Section: European Voice (EU)
In historic shift, Berlin mulls tougher stance on Moscow
BERLIN – Germany’s Russlandversteher are back. An epithet to some, a badge of honor to others, the term literally translates as “Russia understander,” but connotes something closer to a “Russia sympathizer.” In Germany’s heated political climate, few words are as polarizing. As the West debates how far to go in confronting Russia over...
EU wants to jumpstart Syria peace talks
EU foreign ministers on Monday called on Russia and Iran to pressure Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to resume political dialogue that might end his country’s long and devastating civil war — a largely vain hope that highlighted the bloc’s marginal role in the crisis. At a Foreign Affairs Council meeting in Luxembourg, the ministers...
German foreign minister: Pressure on Russia should be increased
Political pressure on Russia over its involvement in Syria should be ratcheted up, German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas said Friday after a meeting with European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker. Maas was speaking a day after Chancellor Angela Merkel ruled out German participation in a potential military strike against Syria. However,...
Merkel says no Nord Stream 2 without clarifying Ukraine’s transit role
German Chancellor Angela Merkel said today that the Nord Stream 2 pipeline cannot go ahead if Ukraine loses its importance as a transit country for gas to Europe. “I made very clear that a Nord Stream 2 project is not possible without clarity on the future transit role of Ukraine,” she told a joint news conference in Berlin with Ukrainian...
Trump vs Putin? Time to be ‘scared’
In an early morning tweet exactly one year and 77 days into his presidency, Donald Trump on Sunday finally criticized Russian President Vladimir Putin by name. It took a chemical weapons attack in Syria by Putin’s ally (“Animal Assad,” in Trumpian twitter-speak) and gruesome pictures of dead children to prompt the criticism. But the belated...
Russia’s anxious northern neighbors toughen up
HELSINKI — With relations between the West and Moscow at a post-Cold War low point, Russia’s closest EU neighbors are turning to tougher military and financial measures to send a message to Vladimir Putin. At a White House meeting last week, the presidents of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania asked Donald Trump to do more to deter Russia by...
Manafort moves to suppress evidence found in storage unit
Lawyers for former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort are arguing that what could be key evidence against him should be kept out of court because the FBI violated his Constitutional rights by illegally entering a storage locker belonging to Manafort’s firm. The FBI first got into the Alexandria, Va. storage unit last May with the...
Trump sanctions Putin’s inner circle
The Trump administration on Friday sanctioned seven oligarchs with close ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin, including Putin’s son-in-law and businessmen with links to the 2016 U.S. presidential campaign, further widening the gap between Trump’s rhetoric and actions towards Russia. Included on the sanctions list is Oleg...
Armenia’s disputed move toward true democracy
YEREVAN — Armenia plans to change its system of governance in a bid to improve democracy — but critics claim it’s all smoke and mirrors. In early April, just as Yerevan prepares to ratify a landmark agreement with the European Union, the small Caucasus nation will complete its shift from an executive presidency to a parliamentary system —...
How the Great War could reign on Trump’s parade
Many of President Donald Trump’s critics fear he will start World War III. But he may bring good news for devotees of World War I. This coming Veterans Day, the weekend selected for Trump’s $30 million military parade, is also the 100th anniversary of the armistice that ended the First World War on November 11, 1918. That’s the...
