Section: European Voice (EU)
Special envoy: US may send arms to Ukraine
The new U.S. special envoy for the crisis in Ukraine said Washington is actively considering whether to send weapons to Ukrainian government forces fighting pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine. U.S. Special Representative for Ukraine Negotiations Kurt Volker said arming Ukrainian government forces could alter Moscow’s approach to the...
Why it’s hard to take democrats seriously on Russia
Democrats are exasperated that Republicans don’t share their outrage over the ever-widening scandal surrounding Donald Trump and Russia. The president’s personal solicitousness toward Vladimir Putin, the alacrity of his son in welcoming potential assistance from Russians during the 2016 campaign, and mounting questions...
Brussels prepares to bite back at US over Russia sanctions
The European Commission plans to hit back “within days” at the United States if possible new sanctions against Russia, which could be finalized by the end of the month, are agreed upon and leave European energy and other companies vulnerable to U.S. interference. The draft U.S. sanctions law would target Russian energy, financial, railways,...
Can Macron avoid the Sarkozy trap?
Imagine a young French president, elected on a platform of deep economic reforms of pensions and labor legislation. After the first proposals are unveiled, a wave of paralyzing strikes sweeps across the country throughout fall of the election year. The young president, still at the beginning of his mandate, ultimately caves in and resigns himself...
Top US general: Military option for North Korea not ‘unimaginable’
ASPEN, Colorado — Marine Gen. Joseph Dunford, the chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, suggested Saturday that Americans must be prepared for the possibility of a military confrontation with North Korea, whose nuclear program he deemed an urgent threat. Although he stressed the importance of applying continued economic and...
Why Trump’s solo meeting with Putin was a big no-no
The latest Washington scandal reads like a 19th century morality tale: The president met with Vladimir Putin by himself! Without his own interpreter! For an unscheduled hour! No one knows what happened! His virtue is forever in question. Talking heads, the tittering class of modern Washington, are apoplectic. As often happens in a moment of...
Vladimir Putin questions need for online subterfuge
Russian President Vladimir Putin questioned the need for people to use pseudonyms online in a conversation with school children in which he revealed he used the alias “Platov” while training as a KGB agent. Russia is under scrutiny in the U.S. and Europe for alleged clandestine attempts to interfere in elections. But speaking on a live Russian TV...
Former spy chiefs tear into Trump
ASPEN, Colorado — Two former top U.S. intelligence officials tore into President Donald Trump on Friday, saying in sometimes personal terms that Trump has shown disrespect for intelligence officials and a distasteful affinity for Russian President Vladimir Putin, and warning he may be endangering U.S. national security. The two...
US Army chief presses Russia on military exercises
PAPA AIR BASE, Hungary — As thousands of U.S. troops drilled for a potential land war to protect NATO allies, the commander of U.S. Army forces in Europe urged Russia to be more transparent about its own upcoming major military exercise and ease anxiety by allowing outside observers. The Russian exercise, called Zapad (meaning...
Moscow spooks return to Hungary, raising NATO hackles
NATO allies are worried about expanding Russian intelligence operations in Hungary. While Western officials have often criticized the government in Budapest for backsliding on democracy, they’ve tended to praise it for a steadfast commitment to NATO. But officials from allied countries say Russia increasingly sees Hungary as an operational...
