Etiket arşivi: Ukraine war

Ukraine’s Options Narrowing Down

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December 22, 2025

Last Friday, European Union leaders, after having failed to reach a consensus on using frozen Russian assets, decided to provide Ukraine with a 90-billion-euro loan over the next two years.

“We committed, we delivered,” said European Council President António Costa. “At the same time, we gave a mandate to the Commission to continue working on the Reparation Loan based on Russian immobilized assets. On top of that, we have agreed to roll over our sanctions against Russia.”

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2025: A Year of Disappointments                

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December 15, 2025

In two weeks, the year 2025 will be behind us. The end of a year is a moment of reflection on the achievements, disappointments, and failures of the past twelve months and whether different paths could have been taken. In international relations, those who choose between “new chapters” and “the same old story” are world leaders, primarily among them the leaders of major powers. And “new chapters” are not easy to start writing.

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The Contradiction Between Trump’s Policies in Ukraine and Gaza

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August 25, 2025

In an article published in The New York Times on March 13, 2014, John J. Mearsheimer, a professor of political science at the University of Chicago, explained the background of the Ukraine conflict as follows:

“…The taproot of the current crisis is NATO expansion and Washington’s commitment to move Ukraine out of Moscow’s orbit and integrate it into the West. The Russians have intensely disliked but tolerated substantial NATO expansion, including the accession of Poland and the Baltic countries. But when NATO announced in 2008 that Georgia and Ukraine “will become members of NATO,” Russia drew a line in the sand. Georgia and Ukraine are not just states in Russia’s neighborhood; they are on its doorstep. Indeed, Russia’s forceful response in its August 2008 war with Georgia was driven in large part by Moscow’s desire to prevent Georgia from joining NATO and integrating into the West…”[i]

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President Trump’s Secondary Tariffs

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August 11, 2025

As the relationship between China and the US started to sour after the Nixon-Kissinger years, Washington paid more attention to expanding its cooperation with India as a counterbalance to China. Many visits were exchanged at the highest levels.[i]

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President Trump’s New Deadline for Peace in Ukraine

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August 4, 2025

Last week, President Trump said that Russia could be so wealthy, but Moscow spends everything on war, which makes no sense. He also said he decided to reduce the 50-day deadline he had given Russia to end the Ukraine conflict to 10 to 12 days, or face new, punishing sanctions.

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The Onerous Task of Bringing Peace to Ukraine

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February 24, 2025

Today marks the third anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The war continues but the diplomatic picture has changed dramatically. President Trump’s first month in office was frenetic, to say the least, and led to the fracturing of the US-Europe relationship as NATO and the EU were sidelined. The background to the conflict, and differing views on whether history could have been differently aside, Mr. Trump’s reversal of Washington’s policy has shocked allies. If his words were to be matched with action in the months ahead this would have lasting consequences for trust in the Trump White House, US foreign and security policy, relations with NATO allies, and relations with allies/partners in the Indo-Pacific.

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President Trump’s Diplomatic Agenda Unfolding

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February 10, 2025

At a CNN town hall in May 2023, Mr. Trump said: “They’re dying, Russians and Ukrainians. I want them to stop dying. And I’ll have that done — I’ll have that done in 24 hours.” He said that would happen after he met with Ukrainian President Zelensky and President Putin. And he kept repeating the claim on the campaign trail.

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President Biden’s Foreign and Security Policy

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January 16, 2025

Last Monday, at the US State Department, Mr. Biden delivered his last foreign and security policy speech as president.[i] His remarks were only words of praise for the achievements of his four years at the White House.  The following from his speech reflects his broad assessment: “Compared to four years ago, America is stronger, our alliances are stronger, our adversaries and competitors are weaker, and we have not gone to war to make these things happen…  During my presidency, I’ve increased America’s power in every dimension… And now, America is more capable and, I would argue, better prepared than we’ve been in a long, long time.” 

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The Year 2024 in Review

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December 16, 2024

People aspire to democracy.  Regardless of their respect for fundamental rights and freedoms, and the rule of law, all regimes claim to be democratic in some form because it remains the ultimate source of legitimacy to govern. Sadly, the year 2024 was not an inspiring year for democracy.

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Escalation in the War in Ukraine – Counting the Days

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November 22, 2024

On November 17, 2024, the 998th day of Russia’s invasion, Russia launched more than 200 missiles and drones at Ukraine. The same day,  President Biden, in a significant shift in US policy, authorized Ukraine to use ballistic missiles, or ATACMS, for strikes limited to the Kursk region of western Russia in response to North Korea’s deployment of troops to support Moscow’s war effort.

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