Nel giorno della Vittoria contro la Germania nazista Putin accusa la Nato: “Ci minacciava”. Da Strasburgo per la giornata dell’Europa, Macron risponde: “Non siamo in guerra contro Mosca”.
Nel giorno della Vittoria contro la Germania nazista Putin accusa la Nato: “Ci minacciava”. Da Strasburgo per la giornata dell’Europa, Macron risponde: “Non siamo in guerra contro Mosca”.
Most of the developed world reacted to Russian government’s military operations in Ukraine with a prompt economic counteroffensive.
Foreign producers who have heavily invested in Russia over the past two decades – betting on Russia’s political stability, size, and access to the post-Soviet market - now face a hard choice: how to do business without losing face. Many are considering to go-in-between jurisdictions (Armenia, Kazakhstan, Serbia, etc.) to continue trading with Russia to circumvent sanctions.
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has led to increased oppression against opposition activists, NGOs, and journalists within the country. Civil society organizations are trying to survive under the new political and economic conditions, with many activists and experts fleeing Russia.
“Tenere fuori l’Unione Sovietica, dentro gli americani, e sotto i tedeschi” (“to keep the Soviet Union out, the Americans in, and the Germans down”).
“I condemn Russia’s offensive against the Ukrainian people in Donbas. We must (…) impose peace on Russia so that Ukraine regains its full sovereignty.” Such were the blunt words against the Kremlin pronounced by French far-right politician and Vladimir Putin’s long-time ally, Marine Le Pen.
Russia’s lack of a major success in the war against Ukraine and the unexpected scale of Western sanctions have brought uncertainty to Sino-Russian relations. Their power asymmetry as well as Moscow’s dependence on Beijing’s imports is likely to have deepened. The limitations of the ‘alliance in all but name’ have come to the fore, too. While Beijing has continued its incessant political support, echoing and amplifying the Kremlin’s justifications for war, we have not witnessed any substantial economic or military assistance so far.
Economic sanctions imposed by the EU against Russia aim at weakening Moscow’s economy by cutting it off trade flows with European countries. So far, six rounds of sanctions have been introduced, but have they been effective? Are they going to harm European economies as well, and to what extent? In the short term, Europe growth prospects will be affected; but in the medium to long run, it might be possible for the EU to strengthen its trade partnerships with other countries thanks to its extensive networks of Preferential Trade Agreements.
Il colloquio che il 10 maggio il Presidente del Consiglio Mario Draghi avrà a Washington con il Presidente statunitense Joe Biden si svolgerà mentre è in corso la tragica guerra di aggressione russa all’Ucraina, destinata a modificare in profondità l’ordine euro-Atlantico post-guerra fredda e i cui riflessi si estenderanno sul piano globale.
Regardless of how things play out in Ukraine over the near-term, it appears all but certain that Russia and the West will find themselves locked in a protracted confrontation for years to come. The Syrian civil war and the Iran dossier provide good test cases for assessing how that confrontation could affect the Middle East. In Syria, Russia and the West have in recent years competed for influence, deconflicted to avoid clashes, while cooperating selectively on counterterrorism, humanitarian issues, and a political process under UN auspices.
Russia’s war against Ukraine is a shot in the arm for the transatlantic partnership after several years of concern in Europe and the United States about their gradual, long-term drifting apart. Today, the broad transatlantic community find itself more united in purpose than it has been for some time, which may ultimately give it a new lease on life. However, how long the reinvigorating impact of the war will last is uncertain.