RUSSIA & UKRAINE – Johnson’s Russia List table of contents :: JRL 2018-126 :: Wednesday, 11 July 2018

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Johnson’s Russia List :: JRL 2018-#126
Wednesday, 11 July 2018

A project sponsored through the Institute for European, Russian and Eurasian Studies (IERES) at The George Washington University’s Elliott School of International Affairs. The contents do not necessarily represent the views of IERES or The George Washington University.
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1. TASS: American elites inflaming tensions between Moscow, Washington, says Russian defense chief.
2. TASS: Trump says ‘Germany totally controlled by Russia’ through gas supplies.
3. TASS: NATO’s new military buildup plans pose no threat to Russia – Russian MP.
4. The National Interest: Peter Zwack, These Are the High Stakes of the NATO and Trump-Putin Summits. Trump and America’s allies must stand firm while also not sleep-walking into war.
5. The National Interest: Lawrence Korb, Here Is What Trump Can Gain from Meeting with Putin. There is a time-tested playbook for improving relations with Russia: arms-control agreements.
6. Moscow Carnegie Center: Andrei Kolesnikov and Denis Volkov, Craving Respect: The Russian Public’s Wish List in Helsinki. Opinion polls and focus groups show that, despite intense anti-American feelings in Russia, Russians do pin hopes on the Putin-Trump summit. They want to see a de-escalation in confrontation and a re-focus away from foreign affairs by Putin, and they want Washington to show respect for Russia.
7. Boston Globe: Richard North Patterson, America’s president is Russia’s pawn.
8. Bloomberg: All About the U.S. Sanctions Aimed at Putin’s Russia.
9. Interfax: Provision on criminal liability for complying with Western sanctions on Russian territory may be removed from bill – Volodin.
10. Washington Post: The Russian pipeline to Germany that Trump is so mad about, explained.
11. Moscow Times: Grigory Yudin, Overzealous Regulators Are Closing in on Russian Universities. Mountains of pointless paperwork is making it nearly impossible for independent universities to survive.
12. TASS: Putin’s new digital development envoy assures Russia not planning to restrict Internet.
13. Bear Market Brief: Proposals for softening pension reform being discussed.
14. Interfax: Pension age should be increased in smooth, differentiated fashion – Moskalkova.
15. New York Times: Musa Okwonga, This World Cup, Remember the Russian People.
16. Bloomberg: Leonid Bershidsky, A Cheer for Ukraine Triggers Russians at the World Cup. A Croatian player’s use of a nationalist slogan brings tension to a tourney that’s been notable for calm and conviviality
17. www.rt.com: Two-thirds of Russians believe global government exists – poll.
18. TASS: US has no clear strategy for Syria – Russian defense minister.
19. Al-Monitor: Hamidreza Azizi, Why Putin won’t throw Iran under the bus in Syria.
20. The New Yorker: Adam Entous, Israeli, Saudi, and Emirati Officials Privately Pushed for Trump to Strike a “Grand Bargain” with Putin.
21. The Blog Mire: Rob Slane, It’s the Wrong Park! How the Ducks Raise Some Serious Questions in the Salisbury Poisonings. [Text with links, photos and comments: theblogmire.com/its-the-wrong-park-how-the-ducks-raise-some-serious-questions-in-the-salisbury-poisonings/]
22. Moskovsky Komsomolets: Mikhail Rostovsky, Is there a threat to the Putin-Trump summit? A conflict of Russia and the West may be fanned by very modest means. (re poisonings)
23. www.rt.com: Uncertainty, tension in world affairs push Moscow & Beijing together – Russian defense minister.
24. Interfax: Almost half of Ukrainians against land, pension reforms, privatization of state-owned firms – poll.
25. www.rt.com: Russian Defense Minister rules out direct military conflict with Ukraine.
26. Politico.com: Molly McKew, ‘They Will Die in Tallinn’: Estonia Girds for War With Russia. The head of the tiny NATO member’s special forces details his country’s preparations for a conflict many here see as inevitable.
27. Just Security: Timeline: Trump’s Acts of Accommodation/Engagement with Russia, Nov. 2016-July 2018.
28. Salon.com: Heather Digby Parton, A new axis of evil? Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin share an open contempt for human rights.
29. Observer: John Schindler, This Is How Vladimir Putin Manufactures Conflict Between Nations.
30. Lawfareblog: Kimberly Marten, Semi-state Security Actors and Russian Aggression.

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