Carnegie Moscow Center
As Ukraine is teetering on the brink of a civil war, the West and Russia have found themselves on the brink of new confrontation. Instead, they should cooperate on Ukraine and push the Ukrainian sides toward stopping violence.
The second round of negotiations between the Syrian opposition and the government failed. As of now, the resolution of the conflict almost entirely depends on the position adopted by the external actors, whose relations, however, are now getting more complicated.
The Sochi Olympics expose the rift between Moscow and the West. At the same time, they highlight Russia’s pivot to Asia and Eurasia.
The absence of several Western leaders and the presence of Asian luminaries at the opening ceremony of the Sochi Olympics highlights the rebalancing of Moscow’s foreign policy toward Asia-Pacific.
U.S. Ambassador to Moscow Michael McFaul is leaving Russia after just over two years on the job. His departure is symbolic of the many mismatches in U.S.-Russian relations which exist on both sides.
The dispute between Moscow and Washington about Russia’s new missile allegedly breaching the INF Treaty might signify the rising risk of a breakdown of arms control arrangements between the United States and Russia.
The ongoing turmoil in Ukraine is shifting European and American attitudes toward Moscow. The West is perceiving the Ukrainian crisis through the prism of Russia.
The Sochi Olympics are more politicized than any other Games in recent history. A number of world leaders have announced that they would not attend the Games. However, the Kremlin uses foreign criticism as proof of the West's perennial desire to hold Russia back, and keep it weak.
Russian-American relations today represent islands of targeted and productive cooperation in the midst of a sea of official mistrust and media negativism. It is in the interest of both countries to reclaim new areas of collaboration and to navigate their differences better.
Since the crisis in Ukraine is climaxing, the Munich Security Conference will have to deal with the Ukrainian question. The Munich event that was supposed to be devoted to security problems takes on a larger significance—it is supposed to raise the question of civilizational split.