Carnegie Moscow Center
Nation-building in Ukraine is a formidable task, its divided nation also a hurdle to a democratic development. Still, Ukraine seems to have a better chance of evolving as a democracy than Russia.
The time is now for Poland to support a peaceful dialogue between the Ukrainian opposition and President Yanukovych. It is also time for Warsaw to make the EU more aware that stability and peaceful transition in Ukraine is of crucial importance for the whole European security.
The presence of Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs Victoria Nuland in Kyiv raises important questions about the U.S. role in the crisis in Ukraine.
Putin’s Eurasian Union would be a set of political and economic structures, similar to the EU, that Russia would dominate. But this vision comes with a price; Ukraine’s economy is in trouble, just as Russia is suffering from low economic growth.
Angela Merkel has taken a first step toward a geopolitical competition with Russia over Eastern Europe, effectively ending years of cozy bilateral relations with Moscow.
Every week a selection of leading experts answer a new question from Judy Dempsey on the foreign and security policy challenges shaping Europe’s role in the world.
As the focus is all on Putin's effort to reshape his neighborhood this week, a Kazakh and a Belarusian silence is an awkward reminder that the Eurasian Union was supposed to be a collaborative project and that the more Putin grabs the headlines, the less that is the case.
The choice between Europe and Russia is Ukraine’s. The battle in Ukraine should not be allowed to become a battle for Ukraine between the EU, Russia, and the United States.
Regarding finances, the Russian government has used three methods to keep the Ukrainians from signing the Association Agreement with the EU: bullying, bribery, and defending Russian national interests.
The EU needs to revise its approach toward Ukraine. That means involving civil society and a range of other actors if and when negotiations between Brussels and Kiev resume.