Eurasia

In talks with Sergei Lavrov this week, Secretary Blinken certainly has diplomatic options. The question is, will he pursue the right ones? In a sign that a diplomatic way out of this crisis is still possible, U.S. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov have agreed …

The next steps are critical: we must hold threat of full scale sanctions and a Ukrainian military response, unless Russia extends farther. Russia’s official recognition of the separatist Donetsk and Lugansk republics is both illegal under international law and acutely unhelpful politically, and makes a diplomatic resolution of the existing …

The Ukraine Crisis Should Force New Delhi to Rethink Its Russia Policy Ever since Russia began massing troops on the Ukrainian border, the government in Kyiv has been working frenetically to shore up international support. For the most part, it has focused on its partners in Europe and North America. …

What Xi Gains—and Loses—From Backing Putin The crisis in Ukraine is exposing the limits of Chinese President Xi Jinping’s foreign policy. Beijing’s global aspirations are now clashing with its desire to remain selectively ambiguous and aloof. Although Chinese leaders may not recognize it, their country’s closer alignment with Russia is …

The threat of war is difficult to beat when it comes to mending or enhancing a damaged reputation. President Joe Biden and Boris Johnson, both derided as ineffective in domestic policy only a few weeks ago, are now reborn as statesmen capable of guiding their countries through the minefield of …

President Biden announced several new economic sanctions against Russia on Tuesday, one day after the Kremlin moved to formally invade two separatist regions of Eastern Ukraine that have long been under the control of its proxies. “This is the beginning of a Russian invasion of Ukraine,” Biden said. “I’m going …

Europe’s most divisive energy project, worth $11 billion, was finished in September. Germany on Tuesday halted the Nord Stream 2 Baltic Sea gas pipeline project, designed to double the flow of Russian gas direct to Germany, after Russia formally recognized two breakaway regions in eastern Ukraine. Europe’s most divisive energy …

Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Tuesday questioned whether Ukraine had a right to sovereignty because he said the government in Kyiv did not represent the country’s constituent parts, the Interfax news agency reported. “If we talk about the principle of sovereignty and territorial integrity, one of the key documents …

Russian President Vladimir Putin said in a press conference Russia would deploy troops, but it is unclear when. Russian President Vladimir Putin stated that the Minsk agreements, which were intended to end the separatist conflict in eastern Ukraine, “no longer exist” and that Russia would provide military assistance to separatists, …

A recent poll indicates strengthening national identity in Belarus and a decline in Soviet nostalgia following the country’s national awakening of 2020. The results of the survey represent unwelcome news for Belarus dictator Alyaksandr Lukashenka as he seeks to steer the country towards ever-closer union with Vladimir Putin’s Russia. The …