Since mid–late 1990s for several decades Russia-China relations were largely seen in the West as either a tactical move by Moscow and Beijing in the hope of strengthening their positions in dialogue with the US or as an “axis of convenience”, lacking solid basis, especially in economic dimension. Western experts usually assert that sooner or […]
The escalation of tensions between Iran and the USA in January 2020 has once again raised the question of what positions will the influential actors take. Meanwhile, the international community perceives the US-Iran confrontation within the context of two key topics – the state of the “nuclear deal” and the regional policies of these states […]
Recent developments in Idlib put situation in Syria on escalatory trajectory which might potentially undermine Russia-Turkish relations and change entire conflict flow. While Erdogan threatens to launch a military operation against Syrian Arab Army (SAA) if it doesn’t stop offensive in Idlib, Russian and Turkish diplomats and military are struggling to find a new compromise […]
Due to the shifts within the global environment, including the come-back of the Middle East to the top agenda of great power politics alongside emergent controversies between major international players, the post-soviet space is down-grading in the hierarchy of political interests of non-regional players. As the global attention is mainly focused on other regions, the […]
The views expressed in the article are solely that of the author and may not represent that of MGIMO-University, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Russian government. There are numerous uncertainties for the coming year. Will the local elections be held on time? Will the Minsk agreements still be relevant? Will the resolution […]
Im Verhältnis EU-Russland wird die gegenwärtige Beziehungsdynamik sowie die 2014 eingeleitete strategische Entkoppelung‘ beibehalten. Im Sinne eines dynamischen Status quo wird die EU-Russland Beziehung einen hybriden, kooperativ-konfrontativen Charakter annehmen und zwischen pragmatischer Kooperation und hybrider Konfrontation oszillieren. In Russland stehen das Jahr 2020 innenpolitisch ganz im Zeichen tiefgreifender Transformation des politischen Systems, inklusive der Fortführung […]
„Wir wollen die Seidenstraßeninitiative vorantreiben, so dass die Menschen auf der ganzen Welt davon profitieren […]. Wir wollen eine Straße des Friedens schaffen.“ So die Botschaft von Chinas Präsidenten Xi Jinping in seiner Eröffnungsrede anlässlich des „One Belt, One Road Gipfels“ am 14. Mai 2017 in Peking an anwesenden Vertreter aus 110 Ländern, darunter 28 […]
The Soviet Union’s dissolution fundamentally altered the geopolitics of the South Caucasus, by turning the former constituent republics of the USSR into independent states and hence, also autonomous regional and international actors, bent on defining their own specific national interests and foreign policy priorities. The emergence of these new republics also changed the nature of […]
In the second quarter of 2019, economic growth picked up to 0.9% year-on-year from 0.5% in the first quarter. This was to a large extent due to the basis effect: the second quarter of 2018 saw a moderation of government spending after the presidential elections held in April. Still, GDP growth in the first half […]
Since Russia has deployed its military to Syria back in September 2015 it became a party to the conflict together with other actors involved. Its military support to the Syrian government helped to change the tide of war. With Moscow’s help Syrian state, its institutions, and, most importantly, army did not entirely collapse, while ISIS […]
On October 9, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced the beginning of a new military operation in Syria. “The Turkish Armed Forces, together with the Syrian National Army, just launched Operation Peace Spring against PKK/YPG and Daesh terrorists in northern Syria. Our mission is to prevent the creation of a terror corridor across our southern […]
On September 16, Ankara hosted fifth trilateral summit on Syria between Russia, Iran and Turkey. Although the three leaders – Putin, Erdogan and Rouhani – praised summit’s results and declared unity of their goals and actions in Syria, the reality looks quite different. The most awaited and sensitive topics of the summit were expectedly formation […]
Aus dem Russischen von Alexander Dubowy Seit den Präsidentschaftswahlen 2018 wurde die russische Politik durch mehrere Ereignisse entscheidend geprägt. Diese markieren den Beginn einer stürmischen Phase des politischen Systems Russlands. Insbesondere unter den jüngeren Generationen wächst die Bereitschaft zur politischen Partizipation und der Wunsch nach einer ernsthaften und offenen Diskussion über die politischen Perspektiven […]
As European leaders make it increasingly clear that rapid EU membership for the Western Balkans is out of the question, there is speculation that other global powers may also reconsider their strategies in the region. Due to its longstanding ties with the Balkans and vast experience in meddling, Russia sparks particular fear in the West. […]
Another round of Astana Syria talks was held at the beginning of August in Kazakh capital Nur-Sultan. This format built around Russia, Turkey and Iran was launched back in January 2017 at the initiative of the Russian president Vladimir Putin. It had several main goals: First and foremost was to bring armed opposition and the […]
