Invasion by Any Other Name

By David Smith

The long awaited European Union-commissioned report of the Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on the Conflict in Georgia was published last week.  Unsurprisingly, it largely corroborates Georgian accounts of Russia’s August 2008 invasion while blaming Georgia for sparking the conflict.

Rethinking Security in “Greater Europe”

By the European Council on Foreign Relations

From the European Council on Foreign Relations: Both the EU and NATO have exhausted their potential for “light” expansion. Both organizations have entered an area of open rivalry, where they will inevitably meet with opposition from Russia. The situation is exacerbated by the fact that not a single country in the former Soviet Union, including […]

’I’m on Facebook, friend me’: top NATO commander

By AFP

From AFP: NATO must make better use of networking sites and other social media to explain to the public what it does, its new supreme allied commander in Europe said Friday — starting with his own Facebook page. Admiral James Stavridis, who took over as NATO’s top commander in Europe in July, admitted that ‘not […]

Nato commander warns of conflict with Russia in Arctic Circle

By the Times (UK)

From the Times (UK): Competition for resources in the Arctic Circle could provoke conflict between Russia and Nato, a newly appointed commander at the alliance warned yesterday. Russia has recently been aggressive in its pursuit of claims to parts of the region and in February sent a submarine to the floor of the sea symbolically […]

Whither Europe’s Left?

By James Joyner

The magnitude of the win of Angela Merkel’s coalition, coming on the heels of a center-right romp in the recent European Parliament elections and the ouster of several socialist-leaning governments in recent months, has spawned much hand-wringing about the decline of Europe’s Left.

BSEEF: Opening Remarks (Transcript)

Back to Black Sea Energy and Economic Forum Black Sea Energy and Economic Forum 2009 Speakers: Frederick Kempe, President and CEO, Atlantic Council Ambassador Mikail Eriksson, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Sweden (Speaking on behalf of Carl Bildt, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Sweden; Former Prime Minister, Sweden) Doru Costea, State Secretary for Global Affairs, Ministry of […]

OpEd by Leader of EU Report on Georgia Conflict

By the New York Times

From the New York Times: Like most catastrophic events, the war of August 2008 had several causes. The proximate cause was the shelling by Georgian forces of the capital of the secessionist province of South Ossetia, Tskhinvali, on Aug. 7, 2008, which was followed by a disproportionate response of Russia. Another factor was the lack […]

Probe says Georgia started war amid Russian provocation

By AFP

From AFP: Georgia sparked a five-day war with Russia last year by attacking rebel South Ossetia, an investigating team said Wednesday, but it also accused Moscow of violating international law. In a report of some 1,150 pages handed to EU ambassadors Wednesday, the 19-member commission found that while Russia had ratcheted up tensions prior to […]

EU: Georgia ‘Triggered’ Russia’s Illegal Invasion

By James Joyner

As widely anticipated, an EU report on last year’s Russian invasion of Georgia finds plenty of blame to go around, finding that Tblisi “triggered” the conflict but that Moscow violated international law by its invasion and with numerous atrocities thereafter.