World press on relations between Russia and the West and Dzhokhar Tsarnaev's trial (January 5, 2015)"The Waning of Euro-Atlantic Security" is an analysis of relations between NATO and Russia after the annexation of Crimea in March 2014 by Judy Dempsey of the Carnegie Europe Foundation. "What trust that existed prior to the Ukraine crisis between the Kremlin and most Western governments has all but dissipated. Rebuilding trust, which is what these diplomats are seeking, will require a completely new strategic outlook on the part of the West," the article reads."Détente was a Cold War invention designed to introduce predictability into relations between the West and Russia. It worked as long as the West never challenged the Kremlin’s hegemony over Russia’s sphere of influence... In retrospect, the West didn’t grasp the implication of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s decision in December 2007 to withdraw Russia from the Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe, which set limits on certain conventional military equipment in Europe. That decision signaled Russia’s slow rejection of the principle of détente," the article reads. "If Western and Russian diplomats do want to establish a new framework for cooperation, the Western players will have to acknowledge that the tools of the Cold War period are outdated.""In practice, the necessary shift in approach would mean changing the format of any discussions between the West and Russia. First and foremost, talks should fully involve genuinely independent nongovernmental organizations and civil society movements from across Europe, Eastern Europe, and Russia.""NATO’s involvement is a must, not only to understand how the organization sees its strategic interests and future relations with Russia, but also to ensure the presence of the transatlantic alliance. To exclude NATO would be to downgrade the alliance and expose Europe’s security and defense vulnerability.""US and Russia in danger of returning to era of nuclear rivalry" is another article dedicated to Russian-American relations published in the Guardian. "The arms control efforts of the post-cold-war era are losing momentum. The number of strategic nuclear warheads deployed by the US and Russia actually increased last year, and both countries are spending many billions of dollars a year modernising their arsenal," the article reads."The development that has most alarmed Washington is Russian testing of a medium-range cruise missile which the Obama administration claims is a clear violation of the 1987 intermediate-range nuclear forces (INF) treaty, the agreement that brought to an end the dangerous standoff between US and Russian cruise missiles in Europe... The Russians have denied the existence of the missile and have responded with counter-allegations about American infringements of the INF treaty that Washington rejects. McKeon said the Pentagon was looking at a variety of military responses to the Russian missile, including the deployment of an American equivalent weapon.""With both the US and Russia modernising their arsenals and Russia investing increasing importance its nuclear deterrent, Hans Kristensen, the director of the Nuclear Information Project at the Federation of American Scientists, said we are facing a period of 'deepening military competition'. He added: 'It will bring very little added security, but a lot more nervous people on both sides'," the article concludes."Francois Hollande suggests sanctions on Russia should be lifted and says Putin 'does not want to annex eastern Ukraine – he has told me that'" is another article on the topic of relations between the West and Russia which appeared today in the Daily Mail."The French president today called for the lifting of the West's economic sanctions on Russia, saying: 'Mr Putin does not want to annex eastern Ukraine. He has told me that.' Saying the sanctions 'must stop now', Francois Hollande said he was expecting progress on a resolution to the Ukraine crisis at international talks in Kazakhstan in 10 days," the article reads."The crisis in Ukraine has prevented cash-strapped France from completing the delivery of two Mistral-class warships to Russia...France, already struggling economically, could be liable for hefty fines if it breaches the 1.2-billion-euro contract.""Pointing out that Mr Putin had told him he had no intention of annexing east Ukraine, Mr Hollande said: 'What he wants is to remain influential. What he wants is for Ukraine not to fall into the NATO camp'.'What we want is that he respects the territorial integrity of Ukraine. What we want is that he does not support the separatists.'"In the anticipation of Dzhokhar Tsarnaev's trial the Telegraph published an article headlined "Boston Marathon bombing trial Dzhokhar Tsarnaev of starts today: here's what you need to know.""Friends remember him as an intelligent and likeable young man who was well integrated in the multicultural Boston area. But prosecutors allege that he embraced radical Islam under the guidance of his older brother, Tamerlan," the article reads.The article goes on to list a number of other important points about the trial including the following: the US government is seeking the death penalty; Dzhokar's defense will be based on the fact that his brother Tamerlan was the mastermind of the bombing plot; " it will be weeks before the prosecution and defence actually begin making their cases"; "Tsarnaev is being defended by Judy Clarke, a specialist in high-profile death penalty cases"; four people died as a result of the bombings not including Tamerlan Tsarnaev. "The world's extraordinary refugee crisis demands extraordinary aid" is an op-ed by the editorial board of the Los Angeles Times which reaises awarness for displaced people in the world. The piece calls on governments around the world to assist refugees and gives the Turkish authorities credit for beginning to issue identification cards for Syrian refuges. "Turkey's response is one of the few bright spots amid the world's current upheavals. Refugee experts say there are now more people displaced by violence than at any time since World War II — a staggering 51.2 million people, more than half of whom are fleeing conflicts in Syria, Afghanistan and Somalia," the article reads. "According to the Migration Policy Institute, the Syrian and Iraqi conflicts have displaced 13 million people... Other conflicts have uprooted 11.4 million people in the Central African Republic, Sudan, South Sudan, Somalia and eight other African nations. Ethnic conflicts and political instability in Myanmar have displaced 900,000 people there, including the oppressed Rohingya, a Muslim minority in a Buddhist society. And the list goes on.""Such extraordinary displacements require extraordinary amounts of international aid. The U.N. high commissioner for refugees sought $1.3 billion from member nations in 2014 for the Syrian regional crisis, but received only 60% (the U.S. kicked in $303 million, the highest). Only a last-minute flurry of donations in December saved efforts by the U.N.'s World Food Program to feed 1.7 million Syrian refugees," the article concludes.
"The Waning of Euro-Atlantic Security" is an analysis of relations between NATO and Russia after the annexation of Crimea in March 2014 by Judy Dempsey of the Carnegie Europe Foundation.
"What trust that existed prior to the Ukraine crisis between the Kremlin and most Western governments has all but dissipated. Rebuilding trust, which is what these diplomats are seeking, will require a completely new strategic outlook on the part of the West," the article reads.
"Détente was a Cold War invention designed to introduce predictability into relations between the West and Russia. It worked as long as the West never challenged the Kremlin’s hegemony over Russia’s sphere of influence... In retrospect, the West didn’t grasp the implication of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s decision in December 2007 to withdraw Russia from the Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe, which set limits on certain conventional military equipment in Europe. That decision signaled Russia’s slow rejection of the principle of détente," the article reads. "If Western and Russian diplomats do want to establish a new framework for cooperation, the Western players will have to acknowledge that the tools of the Cold War period are outdated."
"In practice, the necessary shift in approach would mean changing the format of any discussions between the West and Russia. First and foremost, talks should fully involve genuinely independent nongovernmental organizations and civil society movements from across Europe, Eastern Europe, and Russia.""NATO’s involvement is a must, not only to understand how the organization sees its strategic interests and future relations with Russia, but also to ensure the presence of the transatlantic alliance. To exclude NATO would be to downgrade the alliance and expose Europe’s security and defense vulnerability.""US and Russia in danger of returning to era of nuclear rivalry" is another article dedicated to Russian-American relations published in the Guardian. "The arms control efforts of the post-cold-war era are losing momentum. The number of strategic nuclear warheads deployed by the US and Russia actually increased last year, and both countries are spending many billions of dollars a year modernising their arsenal," the article reads.
"The development that has most alarmed Washington is Russian testing of a medium-range cruise missile which the Obama administration claims is a clear violation of the 1987 intermediate-range nuclear forces (INF) treaty, the agreement that brought to an end the dangerous standoff between US and Russian cruise missiles in Europe... The Russians have denied the existence of the missile and have responded with counter-allegations about American infringements of the INF treaty that Washington rejects. McKeon said the Pentagon was looking at a variety of military responses to the Russian missile, including the deployment of an American equivalent weapon."
"With both the US and Russia modernising their arsenals and Russia investing increasing importance its nuclear deterrent, Hans Kristensen, the director of the Nuclear Information Project at the Federation of American Scientists, said we are facing a period of 'deepening military competition'. He added: 'It will bring very little added security, but a lot more nervous people on both sides'," the article concludes."Francois Hollande suggests sanctions on Russia should be lifted and says Putin 'does not want to annex eastern Ukraine – he has told me that'" is another article on the topic of relations between the West and Russia which appeared today in the Daily Mail."The French president today called for the lifting of the West's economic sanctions on Russia, saying: 'Mr Putin does not want to annex eastern Ukraine. He has told me that.' Saying the sanctions 'must stop now', Francois Hollande said he was expecting progress on a resolution to the Ukraine crisis at international talks in Kazakhstan in 10 days," the article reads.
"The crisis in Ukraine has prevented cash-strapped France from completing the delivery of two Mistral-class warships to Russia...France, already struggling economically, could be liable for hefty fines if it breaches the 1.2-billion-euro contract.""Pointing out that Mr Putin had told him he had no intention of annexing east Ukraine, Mr Hollande said: 'What he wants is to remain influential. What he wants is for Ukraine not to fall into the NATO camp'.'What we want is that he respects the territorial integrity of Ukraine. What we want is that he does not support the separatists.'"
"Russia Is Still Ukraine's Largest Trading Partner" is an article about Russian-Ukrainian relations which appeared today in the Forbes.
"Russia’s share of Ukraine’s exports and imports was 19 and 25% respectively, far larger than that of any other single country... What it does suggest is that the Ukrainian government’s attempt to rapidly move away from Russia are going to be extremely difficult and a lot more time-consuming than public statements have indicated," the article reads.
"Difficult doesn’t mean “impossible,” but the current effort to re-orient Ukraine towards Europe will be a decades long process, not something that can be accomplished through holding a few press conferences or signing a few bills into law. It’s going to be a much more protracted process than a lot of people currently expect and the enormous amount of trade that Ukraine conducts with Russia will mean that Russian influence (while diminished) will not disappear."
In the anticipation of Dzhokhar Tsarnaev's trial the Telegraph published an article headlined "Boston Marathon bombing trial Dzhokhar Tsarnaev of starts today: here's what you need to know.""Friends remember him as an intelligent and likeable young man who was well integrated in the multicultural Boston area. But prosecutors allege that he embraced radical Islam under the guidance of his older brother, Tamerlan," the article reads.
The article goes on to list a number of other important points about the trial including the following: the US government is seeking the death penalty; Dzhokar's defense will be based on the fact that his brother Tamerlan was the mastermind of the bombing plot; " it will be weeks before the prosecution and defence actually begin making their cases"; "Tsarnaev is being defended by Judy Clarke, a specialist in high-profile death penalty cases"; four people died as a result of the bombings not including Tamerlan Tsarnaev.
