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.