Britain’s Strategic Defence and Security Review and deterring Russia
Russia is being weaponised to justify big-ticket buys for the UK military, yet there’s little talk of what Moscow thinks matters
Wider Europe
Ankara’s EU charm offensive
Turkey seems finally to be settling for a second-tier “privileged partnership” with Europe
Ukraine on the brink of kleptocracy
Europe needs to confront Ukraine’s leadership sooner rather than later
Austria: Russia’s Trojan Horse?
Europe should be worried about the new Austrian government’s proximity to Russia, not Hungary
Russia’s military victory masks diplomatic impotence in Syria
Damascus has continually rebuffed Russian efforts to pivot to a political track, highlighting Moscow’s apparent inability to rein in its client
Curtain comes down on Balkan Hague tribunals
Many crimes remain unanswered for, but with the Hague phase essentially over, it is about time for the difficult process of reconciliation
Resolving the Macedonian Name Dispute: Prospect for Transformative Mutual Recognition
Greece and Macedonia need to distinguish between issues where they can agree to disagree and those where they need to agree
Debacle in the Donbas
The Donbas is seeing a coup within a coup, as two of the leading separatists turn on each other
Spain’s Kosovo-Catalonia conundrum
Madrid is inadvertently equating Catalonia and Kosovo and, by doing so, revealing itself to be unable to distinguish between legitimate aspirations for self-rule and destabilizing separatism
The Zarrab affair
The saga of an Iranian gold trader has driven a wedge between Turkey and its allies