Russia
A view on Central Europe: Does the V4 have a future?
15 July 2014
Central European Policy Institute
Ian Bond argues that the V4 risks fading into irrelevance unless it can articulate a common position on the Ukraine crisis.
Video interview on the EU, Russia and Ukraine
14 April 2014
Ian Bond discusses Russian moves in Ukraine, and how the EU and NATO should respond.
Tougher financial action could sway Putin, expert says
18 March 2014
CBS News
Ignoring sanctions against a few individuals in response to Russia's actions in Ukraine, Russian President Vladimir Putin moved Tuesday to formally annex Crimea. Now Vice President Joe Biden is promising more sanctions to come.
What kind of additional financial pressure would it take to get Putin to back off? CBS...
What kind of additional financial pressure would it take to get Putin to back off? CBS...
The Kremlin uses bully-boy tactics to keep other countries in the fold
17 October 2013
The New Statesman
Putin and his ministers were uncharacteristically polite about Barack Obama, welcoming co-operation with him over Syria’s chemical weapons.
Video interview on 'Is Russia's foreign policy changing?'
09 October 2013
Charles Grant interviewed Fyodor Lukyanov, editor of Russia in Global Affairs and chairman of the Council for Foreign and Defence Policy, Moscow
Will Assad deliver for Putin?
18 September 2013
Carnegie Europe
Following a Russian initiative, Moscow and Washington have reached an agreement that calls for Syria’s arsenal of chemical weapons to be removed or destroyed by mid-2014.
Navalny's sentence will influence the Russian economy
19 July 2013
Valdai Club
Russian opposition leader and anti-corruption blogger was released from custody on Friday. Member of the Valdai discussion club Charles Grant discusses the new turn in the matter.
What will be the consequences of the conviction and verdict on Alexei Navalny for the Russian political system?
I think the main consequences...
What will be the consequences of the conviction and verdict on Alexei Navalny for the Russian political system?
I think the main consequences...
Stifling progress in Russia and China
24 December 2012
The New York Times
Russia and China seem very different sorts of countries. One is a pseudo-democracy with an economy dependent on natural-resource exports; the other is a one-party state and the world’s manufacturing superpower. But both suffer from unbalanced economies — and powerful vested interests that are trying to block the reforms that...
Let Russia show the way on Syria
11 June 2012
The New York Times
Like him or loathe him over his stance on Syria, Russia’s foreign minister, Sergey Lavrov, is a better diplomat than most. Experience counts, and Lavrov has spent almost three decades at the United Nations. As a former senior Soviet diplomat and Russia’s permanent representative to the Security Council in the...
Multilateralism à la Carte
16 April 2012
The International Herald Tribune
Many problems cannot be solved without international co-operation, yet "multilateralism" — the system of international institutions and rules intended to promote the common good — appears to be weakening.
Will Putin delete the reset?
04 April 2012
The International Herald Tribune
In February 2009, Vice President Joe Biden called for the reset button to be pressed in the U.S.-Russia relationship, and for the next three years Presidents Barack Obama and Dmitri Medvedev fostered a rapprochement between Washington and Moscow.
Le veto russe sur la Syrie n’est pas injustifié
28 February 2012
Le Temps
Sans doute Moscou fait-il de la realpolitik en s’opposant à un projet de résolution du Conseil de sécurité exigeant le départ de Bachar el-Assad. Toutefois, la diplomatie russe a raison de penser qu’un tel texte serait intenable. Avec le régime syrien, les Etats occidentaux ont tout fait de travers, estime...
It doesn’t matter who is president of Russia
02 August 2011
Financial Times
In Moscow, the speculation about Russia’s next president is becoming tedious. Dmitry Medvedev has made it clear he would like to run again, but most people think Vladimir Putin, prime minister, will be the official candidate and win March’s election.
But does it matter whether President Medvedev continues, Mr Putin returns...
But does it matter whether President Medvedev continues, Mr Putin returns...
A bad deal for Ukraine and Yanukovich
27 April 2010
Financial Times
The new Ukrainian president has got off to a bad start in foreign policy terms. Last week, Viktor Yanukovich signed a lease agreement with Moscow that will allow the Russian Black Sea Fleet to stay in Ukraine for at least another 32 years.
Obama's missile defense change shows different targets
21 September 2009
Yale Global Online
Washington rankled some of its European allies and delighted Moscow on September 17 when president Obama cancelled plans to build missile defense bases in the Czech Republic and Poland.
Warsaw warms to Moscow
18 September 2009
The Guardian
Tabloids make a poor guide to understanding a country's policy. While the newspaper headlines in Poland and the Czech Republic scream of the US "betraying" eastern Europe by cancelling missile defence bases there, the official reaction in Warsaw and Prague has been muted.
Missile strategy must not be seen as a retreat
09 September 2009
Financial Times
There are mounting indications that Barack Obama will soon abandon plans to put missile defence bases in Poland and the Czech Republic. These have become one of the main bones of contention between Russia and the west.
Is Ukraine fit for the EU?
24 August 2009
The Wall Street Journal
The European Union just helped put together a consortium of international banks to offer Kiev up to $3.6 billion in loans to buy Russian gas.
Europe and Russia's continental rift
13 July 2009
Time Europe
Russia's economy - until recently one of the fastest growing in Europe - is in dire straits. In the first three months of this year, output fell by 10% compared with a year earlier.
Turkey's future lies with Europe
07 April 2009
The Guardian
Barack Obama would not have needed to say it. The fact that he is visiting Turkey as part of a European – not a Middle Eastern – tour shows where he thinks Turkey's future lies: in the EU.