On April 13, the Russian RIA Novosti news agency quoted a high-ranking source in the Russian defense ministry as saying, “A decision was made to deploy Russian warships near the Syrian shores on a permanent basis.” The source announced that Russia’s naval presence in the eastern Mediterranean had “nothing to do” with Syria. Russia’s naval maneuvering has everything to do with geopolitics. This news comes at a troubling time, as a fragile ceasefire holds in Syria. Russia, which acts as Syria’s political sugar daddy and weapons supplier, has continually vetoed …
On March 26, Stanislaw Shushkevich, the former president of Belarus, made a difficult trip to the U.S. in order to speak about the difficult human rights situation in his country. His itinerary included a presentation at The Heritage Foundation’s Pennsylvania Avenue office. Lee Edwards, Heritage Distinguished Fellow in Conservative Thought and chairman of the Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation, awarded Shushkevich the prestigious Truman–Reagan Medal of Freedom. Shushkevich is a scientist with a Ph.D. in Physics. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, he was the first head of state …
Last Thursday, Iran and Turkey signed an agreement aimed at increasing trade between the two countries and doubling bilateral business by 2015. The agreement was inked by Iran’s Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi and Turkish Minister of the Environment and Urban Planning Erdo?an Bayraktar following the 23rd session of the Joint Economic Cooperation Commission of the two countries. This is an important signal to the United States and its allies: Ankara refuses to march to the Western drumbeat. It takes one step forward agreeing to deploy NATO missile defense, only …
Russian state television has launched an all-out assault on the new U.S. Ambassador Michael McFaul—undeservedly so, although not unexpected. Russia’s Channel One, run by All-Russia State Television and Radio Broadcasting Company (VGTRK), aired a hostile report this week aimed at the ambassador as he begins his tenure in Moscow. The report attacked McFaul personally and hit the Obama Administration for choosing an ambassador who is not a career diplomat. McFaul is an academic who served as Special Assistant to the President and a Senior Director at the National Security Council. …
Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin announced that his country, the world’s leading oil and gas producer, plans to work closely with the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), the oil cartel. Russia has long spoken about linking up with OPEC, but at this point the extent of its participation has been sending high-level delegations to attend OPEC meetings in Vienna as observers. “OPEC is sometimes irritated by us as we, not being a member of the organization, produce more oil, which influences international crude oil prices,” said Putin. “But we …
At The Heritage Foundation’s October 25 conference dedicated to the Obama Administration’s failing “Reset” policy toward Russia, House Speaker John Boehner (R–OH) and Members of Congress hailed freedom and democracy as the guiding principles of American foreign policy. They also asserted that Russia’s occupation of Georgian territory is going to be a sticking point in the effort to normalize trade relations between Russia and the United States and accept Russia into the World Trade Organization. Congressional Quarterly (CQ) highlighted opposing viewpoints on the issue in an article entitled “House GOP …
Russia is bemoaning the passing of Libyan dictator Muammar Qadhafi, an old friend and client of the Soviet Union and a reliable customer for Russian arms sales. But Qadhafi belongs to the 20th century. In the 21st, Russia has new interests in Africa, and the Libyan strongman’s passing will not derail them for long. Russia is creating a new economic platform that will allow cross-investment between its members: Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa (BRICS). The Wall Street Journal reports that exchanges from Brazil, Russia, India, Hong Kong, and …
Last week, Russian political scandal season reached a boiling point. On September 16, Mikhail Prokhorov, Russia’s third richest man (with an estimated personal net worth of $18 billion), promised revenge against Vladislav Surkov, deputy chief of the presidential administration, after being ousted from the helm of Right Cause, his own newly launched political party. The tycoon accused President Dmitry Medvedev’s deputy chief of staff of “privatizing the political system” and orchestrating his downfall. As the metals magnate ran afoul of the powers that be, the order was given last week …
Total, Europe’s third largest oil company, announced last Friday that they have made a major gas discovery in the Caspian Sea. The discovery, made in the Absheron block off the coast of Azerbaijan, is thought to have large pockets of gas spread over a 270-square-kilometer field and holds about 350 billion cubic meters of natural gas and 45 million metric tons of gas condensate, according to SOCAR, the state oil company of Azerbaijan. It is likely that additional reserves will be discovered as the exploration of the field advances. Participants …
Last week, oil giant ExxonMobil announced an agreement with Russia’s state oil company, Rosneft, to explore for oil in the Arctic continental shelf in the Kara Sea. America’s largest oil company is taking the place of BP (British Petroleum), whose dealings with Rosneft earlier this year collapsed. The controversial Rosneft and Exxon will be searching the Russian Arctic waters for black gold. Development of new oil fields has become possible due to the Arctic polar ice caps’ retreat and technological progress that make geological work in the High North a …
