Section: News & Summaries
What the Falling Oil Price Means for Russia and Ukraine
At present the price of Brent crude oil is $28 per barrel, while it was $114 per barrel in June 2014. This price fall by three-quarters is of great importance for the Russian economy and its policy toward Ukraine. The only rational option for the Kremlin is to wind down the conflict with Ukraine.Russia is a petrostate. When the oil price was...
Moscow rages at ex-spy murder report
President Vladimir Putin appears set to escape sanctions despite being blamed over the murder of Alexander Litvinenko. ||| Moscow – The Russian President, Vladimir Putin, appears set to escape sanctions despite being personally blamed over the murder of Alexander Litvinenko, with the British Government being accused of a weak response to...
Putin ‘probably approved ex-spy murder’
President Vladimir Putin probably approved an intelligence operation to murder ex-KBG agent Litvinenko, a UK inquiry concluded. ||| London – President Vladimir Putin probably approved a Russian intelligence operation to murder ex-KBG agent Alexander Litvinenko with radioactive polonium-210, a British inquiry into the 2006 killing in London...
A Conflict Erupts Online Between Ukrainians and Russians
A vicious diatribe recently exploded on the Russian Internet between several Ukrainian journalists and bloggers on one side, and prominent Russian opposition bloggers and activists on the other. The discourse reflects the deep divide between the two nations, which has continued to deteriorate since the events of 2014.The debate has been brewing...
How Will Iran’s Oil Exports Rebound?
Global oil prices hit their lowest point since 2003 after the United States, the European Union, and the United Nations on January 16 lifted sanctions on Iran in response to the International Atomic Energy Agency’s conclusion that the Islamic Republic was in compliance with the terms of a nuclear deal. Brent Crude fell to $27.67 per barrel...
How to Help Ukraine: An Alternative Vision
Three former US Ambassadors to Ukraine recently wrote an op-ed article in the New York Times (“Investing in Ukraine’s Future,” December 30, 2015) that called for an increase in Western financial assistance to Ukraine and argued that the country is now “teetering on the brink.” I strongly support their willingness to...
How Ukraine’s Reformers Beat the Pharma Mafia
A little over a month after US Vice President Joe Biden told Ukrainian legislators that graft was eating Ukraine “like a cancer,” an order from Ukraine’s cabinet of ministers struck a decisive blow against pharmaceutical corruption. This order outsources the purchasing of numerous medicines for seriously ill Ukrainians from the...
Europe presses Ukraine on reforms
The European Union is anxious for Ukraine authorities to overcome political feuding and implement promised reforms. ||| Brussels – The European Union pressed Ukraine authorities on Monday to overcome political feuding and implement promised reforms as it looks to shore up the country’s democratic and economic credentials. Having so...
Seven Key Reforms for Ukraine in 2016
After Orthodox Christmas, I spent a few days in Kyiv. It is quite striking how the mood has changed in a positive direction. The 2016 budget and the modified tax code were adopted on December 24. After two weeks of well-deserved rest, there is a sudden realization that Ukraine accomplished many important economic reforms in 2015. Admittedly, many...
ISDS Arbitration Upholds Australia’s Plain Packaging Laws
Tobacco giant Philip Morris has lost a major international legal battle to reverse Australia’s plain packaging laws by using the Australia–Hong Kong Investment Promotion and Protection Agreement (IPPA) of 1993. On 17 December 2015, a three-member arbitral tribunal at the Permanent Court of Arbitration ruled that Philip Morris had no...