For me and many others on the right, Russia is not the main focus, but a component of years of effort to advance a more realistic and restrained U.S. foreign policy. Someone who is interested in such a foreign policy would naturally conclude that it is in the best interests of our country to have a good relationship, if possible, with any country that possesses the world’s second-largest nuclear arsenal.
John Drennan: The perilous Line of Contact in southeastern Ukraine
Clashes between the Ukrainian government and Russia-backed separatists have occurred regularly along the Line of Contact (LoC) in southeastern Ukraine since the February ceasefire agreement was signed in Minsk. Both sides seemingly lack the will to fully implement the agreement, so the conflict looks likely to remain unresolved for the foreseeable future.
When science brought Americans and Russians together (Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists)
The first Russian explosive device to land on US soil wasn’t delivered by a Russian missile, as Americans feared might happen throughout the Cold War. It was delivered by FedEx…
Nominee to lead Joint Chiefs: Russia is greatest national security threat to US
As if more evidence were needed that we are entering a new and more perilous era in our relations with Russia, President Obama’s nominee to become the next Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff told the Senate Armed Services Committee on Thursday that “Russia presents the greatest threat to our national security. … If you look at their behavior, it’s nothing short of alarming,” Read the AP’s full account here.
Why did Putin oppose Clinton? Decades of American hypocrisy (Simon Waxman)
We can turn back to Yugoslavia to find the roots of Putin’s loathing toward Clinton and her ideology. It was during NATO’s 1999 air campaign over Kosovo that then-President Bill Clinton helped to inaugurate the current era of militant humanitarianism (that is, humanitarian intervention at the point of a gun).
The Self-Defeating Russia Sanctions
In the geopolitical arena, do the ends always justify the means? Is it wise to inflict damage on yourself and your institutions to hobble an enemy? The relationship between the West and Russia over the last few years offers an illustrative case.
First OSCE staff member killed in rebel east Ukraine (AFP)
The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe said Sunday one of its staff was killed after an observer mission patrol vehicle hit a landmine in the Russian-backed separatist east.
Rethinking Russia: A Conversation With Russia Scholar Stephen F. Cohen
In an interview this week with the Huffington Post, ACEWA Founding Board Member Stephen F. Cohen discusses the crisis in US-Russan relations and the ongoing Ukraine crisis with author Dan Kovalik. Among other observations, Professor Cohen comments that “Ukraine had been on Washington’s agenda for a very, very long time; it is a matter of public record. It was to that that Putin reacted. It was to the fear that the new government in Kiev, which overthrew the elected government, had NATO backing and its next move would be toward Crimea and the Russian naval base there. … But he was reacting, and as Kiev began an all-out war against the East, calling it the “anti-terrorist operation,” with Washington’s blessing. …”
Another Reason to Avoid Rushing on Russia’s Election Role (Leonid Bershidsky)
…details are spilling out, and they are not bolstering the intelligence community’s conclusion. Indeed, the most recent revelation suggests they don’t understand who has influence in Moscow.
Want to escalate U.S.-Russia tension? Arm Ukraine.
Washington’s legion of escalation argues for “raising the costs” to Russia by increasing the number of Russian soldiers killed in Ukraine…This rationale is logical on its face, but in practice does not account for the gap between the Russian and American stake in Ukraine. Kiev’s geopolitical orientation is supremely important to Russia, while American interests’ via-a-vis Ukraine are peripheral at best. It’s a case of “must have” for the Russians, versus “nice to have” for the United States.
It’s time for Democrats to drop the Russia ‘shtick’ (Michael Tracey)
Given Trump’s clear impulsivity and belligerent tendencies, the last thing Democrats ought to be doing is incentivizing him to take a needlessly hostile stance toward Putin – or any other world leader, for that matter.
China and Russia: the world’s new superpower axis?
Forget euro summits and G7 gatherings: for the countries that like to style themselves as the world’s rising powers, the real summitry takes place this week in central Russia, where Vladimir Putin will hold court.
Leaders of the Brics countries (Brazil, India, China and South Africa) will meet Putin in Ufa on Wednesday, then make way for the Asian powers grouped in the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation.
Behold the Master Conspirator (Holman Jenkins)
Mr. Schiff and Mr. Page are fitting sharers of the stage in this episode, with a certain indefinable insubstantiality in common.
Saudi Arabia to invest $10B in Russia
Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund is to invest up to $10 billion in Russia over the next five years, in a move signalling a thawing in relations between the two countries.
Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF), the country’s sovereign wealth investment vehicle, agreed on Monday to invest $10 billion over the next five years approximately in the Russia Direct Investment Fund (RDIF), a government-run investment fund.
The Coming Crisis With Iran (Trita Parsi)
President Trump has flip-flopped many times during his first months in office. But none may be as consequential as his decision on April 18 to certify that Iran is abiding by the nuclear deal of 2015, paving the way for further waiving of sanctions.
ACEWA Founding Board Member John E. Pepper on the US, Russia and Ukraine: The Danger Escalates
As we all know, it is hard for an individual or nation to view the world or a particular situation through the eyes of another person or nation. I have never seen this more true than what is transpiring now over the Ukrainian crisis as it is viewed by the United States and Russia.
This is a subject of deep concern because the security of our world is threatened and we risk losing the need for collaboration on such transcendent issues as nuclear proliferation and terrorism in Iran and Syria. [Read more…] about ACEWA Founding Board Member John E. Pepper on the US, Russia and Ukraine: The Danger Escalates
American, Russian arrive at International Space Station (ABC News)
A Soyuz space capsule delivered an American astronaut making his first space flight and a veteran Russian cosmonaut to the International Space Station on Thursday.
Interview: Thomas Pickering on diplomacy, Iran, Korea, Russia, realpolitik, and the ethics of war
Ambassador Thomas R. Pickering recently gave a comprehensive interview to the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists in which he touched on arms control issues with an eye toward the situations in Iran, North Korea and Russia. Regarding the current crisis in relations with Russia, he noted, “When the Soviet Union went out of business, they thought there would be no NATO enlargement…And they are still concerned about NATO enlargement and encirclement, especially about the prospect of NATO enlargement to Ukraine.” Read the whole thing here.
PODCAST: Why the New Cold War Is More Dangerous Than the Preceding One (Stephen F. Cohen)
Nation Contributing Editor Stephen F. Cohen and John Batchelor continue their weekly discussions of the new US-Russian Cold War. Cohen recalls that in 2014, when the Ukrainian crisis erupted, he warned that the new Cold War might be more dangerous than was its 40-year predecessor for several reasons. The political epicenter of this Cold War was on Russia’s borders, first in Ukraine, then in the Baltic region, whereas previously it had been in far-away Berlin.
Toward a Rational US Strategy
The ultimate madness of today’s U.S. foreign policy is Official Washington’s eager embrace of a new Cold War against Russia with the potential for nuclear annihilation. A rational strategy would seek alternatives to this return to big-power confrontation, writes ex-U.S. diplomat William R. Polk.