 
							
					
															
					
					 by Rashad Mammadov | 31 Oct 2019 | Middle East, Syria
 Russia has long treated relations with Kurds as a bargaining chip as it pursues broader objectives. Today in Syria, things are no different. A Kurdish girl in front of a poster of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Afrin, Syria, 24 January 2018 (AP Photo/Petros... 
				
					
			
					
											
								 
							
					
															
					
					 by Julian Nundy | 24 Sep 2019 | Europe, Politics, Ukraine
 Ukraine and Russia have swapped prisoners, to the chagrin of investigators exploring the downing of a passenger jet. But will the swap promote peace? Ukrainians protest against the release of Volodymyr Tsemakh, a possible witness to the downing of the MH17 Malaysia... 
				
					
			
					
											
								 
							
					
															
					
					 by Robert Holloway | 14 Aug 2019 | Personal Reflections
 In a world with nuclear weapons, every agreement counts. So the decision by the U.S. and Russia to scrap a disarmament treaty does matter. Demonstrators with masks of Russian President Vladimir Putin, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and U.S. President Donald Trump... 
				
					
			
					
				
															
					
					 by Charles Aldinger | 17 Jun 2019 | History, Politics, World
 The U.S. has pulled out of a major arms control treaty amid tensions between Washington and Moscow. Weapons treaties are out of favor — but they matter. When U.S and Russian warships nearly collided in the Philippine Sea recently, the world received a stark... 
				
					
			
					
											
								 
							
					
															
					
					 by Bernd Debusmann | 17 May 2019 | Americas, Decoders, Europe
 The Soviet Union and its allies opposed the West for 36 years. After the Iron Curtain fell, NATO expanded, deepening Russian-Western tensions. Russian Premier Nikolai Bulganin signs the eight-nation Warsaw Pact, Warsaw, Poland, 14 May 14, 1955 (AP Photo) The North...