One of President Vladimir Putin’s relatives has been elected leader of a small Russian political party which he hopes will win seats in the national parliament at an election next year, the party’s website showed on Monday.

• July 6, 2020

Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden on Tuesday criticized President Donald Trump’s handling of a reported Russian effort to pay the Taliban to kill American troops in Afghanistan, saying his actions were a “dereliction of duty.”

• July 3, 2020

By Benyamin Poghosyan, PhD, Chairman, Center for Political and Economic Strategic Studies

After the collapse of the Soviet Union the newly independent successor states faced numerous challenges: economic collapse, ethnic conflicts, and a rapid introduction of market reforms which ushered in large scale poverty as well as a quick enrichment of very small portion of the population. At the same time, there was a constant flow of Western experts and consultants who were embedded in almost all state institutions. In the first decade of independence there was a vague but widespread perception that the ultimate destination of former Soviet republics would be membership of the Euro-Atlantic institutions - EU and NATO. READ MORE

• July 3, 2020

By Benyamin Poghosyan, PhD, Chairman, Center for Political and Economic Strategic Studies

In November 2020 Americans will again go to the polls to elect the President of the United States. Upcoming elections could be one of the most polarized political events in decades. The American society is deeply divided between pro and anti-Trump camps. The economic crisis triggered by the COVID-19 and rising social and racial tensions will contribute to the fierce election campaign. Many Americans make their choice based on the economic situation at home are not interested in foreign policy. READ MORE

• June 21, 2020

When Russians vote this month on whether to allow President Vladimir Putin to potentially stay in power until 2036, they will decide on a bundle of measures from economic sweeteners to political reforms for traditionalists.

• June 17, 2020

As the United States pressed Saudi Arabia to end its oil price war with Russia, President Donald Trump gave Saudi leaders an ultimatum.

• June 17, 2020

By Benyamin Poghosyan, PhD, Chairman, Center for Political and Economic Strategic Studies

The COVID – 19 pandemic triggered a fierce debate among experts of international relations on the key features of the post COVID-19 world. There are several predictions and assessments – the end of globalization, the enhanced role of nation states, and a shift in global supply chains. It’s too early and difficult to assess what the world will look like decades from now, however, almost all experts have agreed on one thing; there will be no return to the 1990s and the beginning of the 2000s, when the US enjoyed absolute power and unconstrained possibilities. READ MORE

• June 11, 2020

Russian President Vladimir Putin and German Chancellor Angela Merkel discussed Syria’s humanitarian aid needs in a telephone call, the Kremlin said in a statement on Tuesday.

• June 10, 2020