Warm Waters: 70 Hot Days Ahead

Exactly three years ago, in October 2011, my phone rang at my antique maps gallery-cum-office. At the other end of the line was Dr Gregory Reichberg, an American seasoned researcher, a dear colleague then Director of the PRIO Cyprus Centre. Already at my time at the UN University HQ Tokyo…

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Southeast Ukraine: The Living and the Dead

As time passes it becomes more obvious that the American protégées in Kiev did not justify the ‘hopes and trust’ and disregarded the ‘honorable mission’ of destroying the Russian-speaking population of Donbass. The Ukrainian ultra-nationalists increasingly become a burnt card, with no place in the deck of Western policy reserved…

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Humanitarian Intervention in Libya: Recognizing and Addressing the Gap between Normative Progress and Practical Problems

The approval and implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 1973, and the subsequent NATO led intervention in Libya against the dictatorial rule of Muammar al-Qaddafi have signalled the first time in history, NATO’s declaration of war against an Arab country. Additionally, with the usage of the ‘Responsibility to Protect’ (R2P)…

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Ukraine: Dire Need for Consolidating the Inescapable Political Process

Four weeks after the Ukrainian presidential election that was meant to normalize the situation in the country, the pacification of troubled Ukraine is still a far cry. Sadly, in the eastern parts of the country violence is rife and the region is plunging further into civil strife. The military approach…

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Ukraine & NATO in Tandem

As Ukraine immerses deeper into protracted chaos, the autonomous republic of Crimea exits voluntarily from the collapsing structure of the Ukrainian state and subsequently reunifies with Russia to which it historically belongs. Since the collapse of the Berlin War and the end of the Cold War, many serious analysts in…

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US & EU in Ukrainian Crisis: Who Really Reaps Benefits from this Gamble?

Washington and Brussels continue to take anti-Russian position in the Ukrainian crisis, actively supporting the putschist leadership of Ukraine, which grabbed power unconstitutionally. The extension of the US and EU sanctions against Russia and their financial support for the de facto Ukrainian government indicate that the West is fully misunderstanding…

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US Pressure on Damascus: Conducive to Peace in Syria?

Regrettably, the West stubbornly maintains a unilateral position on the Syrian conflict. Hence the chances of its resolution become minimal. As the conflict enters its third year, the regime of Bashar al-Assad seems to be enjoying the support of the majority of the Syrian people and is not going to…

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