Latest Articles about Europe
BELARUS RESPONDS CAUTIOUSLY TO GEORGIAN CRISIS
One of the interesting features of the Russia-Georgia conflict has been the sluggish support Russia has received from its allies. Perhaps most notable has been the reaction in Minsk, where the government of President Alyaksandr Lukashenka has acted ambivalently and still appears to be vacillating... MORE
PARTY OF REGIONS SPLITS OVER GEORGIA AND NATO
The Party of Regions expelled National Security and Defense Council (NRBO) Secretary Raisa Bohatyryova from the party’s senior decision-making body, the Political Council, and from the party itself on September 1. Until being appointed NRBO secretary in December 2007, Bohatyryova had been the leader of... MORE
UKRAINE DIVIDED ON RUSSIAN RECOGNITION OF SOUTH OSSETIA
The official Ukrainian response to Russia’s recognition of the independence of Georgia’s two breakaway provinces, South Ossetia and Abkhazia, on August 25, 2008, was not unexpected. The Ukrainian foreign ministry issued a statement on August 26 which noted: “The declaration by the Russian parliament is... MORE
KYIV ON GEORGIA: DIPLOMACY AWKWARD, PARTIES DIVIDED
Kyiv was among the first capitals to define its stance clearly in the early stages of the conflict in South Ossetia. Deputy Foreign Minister Kostyantyn Yeliseyev was the first high-ranking foreign official to arrive in Georgia on a peacemaking mission. While the West was slow... MORE
Technological Innovation and the Turkish Armed Forces’ War on the PKK
How does the introduction of new technologies affect the search for alternatives in counter-terrorism operations? To answer this question, we examine the changing characteristics of terror attacks carried out by the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) since 2004 and the means employed by the Turkish Armed... MORE
UKRAINIAN GOVERNMENT EXPRESSES STRONG SUPPORT FOR GEORGIA
Ukraine’s president and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which comes under his jurisdiction, have reacted sharply to the Georgian-Russian conflict. President Viktor Yushchenko has close personal relations with President Mikhail Saakashvili with whom he is direct contact on a daily basis (www.president.gov.ua, August 9). The... MORE
PKK Tactics May Reveal Damage Caused by Turkish Military Campaign
The fighting between Turkish security forces and the Kurdistan Worker’s Party (PKK) has intensified in recent months. Turkish air raids on the PKK camps in northern Iraq have resumed since mid-July. Between July 10 to July 16, 36 PKK members were killed, and there were... MORE
UKRAINE AND THE CONFLICT IN SOUTH OSSETIA
In the morning of August 10, the Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs informed its Russian counterpart that in order to prevent Ukraine from being drawn into an armed conflict, Ukraine might take measures to prevent the Russian Black Sea Fleet (RBSF) vessels from returning to... MORE
AUSTRIA’S OMV GIVES UP HOSTILE TAKEOVER BATTLE AGAINST HUNGARY’S MOL
On August 6 the board of directors of Austria’s OMV energy conglomerate decided to abandon its hostile takeover attempt against the Hungarian counterpart MOL (OMV press release, August 6; Der Standard, August 7). The European Commission’s negative assessment of a possible takeover, as well as... MORE
Istanbul Bombings Suggest PKK Insurgency May Be Entering a More Ruthless Phase
The July bombings in Istanbul have raised concerns that the 24 year-old insurgency of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) may be entering a new, more ruthless phase. At around 9:45 PM on July 27, a percussion bomb exploded in a garbage can on Menderes Caddesi,... MORE