First Look Russia detains U.S. journalist Alsu Kurmasheva. Why she faces jail. Alsu Kurmasheva, a Russian-American journalist working for a U.S. government-funded media company, has been detained in Russia. Radio Free Europe-Radio Liberty editor Alsu Kurmasheva is the second American journalist to be held in Russia this year. | View caption Hide caption A Russian-American journalist…
Peace Europe After Karabakh: Why peace in Azerbaijan could unsettle larger Russian sphere | View caption Hide caption While the resolution of a frozen conflict is generally positive, the manner of that resolution matters – and can end up prompting resentment and violence if mishandled. The most immediate effects are likely to be the realignment…
First Look China-US diplomacy hits panda-monium. Why are the bears going home? The National Zoo’s three giant pandas are set to return to China in December. Amid diplomatic tensions between China and a number of Western governments, China appears to be gradually pulling back its pandas from Western zoos as their agreements expire. | View caption…
KYIV, Ukraine — Britain says it has intelligence that Russia is trying to target civilian cargo ships carrying grain in the Black Sea by laying sea mines and planning to blame any attacks on Ukraine. The U.K. did not provide any evidence for the allegation, which comes as Ukraine appears to be gaining momentum in…
Moscow will keep helping Afghanistan on its own and through the U.N. food agency, Russian officials said Friday as they hosted Taliban representatives for talks on regional threats. The talks in the Russian city of Kazan came as Moscow is trying to maintain its influence in Central Asia even as it wages war on Ukraine.…
Freedom Cover Story Long in Russian orbit, Georgia tilts West | View caption Hide caption Sunny Georgia’s freedoms and quest for membership in the European Union attract Russian exiles but risk provoking Vladimir Putin’s imperial designs. Proprietor Data Lapauri is speaking in part to potential patrons fleeing Moscow in the wake of the war in…
Cooperation Foreign Policy Biden at the UN: Old-school internationalism faces a test | View caption Hide caption President Joe Biden’s United Nations speech Tuesday offers him the opportunity to convince his audiences, both foreign and domestic, that his brand of traditional internationalism is not a relic of a bygone American century. He and first lady…
Creativity Foreign Policy At G20, Biden promotes US leadership, but faces its limits | View caption Hide caption Even without the leaders of Russia and China in attendance at the G20 summit in India, their influence created real challenges for President Joe Biden, who drew on creative diplomacy to assert U.S. global leadership. “The message…
HANOI, Vietnam — President Joe Biden sought to downplay friction with China and insisted he isn’t trying to constrain the country’s rise, even as he spent a weekend in Asia strengthening ties with other countries seen as bulwarks against Chinese economic and military clout. “I don’t want to contain China,” Biden said at a news…
1 Erdogan and Putin meet in effort to rejuvenate Ukraine grain deal Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Russian President Vladimir Putin met Monday to discuss Russia’s potential re-entry into the Black Sea grain deal. The agreement, which allows grain from Ukraine to be shipped to food-scarce countries around the world, was upended this past July…