Carnegie Moscow Center
Nuclear nonproliferation will only be successful if the Nuclear Five, especially the United States and Russia, set an example for the rest of the world by fulfilling their pledges to pursue disarmament.
Turkey is attempting to position itself as a more than a regional power, with activity in all its neighboring regions. It remains to be seen, however, whether Turkey has enough forces to be present in so many places.
Putin’s visit to China is important for both China and Russia, but if the two countries wish to strengthen their bilateral relations, Moscow and Beijing need to work to enhance trust and build a long-term strategy of mutual cooperation.
China and Russia are often considered to be partners, but it would be a mistake to assume that there are no problems between the two countries.
Although Russia seeks to remain the critical broker between Bashar al-Assad and the Syrian opposition, its stance on Syria is beginning to shift as the prospects for Assad's long-term rule diminish.
The Russian government may be changing its attitude towards Syria and penalizing the Assad regime for failing to heed Moscow's advice.
The fact that the Red Cross has appealed to Putin for authorization to provide humanitarian relief to Syria proves that Russia has become an indispensable player in dealing with the Assad regime.
Despite the Kremlin's need for domestic and international legitimacy, there was widespread irregularity and fraud in Russia's recent presidential elections.
Vladimir Putin faces the question of whether to crack down on the still-evolving protest movement or to make concessions to a group who may never trust him.
While fraud was less prevalent in the March 4 Russian presidential election, abuses still occurred.
Reports that NATO troops burned copies of the Koran in Afghanistan help boost the Taliban’s recruitment efforts and can be used to support the Taliban’s attempts to portray conflict in Afghanistan as religious rather than political.
Russia lacks the resources for dealing with the situation in Syria and, despite its current support of the Bashar al-Assad government, will likely lose influence in the country regardless of the future political situation.
The European Union’s embargo on Iranian oil supplies is unlikely to be effective in forcing Iran to restart negotiations on its on-going nuclear program.
The Pakistani military leadership is likely looking to ensure that its voice is heard in the governing of the country, not to take full control of Pakistan.
While Iran has the right to develop nuclear energy, the international community has reason to worry that Iran’s nuclear program is developing technologies that would enable Tehran to build nuclear weapons.
Mostafa Ahmadi Roshan, department supervisor at the Natanz uranium enrichment facility, was killed in a car bomb explosion in Tehran that Iranian officials have already accused both the United States and Israel in playing a part in.
The chilling of the Arab Spring, Iran's nuclear program, Iraq after the U.S withdrawal, and the continuing European financial crisis are just some of the key issues facing the international community in 2012.
Moscow does not believe that withdrawing the support from the Syrian government and giving this support to the opposition will resolve the conflict in the country.
Russian protesters hail from a new generation who are tired of Vladimir Putin’s regime. Given Putin’s refusal to give up power and the impending presidential elections, further unrest is likely.
Fed up with a closed political system dominated by one man, Russia’s privileged class has taken to the streets to protest against Putin’s regime.