Some reflections on the future of Russia-EU relations from Nikolas Gvosdev. As Gvosdev notes, France has been a strong advocate for harmonizing this relationship, but the attitude here among strategic thinkers seems to be that Russia is unlikely to be more than an important but occasional tactical partner for the near future. Neither friend nor enemy, a partner at times, and a problem at others. Of course, the Partnership and Cooperation Agreement, depending on what it institutionalizes, could change that. But I get the feeling that the French view of Russia is more lukewarm than the official diplomatic posture might [...]
The recent improvement in relations between Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan could help remove a major obstacle to the exploitation of Caspian Sea energy reserves. When Gurbanguly Berdymukhammedov arrived in Baku on May 19, he became the first Turkmen president in over a decade to visit Azerbaijan. The two countries severed ties in 1999 over an Azerbaijani decision to develop an oil and natural gas field that the Turkmenistan government also claimed. Until now, the unresolved dispute among the five Caspian states over how best to divide and manage the sea and its valuable subsurface natural resources has impeded efforts to exploit [...]
Nikolas Gvosdev kvetches about Congress taking aim at the Indian and Russian 123 Nuclear Agreements. My understanding is that the Russian deal does a good job of cementing bilateral cooperation in an area where we have a vested interested in them not operating as a loose cannon. The Indian deal, meanwhile, presents some valid proliferation concerns due to India’s non-NPT status. But either way, the Congressional interference, which as Gvosdev notes, is based on unrelated policy issues, illustrates the need for some sort of strategic framework between the Executive and Congress on nuclear agreements. This is a sector that by [...]
