William E. Pomeranz

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Europa

The standard policy prescription for Washington’s dealings with Russia is situational: Agree to disagree on certain issues, but try to find areas where cooperation is possible.

The areas where the two nations can cooperate, however, have drastically diminished over the past week.

The United States on October 7 demanded a war crimes investigation of Russia for its air strikes in Syria, particularly in Aleppo. Washington also formally accused Russian government-sponsored hackers of direct interference in the U.S. presidential election.

In response, Russian President Vladimir Putin not only withdrew from a 2000 plutonium-disposal treaty, he essentially presented Washington with a bill that must be paid before he would resume cooperation under its terms.…  Seguir leyendo »

Europa

Russian President Vladimir Putin strides the world as the master tactician. In Crimea, eastern Ukraine and Syria, he seized the initiative and left his adversaries flatfooted and guessing as to his ultimate intentions.

Putin displays similar decisiveness against his domestic opponents, as the recent dismantling of the editorial staff at the independent newspaper RBC attests. Yet, blinkered decision-making processes can lead to bad policy choices. Having gutted the domestic media and created a puppet legislature, Putin is no exception to this rule.

The Kremlin is transfixed by the implementation of a series of decrees that Putin issued in May 2012, in the first flush of his successful return to the presidency. …  Seguir leyendo »

Europa, ,

What a difference 12 hours can make. Just as the Syria peace negotiations in Vienna were moving ahead, news came that the Turkish air force had downed a Russian bomber that it claims had violated its airspace. Making things worse, a Russian marine was reportedly killed during an operation to rescue the two pilots that ejected from the plane.

The incident further complicates French President Francois Hollande's mission to Washington and Moscow this week, a visit that was supposed to focus on the formation of a grand coalition against ISIS. Instead, Russian President Vladimir Putin has already referred to the downing of the plane as a "stab in the back by the accomplices of terrorists" and promised that there will be significant consequences.…  Seguir leyendo »

EuropaUnión EuropeaPolítica Exterior,

For all of President Vladimir Putin’s rhetoric about Russian nationalism and economic self-reliance, he finds himself surprisingly constrained in his ability to respond to the European Commission’s action against Gazprom.

The European Commission’s decision to bring antitrust charges against the Russian energy giant sparked an immediate complaint from Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov. He loudly protested that the European Union was changing the rules in midstream. The European Union, however, was trying to send a different message to Russia: institutions matter, and Gazprom does not get a free pass around its rules.

The commission charged Gazprom with abusing its dominant market position and overcharging customers in several countries.…  Seguir leyendo »

Europa

As President Vladimir Putin looks out on to the world stage, he should be relishing Russia’s renewed status as a global player.

But when Putin looks homeward, he sees a different reality. Three months into 2015, Russia’s economic forecast ranges from gloomy  to catastrophic. Yet in contrast to his aggressive response in Ukraine, Putin has been the picture of inaction domestically. He has intervened in the financial markets but not on Main Street, avoiding any hint of structural reforms.

Russian domestic and foreign policy are intimately connected, however. And the troubled domestic front is now catching up to Putin and limiting his regional and global aspirations.…  Seguir leyendo »