As Britain considers how to respond to the suspected poisoning of a former spy with a nerve agent, and weighs in on how to handle future relations with Russia, ELN Director, Sir Adam Thomson, considers the implications for Euro-Atlantic security and stability.
Needlessly arming Ukraine only escalates tension in the region and distracts attention from the tasks that are critical to Ukraine’s future.
Oleksandr Tytarchuk, co-founder of the East European Security Research Initiative Foundation, argues that there are more pros than cons to Ukraine receiving lethal aid from the United States.
Chris Weafer argues that a renewal of sanctions will not stop the Russian economy from returning to growth, but will ensure a less cooperative Kremlin in 2017.
Sergei Guriev, former Rector of the New Economic School in Moscow, argues that the “sanctions have not worked” argument is incorrect arguing that they have resulted in Russia’s recognition that Donetsk and Luhansk are part of Ukraine.
The combination of Western sanctions and an oil price collapse has inflicted a great deal of pain on the Russian economy but the latest opinion polls still show 85 per cent support for Putin and there is debate over just how much of an economic collapse Russian may be facing. In this context,...