Russia is to take the role of Middle East power broker on Monday when it seeks to strengthen the Syrian ceasefire by sponsoring a face-to-face meeting between opposition fighters and representatives of Bashar al-Assad’s government.
McCain and Schumer: Don’t end Russian sanctions without Congress (Politico)
A bipartisan group of senators is seeking to hamstring President Donald Trump from lifting sanctions on Russia without approval from Congress, Sen. Chuck Schumer and Sen. John McCain said Sunday.
The Russian-American ‘Reset’, NATO Expansion, and the Making of the Ukrainian Crisis (Gordon Hahn)
An emerging myth–one being put forward by both present and former U.S. government officials, the DC think tank community, and the media–is that NATO expansion had nothing to do with the making of the Ukrainian crisis and civil war. Nothing could be further from the truth.
Did Progressives and Putin Combine to Defeat Hillary Clinton? (James Carden)
Progressives and anti-war Democrats have been the target of baseless accusations of unpatriotic disloyalty, some of which would be funny, if the stakes weren’t so high. Self-proclaimed leaders of the Trump #Resistance on Twitter are growing increasingly fond of insinuating — and in some cases accusing — those of us who were not “with Her” of being “with” Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin.
Atomic Arsenal Costs Ballooning by Billions of Dollars (Roll Call)
From fiscal 2017 to 2026, it will cost $341.78 billion, including inflation, to buy and sustain new nuclear submarines, aircraft, missiles, bombs, warheads and associated computers, according to the report.
PODCAST: The Fight Over a Trump-Putin Détente Begins (Stephen F. Cohen)
Nation Contributing Editor Stephen F. Cohen and John Batchelor continue their weekly discussions, now in their fourth year, about the new US-Russian Cold War. Events this past week make clear that Trump was serious about changing US policy toward Russia, and the enemies of détente know it.
Transcript of interview with Donald Trump (excerpt re: Russia)
Transcript of interview with Donald Trump (excerpt re Russia)
Q: Do you think that what’s happened in Syria now with Putin intervening is a good thing or a bad thing?
Nah, I think it’s a very rough thing. It’s a very bad thing, we had a chance to do something when we had the line in the sand and it wasn’t – nothing happened. [Read more…] about Transcript of interview with Donald Trump (excerpt re: Russia)
How NATO grew fat and Russia took advantage (Michael Brendan Dougherty)
Much of the respectable American news media has fallen for embarrassing rumors of Russian interference and hacking in recent weeks
Hundreds of U.S. Marines land in Norway, irking Russia (Reuters)
Some 300 U.S. Marines landed in Norway on Monday for a six-month deployment, the first time since World War Two that foreign troops have been allowed to be stationed there, in a deployment which has irked Norway’s Arctic neighbor Russia.
US foreign policy — from primacy to global problem solving (Jeffrey Sachs)
Trump is being harshly criticized from the Republican right for chumming up to Vladimir Putin, especially in the context of Russia’s e-mail hacking. Yet on this issue, it is Trump not his critics who seems intent on renewed cooperation rather than conflict. Of course, one theory holds that Trump aims to improve relations with Russia mainly to put even more geopolitical pressure on China, which Trump may deem to be America’s real competitor.
Trump turns U.S. foreign policy thinking inside out: interview with The Times of London and Bild (Gilbert Doctorow)
In the interview, Donald Trump changed entirely the metrics by which sanctions on Russia would be lifted.
Russian lawmakers give mixed reaction to Trump’s nuclear cuts offer (CNBC)
Parliamentarians in Russia gave a mixed reaction on Monday to U.S. President-elect Donald Trump’s proposal to strike a deal on nuclear arms cuts in exchange for Washington lifting sanctions imposed on Moscow over the Ukraine crisis.
VIDEO: Stephen F. Cohen Talks To Tucker Carlson
On Friday, ACEWA Board Member, Nation contributing editor and Professor of Russian Studies Stephen F. Cohen spoke to FOX News Channel’s Tucker Carlson who asked: Will Trump work with Putin and if so, if that entirely a bad thing?
Conspiracy theories about Russia suggest an awful prospect (Anatol Lieven)
In his famous work on nationalism, Elie Kedourie drew attention to the terrifying innovation of the French Revolution in asserting that only a republican or “national” state enjoys real legitimacy–not just internally but on the world stage.
Trump’s Team Looks Smarter on Russia (Leonid Bershidsky)
Rex Tillerson made it clear at his confirmation hearing that he is not a fan of Vladimir Putin. That surprised many…
The US establishment, not the Kremlin, is undermining normalisation with Russia, says San Francisco State Professor
Washington has made it official: Russia is the enemy aiming to undermine not only the United States’ role in the international system, but the very political system upon which America is built.
The ‘Reverse Kissinger’ (Blake Franko)
Just as many saw Nixon’s China visit as an acquiescence toward the communist scourge, some today grumble that working with Putin will facilitate the rise of a new Russian Empire, with “Vlad the Invader” on the throne. These notions may make sense to Russophobes, but the Kremlin is not set on world domination
The Forgotten Interventions (Julian Emiridge)
The collective hysteria over fake news, Russia’s alleged role in the DNC hack, and the unsubstantiated kompramat that supposedly links Donald Trump to Vladimir Putin has reached a fever pitch.
Obama’s Unkept Promise on Nuclear War (Jonathan Marshall)
By ratcheting up tensions with Russia, U.S. national security is raising risks of accidental nuclear war with missiles still on hair-trigger alert — despite President Obama’s promises, writes Jonathan Marshall.
Schiller Chorus, NYPD and Russian Consulate Join To Honor Alexandrov Ensemble (Hudson Reporter)
A Russian United Nations representative, members of the NYPD color guard, the Bayonne Fire Department, and the veterans’ color guards, were present for the ceremony. On what was Christmas Day in Russia, the chorus presented a wreath and sang the Star Spangled Banner and the Russian National Anthem.