The use of a nerve agent against an ex-spy in the U.K. will haunt the Kremlin worse than previous transgressions.
Handle the Bear with care (Stephen Kinzer)
Escalating confrontation with Russia is not in America’s interest. It prevents US-Russian cooperation on urgent issues ranging from nuclear security to the fight against the Islamic State. It also pushes Russia toward China. Instead of challenging Russia in its own neighborhood, we should seek a global relationship that serves our security needs.
The Guardian: ‘We should see the evidence’: public react to spy poisoning
Reaction 200 miles from Westminster was mixed to the handling of the Salisbury attack.
PODCAST: 101 Years Later, Armenian Genocide Remains Unacknowledged by Turkey (Pietro Shakarian)
Interview with Caucasus and Russia scholar Pietro A. Shakarian on The John Batchelor Show about the 1915 Armenian Genocide and the annual commemorations on April 24 at the Genocide Memorial in Yerevan, Armenia. Other issues discussed include Turkey’s denial, the Kurds, and Russia’s view of the situation. Shakarian and Batchelor are joined by former US Congressman Thaddeus McCotter (R-MI), a member of the Congressional Armenian Caucus.
Announcement from The Center for Citizen Initiatives
A Message from Sharon Tennison of the Center for Citizen Initiatives and member of the ACEWA Board of Directors:
Russians Meet Mainstream Americans! (RMMA-pronounced Rama) will launch on March 20, 2018 when a delegation of four enterprising Russians arrive at the Atlanta Airport! To answer the first question usually asked …No, they have nothing to do with the Russian government, except of course that they vote.
Lena Novomeiskaya from Yekaterinburg, Natasha Ivanova from Krasnodar in the south, Tatyana Bukharina from Yalta in Crimea and Elena Ivanova from St. Petersburg will travel to the U.S. as “citizen diplomats.” They come at the invitation of the Center for Citizen Initiatives (CCI) to attend discussion groups (up to three a day) where they will answer questions, share ideas and seek solutions with counterpart American citizens. They will visit five U.S. areas: Atlanta, Dallas, Fort Worth, several cities in the San Francisco Bay Area and Washington D.C. They will live in American homes, help cook meals, be transported in family cars and have hundreds of meetings in public forums, civic clubs, homes of volunteers, state official offices and offices of Congress members.
This new program is “Bottom-Up Diplomacy” at its best! We citizens will interact with each other in comity (and levity at times) regarding stereotypes and misinterpretations of each other, in addition to discussing different points of view on major current obstacles such as Ukraine, Syria, Crimea, ISIS, hacks, leaks, Vladimir Putin, and other issues of considerable importance. We will attempt to understand the psychology regarding why leaders of nations resist each other … rather than work toward cooperation. This is a pressing reality at this particular time. Our two nations have enough nuclear weapons to destroy all life on our planet in 30 minutes. We MUST find ways to prevent this possibility––starting with civil and cooperative discourse, then moving toward arms control treaties. This will take a huge amount of citizen education, involvement and pressure from the bottom.
When “Top-Down Diplomacy” is absent, as it is today, it is critical that “bottom-up diplomacy” fill the vacuum and begin grappling with these heavy issues of war or peace. RMMA participants won’t argue or debate, we will simply share different points of view and in the process will educate ourselves, each other––then educate fellow citizens in both countries.
RMMA is a Second Generation Program: Its mother program, Soviets Meet Middle America! (SMMA), was a huge success. In 1988-89, SMMA rolled out a ‘first-ever’ initiative to bring Americans and Soviet counterparts together in 264 U.S. cities and towns. Soviets lived in American homes, ate breakfast around kitchen tables and quickly began to enjoy each other. These rather ordinary Soviets spoke at Rotary and Kiwanis Clubs, were introduced to mayors, city councils and local leaders. They were interviewed by newspapers and television stations. They declared themselves friends and not enemies in both countries’ media; thus, making it easier for Presidents Reagan and Gorbachev to abandon the fears and ill will that these two superpowers labored under for decades. The previous program design was successful in quite a tense time; we have hope that it will be again!
Travel Schedule: The Russians will land in Atlanta on March 20, then travel to Dallas-Fort Worth on March 25, go to the San Francisco Bay Area on March 30, then travel to Washington, D.C. on April 7and arrive back in Russia on April 14. In each city, local volunteer organizers have been busy creating their meeting schedules. All meetings will provide opportunities where participants can freely share opinions and solutions. They are scheduled from morning to evening. RMMA will be a grueling but important experience for us all.
RMMA city reports will be posted on CCI’s Facebook page, website and shared on the CCI iContact E-list. If you wish to attend one of the events in the cities mentioned, email sharon@ccisf.org.
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For more information about the Center for Citizen Initiatives, visit https://ccisf.org/.
Russia vs. Japan: Asia’s Forgotten Island Fight (TNI)
Over the past few years, attention on territorial issues in Asia has largely centered on China, which has a raft of disputes with its neighbors, including Japan and many countries in Southeast Asia. A less discussed, but still strategic, rift is that between Japan and Russia over the Southern Kuril Islands…
Jeremy Corbyn: The Salisbury attack was appalling. But we must avoid a drift to conflict.
Britain needs to hold the perpetrators to account. Yet this is not a time for hasty judgments that could lead to a new cold war.
Are Poland’s Elites Itching for War with Russia? (Peter S Rieth)
“The Russian plane should have been fired upon. Not shot down, but fired upon. Too bad the Americans didn’t fire. Secretary Kerry should have announced that next time, the United States will fire on the Russians.” These are the words of Roman Kuźniar, a key foreign policy advisor to the former President of Poland, Bronisław Komorowski. [Read more…] about Are Poland’s Elites Itching for War with Russia? (Peter S Rieth)
Gordon M. Hahn: Putin’s ‘Missile Speech’: Butter, Guns, and Security Discourse
Putin’s speech addressed the external threat from the West by showcasing Russia’s ‘oboronka’ or defense industry, presenting a series of new weapons systems; some of which seem to already being deployed, some still in the testing and procurement phases.
U.S. diplomat Nuland says optimistic about Ukraine reforms (Reuters)
“Overall, I go home encouraged by the commitment of all the political forces to continuing and accelerating reform, economic reform, anti-corruption reform, in particular judicial reform,” she said at the end of her first official visit to Kiev since the political shakeup earlier in April.
Robert Legvold: Rex Tillerson is Fired. Whither US Foreign Policy?
On Tuesday, March 13, US President Donald Trump fired Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and nominated CIA Director Mike Pompeo as his successor. Valdai Club expert Robert Legvold explains the reasons behind this decision and shares his view of its consequences for the US foreign policy.
Ukraine conflict: Four civilians killed in army shelling, say rebels (BBC)
At least four civilians – including a pregnant woman – have been killed in shelling at a checkpoint crossing in east Ukraine, pro-Russian rebels say.
George Beebe: Why We Need to Pay Attention to Russia’s Elections
The election will help Russia’s elites gauge how much power Putin really has.
US sends world’s most advanced warplanes to Romania and UK in show of defiance against Russia (Independent)
The F-22 Raptors, which travel at twice the speed of sound, touched down in Romania, close to the Black Sea and Ukraine, the Crimean Peninsula and Russia.
Daniel Lazare: The National Endowment for (Meddling in) Democracy
The quasi-government group follows one rule: the U.S. has an unqualified right to do unto others what others may not do unto the U.S
Chatham House Rules (Paul Robinson)
The Royal Institute of International Affairs (aka Chatham House) published a report by Ukrainian analyst Orysia Lutsevych entitled ‘Agents of the Russian World: Proxy Groups in the Contested Neighbourhood’ which warns against the dangers posed by a “network of 60 Russian centres of Science and Culture’ around the world.” Robinson wryly notes, “I was at a meeting at one of these recently. I thought I was there to discuss academic exchanges…”
Lyle Goldstein: Why Trump Should Meet Kim in Vladivostok
The Russian Far East’s main city, Vladivostok, is just one hundred miles from the North Korean border.
Atomic energy and political power in Russia (OpenDemocracy)
In Russia, the space for environmental activism and advocacy is changing under increasing state pressure. An interview with one of Russia’s leading ecological organisations about the prospects for anti-nuclear activism today…
James Carden: Why Was a Call for US-Russia Strategic Dialogue Met With Silence?
Senators Merkley, Sanders, Feinstein and Markey are only asking for common-sense cooperation between the two nuclear superpowers.
Ukraine, Romania, Bulgaria Eye Joint Military Brigade (Defense News)
The governments of Ukraine, Romania and Bulgaria are discussing plans to set up a joint military brigade, according to an announcement by Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko…