Russia Says Nord Stream 2 To Become Operational In Days
The EU and United States have opposed controversial Nord Stream 2, concerned about Russia using gas as a political tool […]
» Read moreCategory: United States, U.S.-Russian Relations
British Researchers Say Pro-Russian Influence Operation Targets Western News Websites
The websites of several prominent Western news outlets have been targeted by a pro-Russian influence operation that uses the websites’ comment sections to distort public opinion […]
» Read moreEurope Needs Nord Stream 2 More Than It Likes To Admit
Europe resents Russian gas for the influence it gives a country that the EU considers unfriendly, …, but … is increasingly thirsty for gas because … [last year’s] winter… drained its reserves. … [and] summer … LNG cargoes [got] diverted from Europe to Asia […]
» Read moreRe: [SEELANGS] Question about recent history Russian Travel advisory
Subject: Re: [SEELANGS] Question about recent history Russian Travel advisory Date: Sun, 5 Sep 2021 From: Michele A Berdy <maberdy@GMAIL.COM> From: Justin Wilmes <upthera44@GMAIL.COM> Could anyone fill me in on the recent history of the U.S.’s travel advisories to Russia? Currently Russia has a rating of Level 4: Do Not Travel, but this it lists both Covid-19 and other reasons […]
» Read moreJRL NEWSWATCH: “Ukraine feels the chill of Biden’s foreign policy” – Financial Times
“Afghanistan withdrawal heightens Zelensky’s fears of dwindling support from Washington” “… Ukraine has fought an eight-year war against Russia and Russian-backed militants …. Yet even before the chaotic pullout from Kabul, alarm was spreading … over fears … [that] Biden wanted to focus more on other foreign policy issues, especially … China. The first warning sign … came … when […]
» Read moreRUSSIALINK: “Fading Sanctions Fears Push VTB to Retake Control of Pochta Bank” – Moscow Times
VTB to reverse the deal which saw it relinquish majority control following U.S. sanctions on Russia in 2014
» Read moreFSU Analysts Assess the Impact of Events in Afghanistan on Russia and U.S.-R.F. Relations
The perspectives of Russia’s non-government Middle East experts on … the Taliban and its impact on Russia appear to be more varied than those of Russian diplomats and … other official counterparts. [This post] compiled a selection of such views, along … [those of some] Western FSU watchers […]
» Read moreBeneath The Gloating, Taliban Takeover Brings Unwelcome New Uncertainty For Moscow
… [T]he sudden, messy vacuum the United States is leaving behind means a new set of uncertainties and potential problems for the Kremlin […]
» Read moreRUSSIALINK: “Deputy Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov: Clear U.S. objective is to ensure that China is part of arms control discussions” – Interfax
(Interfax – Aug. 17, 2021) Deputy Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov has given an interview to Interfax following the first round of strategic security consultations between Russia and the United States in Geneva on July 28. He speaks about the continuity of the Biden administration as regards engaging China in arms control negotiations, the prospects of overcoming differences with the […]
» Read moreRUSSIALINK: “As Chaos Engulfs Kabul, Russia Says It’s Ready to Work With the Taliban” – Moscow Times
Moscow has a history of pragmatism toward the Islamist militia and appears well placed for a transition in Afghanistan. (Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Felix Light, Pjotr Sauer – Aug. 16, 2021) In the day since a Taliban offensive swept away the U.S.-backed Afghan government, Russian officials are taking satisfaction from their principle global adversary’s humiliation as they prepare to […]
» Read moreJRL NEWSWATCH: “Russian Grand Strategy: Rhetoric and Reality” – RAND
“… six key elements of Russia’s stated grand strategy … [given] closer examination [included]: the linkage between internal and external threats, the nature of Russia’s role in its immediate neighborhood, concepts about the future of warfare, expeditionary requirements for Russia’s military, Moscow’s objectives vis-à-vis the West, and Russia’s declared prioritization of engagement with non-Western powers. …” Embedded version follows below, […]
» Read moreFree Russia Foundation: “New Report on the Kremlin’s Malign Influence Inside the U.S.”
Subject: New Report on the Kremlin’s Malign Influence Inside the US Date: Fri, 13 Aug 2021 From: Natalya Lunde <natalyaa@4freerussia.org> Free Russia Foundation releases a new report The Kremlin’s Malign Influence Inside the United States edited by Michael Weiss. 4freerussia.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/TheKremlinsMalignInfluenceInsidetheUS.pdf The report’s chapters take a close look at: The Kremlin’s Interference in the US Energy Sector Investments in Critical Infrastructure […]
» Read moreRUSSIALINK: “Deputy Russian Foreign Minister Oleg Syromolotov: We can’t talk about eradicating terrorism in Afghanistan in near future” – Interfax
(Interfax – Aug. 12, 2021) Deputy Russian Foreign Minister Oleg Syromolotov, who is responsible for international anti-terrorist cooperation, has given an interview to Interfax in which he speaks about interaction with the United States on counterterrorism, the activity of ISIL, which is banned in Russia, and other terrorist organizations in Syria and Afghanistan. He also said that it is impossible […]
» Read moreWill Russian Behavior Toward the U.S./West ‘Improve’ When Putin Is Gone?
(Russia Matters – russiamatters.org – Aleksandra Srdanovic – Aug. 11, 2021) This is an evolving draft, compiled by Russia Matters student associate Aleksandra Srdanovic, and readers are encouraged to send their proposals for additional entries to RussiaMatters@HKS.Harvard.edu with “additional entries” in the subject line. For many years, political scientists and other experts on Russia—from the United States, Europe and Russia […]
» Read moreJRL NEWSWATCH: “NASA, Russia stress that space partnership remains strong after Nauka incident at space station” – Space.com
“Following a serious incident at the International Space Station last Thursday … Russia and the U.S. have reaffirmed their partnership and shared next steps to move forward. … Russia’s long-awaited Nauka research module docked with the orbiting lab. But the new module soon hit troubles as, just a few hours after docking, its thrusters began to fire unexpectedly, pulling the […]
» Read moreRussia ‘Ready’ to Issue Visas to U.S. Embassy Staff – Diplomat
His comments came after the U.S. and Russia clashed over staffing at their respective embassies this week […]
» Read moreRUSSIALINK: “Russian Court Finds U.S. Investor Calvey Guilty of Embezzlement; Ruling seen as a blow to Russia’s investment climate” – Moscow Times
Calvey is the founder of Baring Vostok, one of the most successful investment funds in Russia, specializing in investing in technology and finance startups […]
» Read morePutin’s Paranoia, More Than Nuclear Weapons and Oil, Make Russia Dangerous
Putin’s troubles are far more complicated than overseeing shrinking petro-revenues and an aging nuclear arsenal […]
» Read moreU.S. Rejects Russian Envoy’s Claim Diplomats Were Asked To Leave Country
The U.S. State Department has rejected a claim by Russia’s ambassador … who said Washington had asked 24 Russian diplomats to leave … by September 3 after their visas expired […]
» Read moreLocal Staff At U.S. Embassy, Consulates In Russia Dismissed To Meet Kremlin Deadline
The United States says it has laid off nearly 200 local employees from its diplomatic missions in Russia ahead of an August 1 deadline set by the Kremlin … a move made by Moscow in response to U.S. sanctions and the expulsion of Russian diplomats […]
» Read moreIn Blacklisting A U.S. College, Russia Shutters A Program That Bridged An International Divide
Three years after the Soviet collapse, Bard and SPSU joined forces to launch SPSU’s Arts and Humanities course, Russia’s first liberal arts curriculum …. But on June 21, … [t]he Russian Prosecutor-General’s Office declared Bard an “undesirable” organization […]
» Read moreBe Careful What You Wish For: Russia, China and Afghanistan after the Withdrawal
… The departure is accelerating the long-running effort on the part of Afghanistan’s neighbors, including Russia, China and other regional stakeholders, to shape Afghanistan’s future and secure their own interests […]
» Read moreNostalgia for Soviet Times Doesn’t Extend Beyond Elites to Most Russians, Especially Those under 35, Makarkin Says
(Paul Goble – Window On Eurasia – Staunton, July 23, 2021) Russians of a certain age and status are delighted to see American defeats much as their Soviet predecessors were to see them a generation or more ago; but even these attitudes have less to do with nostalgia than with a desire for revenge against the United States and the […]
» Read moreBiden Warns That Cyberattacks Could Lead To ‘A Real Shooting War’
Biden noted a growing number of cyberattacks against government agencies and private industry that U.S. officials have linked to Russia and China […]
» Read moreU.S. and Russian Experts Share Insights on Strategic Stability Ahead of Bilateral Talks
Top U.S. and Russian diplomats are to meet in Geneva on July 28th to revive a high-level dialogue on strategic stability […]
» Read moreRUSSIALINK: “Kremlin fears ‘instability’ after U.S. withdrawal from Iraq” – Interfax
(Interfax – July 27, 2021) Russian President Vladimir Putin’s spokesman has said that the planned withdrawal of US troops from Iraq may lead to greater ‘instability’ in the region. “Now it is too early to second-guess events, but we would not like to see, in general, one more territory added to the regional potential for instability,” Dmitry Peskov told journalists […]
» Read morePutin’s Essay on Russia and Ukraine about Far Larger Issues than That, Yavlinsky Says
(Paul Goble – Window On Eurasia – Staunton, July 19, 2021) Vladimir Putin’s essay about Russia and Ukraine is about far more than that, Grigory Yavlinsky says. It is about Russia’s relations with all the other former Soviet republics, it is about Russia’s relationship with the rest of the world. And it is about Russia itself and its increasingly archaic […]
» Read moreJRL NEWSWATCH: “U.S.-German Deal on Russia’s Nord Stream 2 Pipeline Expected Soon” – Wall Street Journal
“The U.S. and Germany have reached an agreement allowing completion of the Nord Stream 2 natural gas pipeline, officials from both countries say.” “…. The Biden administration [reportedly] will effectively waive Washington’s longstanding opposition to … Nord Stream 2 … ending years of speculation over … the project, which has come to dominate European energy-sector forecasts. Germany … [reportedly] will […]
» Read moreRussia’s New Security Strategy: Deter U.S., Ignore EU, Partner with China and India
JRL NEWSWATCH: “U.S. and Russia pledge to ‘move together’ against climate change” – Financial Times
“First positive sign of potential easing of tensions since last month’s summit” “Russia, … fourth-largest emitter of greenhouse gases, has signed up to the Paris climate agreement to limit emissions. Rapidly rising temperatures in Siberia … flooding and forest fires have made climate … increasingly important …. Putin, who four years ago blamed rising global temperatures on volcanoes and ‘cosmic […]
» Read moreBackground Press Call By Senior Administration Officials On President Biden’s Call With President Putin of Russia
(White House – July 9, 2021) 3:25 P.M. EDT MODERATOR: Good afternoon, everyone. Today’s call is going to be on background, attributed to a “senior administration official,” and the contents are going to be embargoed until the conclusion of the call. With that, we’ll turn it over to our speaker, [senior administration official]. [Senior administration official], over to you. SENIOR […]
» Read moreBiden’s Moscow Outreach Exposes Europe’s Disarray
(Russia Matters – russiamatters.org – Philip Stephens – July 7, 2021) Philip Stephens is Associate Editor at the Financial Times. U.S. President Joe Biden’s summit with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin might have been an opportunity for the European Union to reframe its relationship with its belligerent neighbor. Instead, the thaw between Washington and Moscow has surfaced deep divisions among […]
» Read moreRussia’s ‘Foreign Agent’ Amendments ‘Seriously Violate’ Human Rights: Venice Commission
… state media monitor Roskomnadzor has prepared hundreds of complaints against RFE/RL’s projects … total fines levied could run to more than $3 million […]
» Read moreRUSSIALINK: “Russia’s Blacklisting of Bard College Signals End of Key U.S.-Russia Cultural Exchange” – Moscow Times
The U.S. liberal arts college has been labeled “undesirable,” effectively banning its dual-degree program with St. Petersburg State University […]
» Read moreRUSSIALINK: “Putin signs into law bill on ‘grounding’ Google, Facebook, other IT giants in Russia” – Interfax
MOSCOW. July 1 (Interfax) – Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed into law a bill compelling major foreign IT companies working with Russian audiences to open fully-fledged offices in Russia. The document was published on the official web portal for legal information on Thursday. The law compels foreign IT companies with a daily Russian audience exceeding 500,000 to open fully-fledged […]
» Read moreU.S. Ambassador Returns To Russia After Two Months
U.S. Ambassador John Sullivan has returned to Moscow, two months after leaving amid worsening relations […]
» Read moreRUSSIALINK: “Some Investors Sense Buying Opportunity in Russia-U.S. Détente” – Moscow Times
Russian market could benefit from geopolitical calm, but Black Sea skirmish shows Russia has a habit of delivering negative surprises […]
» Read moreBlinken Warns That Nord Stream 2 Could Be ‘Coercivie Tool’ Against Europe
The United States has opposed the construction of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline under the Baltic Sea that will bring Russian gas directly to Germany, bypassing land routes through Ukraine […]
» Read moreJRL NEWSWATCH: “Melting Arctic Ice Pits Russia Against U.S. and China for Control of New Shipping Route” – Wall Street Journal
Warming in the Arctic is opening a shipping passage through Russia’s northern waters that could put the country at the center of new Asia-to-Europe trade routes […]
» Read moreBiden hasn’t Betrayed Russian Liberals or Ukrainian Patriots; He’s Defended U.S. National Interests, Inozemtsev Says
(Paul Goble – Window On Eurasia – Staunton, June 19, 2021) Since the Geneva summit, some Russian liberals and some Ukrainian patriots have insisted Joe Biden betrayed their causes, forgetting that the US president swore “to preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States” and not in any case promising to defend democracy in Russia or Ukrainian independence, […]
» Read moreU.S.-Russia Summit Offers New Framework: Restarted Dialogue, With Biden as ‘Russia Hand’
(Russia Matters – russiamatters.org – Nikolas Gvosdev – June 18, 2021) Nikolas Gvosdev is a professor of national security affairs at the U.S. Naval War College and a senior fellow for Eurasia at the Foreign Policy Research Institute. Most media reaction to the meeting between presidents Joe Biden and Vladimir Putin in Geneva focused on the optics: analyses of handshakes, body language, smiles […]
» Read moreJRL NEWSWATCH: “Russia’s Global Interests and Actions: Growing Reach to Match Rejuvenated Capabilities” – RAND
“After the end of the Cold War, the United States enjoyed a unipolar moment. However, even at its lowest point, Russia never fully accepted the unipolar construct, and it has spent the last 25 years regaining the capability to influence actions beyond its own region. For the last decade, Russian interests have extended well beyond Russia’s near abroad. Russia uses […]
» Read moreSurvey: Experts Weigh In With Expectations for Biden-Putin Summit
(Russia Matters – russiamatters.org – June 15, 2021) Five of America’s top Russia experts consider prospects for the June 16 meeting between presidents Joe Biden and Vladimir Putin in Geneva. Thomas Graham, Nikolas Gvosdev, Paul Kolbe, Olga Oliker and Angela Stent share their thoughts on stabilizing the U.S.-Russian relationship, low-hanging fruit, concrete steps to take and what can go wrong. […]
» Read moreRUSSIALINK: “‘Red Lines’ and Respect: Takeaways and Reactions from Biden-Putin Summit” – Moscow Times
Russian officials expressed cautious optimism following Putin’s first summit with Biden in Geneva, while Kremlin critics derided the Russian leader’s remarks […]
» Read moreJRL NEWSWATCH: “Biden and Putin to Meet, With U.S.-Russia Relations at Post-Cold War Low” – Wall Street Journal
“Summit between the U.S. and Russian leaders is unlikely to produce a thaw in the relationship, with each side looking to project strength.” “… Both sides … have lowered expectations …. [Biden] will arrive … fresh from … meetings with … U.S.[] … allies, including [NATO] partners, a deliberate effort to showcase … unity … against authoritarian powers such as […]
» Read moreRUSSIALINK: “Putin’s NBC News Interview, In Quotes” – Moscow Times
(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – June 15, 2021) Russian President Vladimir Putin brushed off allegations of hacking and involvement in jailed Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny’s poisoning in his first interview with U.S. media in three years. During the NBC News interview, which aired ahead of his bilateral summit with U.S. President Joe Biden, Putin spoke with interviewer Keir Simmons for […]
» Read moreJRL NEWSWATCH: “Biden and Putin Should Save Their Breath; Their relationship is one that more personal contact can only make worse” – Bloomberg
… Biden and Putin have only had one long one-on-one meeting, on March 10, 2011. It was a flop. …
» Read morePutin Says Russia Is Ready To Hand Over Cybercriminals, But Only If U.S. Does The Same
… a cybercriminal group that U.S. authorities said operates from Russia penetrated a pipeline operator on the U.S. East Coast, locking its systems and demanding a ransom. … caus[ing] a shutdown … [leading] to a spike in gas prices, panic buying, and localized fuel shortages […]
» Read moreJRL NEWSWATCH: “Biden agrees to meet Zelenskiy, but after the Putin summit” – bne Intellinews/ Ben Aris in Berlin
“… Biden has invited … Zelenskiy to meet at the White House in July …. Zelenskiy says he learned through the press – not … the State Department – that … Biden … decided to stop trying to block a Russian pipeline that Ukraine sees as a dire national security threat. … [Zelenskiy, in a news interview,] spoke of his […]
» Read moreRUSSIALINK: “Russia-U.S. relations at their lowest since Cold War ended – presidential aide Ushakov” – Interfax
MOSCOW. June 8 (Interfax) – Russia-U.S. relations are at their lowest since the end of the Cold War era, and thus, things need to change to the benefit of both countries and the world at large, Russian presidential aide Yury Ushakov said at the Primakov Readings forum. It would be logical to pay attention to Russia-U.S. relations ahead of the […]
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