Carnegie Moscow Center
Expectations are running high for major changes in the next U.S. administration's foreign policy, but how much change is likely, and will it be enough to close the gap between America and the world? Top experts from the Carnegie Endowment and elsewhere discussed this question during a two-day conference in Brussels. <BR>
The Georgian conflict has affected the balance of power between Russia and its neighbors, and raised questions about Russia's regional ambitions. Europe must assert its influence, and play a greater role in the region.
The Russia-Georgia conflict has not only re-defined the balance of power in the Caucasus but also Russia’s relations with the world. To understand what a re-emergent Russia wants, Carnegie Europe has hosted the first of its new ‘Live from…’ video briefing with leading Russian foreign policy expert, Dmitri Trenin.
<p>On September 4, 2008, former speaker of the Georgian parliament Nino Burjanadze spoke at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace , Washington, DC, on the Russia-Georgia conflict.<br clear='none'></br>Burjanadze highlighted the causes of the conflict, the next steps that the international community should take, U.S. policy towards Georgia, including during the next administration, Georgian prospects for NATO accession, democracy in Georgia, Georgian actions prior to the conflict, and the future of Russian-Georgian relations. The former speaker of the Georgian parliament insisted on the need of international support and criticized Russia, but noted that isolating Russia may not be the best solution and attempting diplomacy may still be possible at this moment.</p><br clear='none'></br>
A panel of Carnegie Russia experts present analysis of the current state of Russia's political and economic development and the likelihood of continuity or change in Dmitry Medvedev's first term as president of Russia.
Alexei Arbatov, scholar-in-residence at the Carnegie Moscow Center, gave a talk on the Putin legacy and the likely trajectory of his successor, Dmitry Medvedev. Ambassador James F. Collins, director of the Russia and Eurasia Program, moderated the event.
On February 22, Carnegie Moscow Center Scholar-in-Residence Nikolai Petrov discussed Russia's March 2 presidential elections, which are widely expected to usher in the rule of Dmitry Medvedev, President Putin's favored successor. <BR><IMG alt=video hspace=5 src="/images/video_icon_border.gif" align=top border=0><STRONG><EM>Features event Video</EM></STRONG>