Baltic Sea Tour – Changing Tides of History

From June 9-20 our own Vice President of Public Programs, Carla Thorson, traveled with the World Affairs Council of Philadelphia’s “Changing Tides of History” tour of the Baltics as a scholar in residence. She kept a blog during the journey, writing at each port of call. Read her posts about Stockholm, St. Petersburg, Gdansk and many more  here.

If you are interested in future trips, learn more about the Philadelphia Council’s travel programs here.

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EU Imposes Tough New Sanctions on Iran

This week the European Union announced new sanctions against Iran. The sanctions are one part of the EU’s strategy to pressure Iran to resume negotiations on its nuclear program. The United Nations imposed a fourth round of sanctions on Iran last month, but the EU’s go farther, affecting the energy, transport and finance sectors. While American investment in Iran has decreased in recent years, the EU is Iran’s largest trading partner and the new sanctions could have a significant impact on many European economies.

The United States also imposed new sanctions on Iran this month, with the goals of halting financing for the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps that oversees missile and nuclear programs as well as curbing even further investment in Iran’s energy sector. They also target federal contractors that do business with Iran.

Learn more about the sanctions on Monday, August 2 when the Council hosts Jillian Burns, the Acting Director of the Iran Office of the State Department. She will discuss U.S. policy towards Iran, offering insight into the effectiveness of current sanctions and exploring Iran’s role in the region.

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Georgian Ambassador to Visit Council on Monday

This Monday, June 28, the Council is honored to host His Excellency Batu Kutelia, Ambassador of Georgia to the United States, for a discussion of the state of bilateral relations and importance of Georgia as an ally in the Caucasus. The visit follows the Council of Europe’s Parliament overwhelming approval of a draft resolution condemning Russia’s policy in the North Caucasus, the same week that the Russian president is touring the United States. To register for the program with Ambassador Kutelia, visit the Council’s website.

Russian President Dmitri Medvedev, at the invitation of President Obama, traveled to the US on Tuesday to meet with business and political leaders in California and Washington, DC. Medvedev, who hopes to create a new technology mecca in Russia, made stops in San Francisco and Silicon Valley where he met with industry executives. Tomorrow he will travel to Washington to discuss the expansion of the economic relationship between Russia and the United States, which has largely been on hold since Russia’s war with Georgia in 2008. To learn more about Medvedev’s trip to Washington, read this article in the New York Times.

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Georgian President to Attend Nuclear Summit

Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili has announced that he will be attending the upcoming nuclear summit in Washington, DC. Therefore, H.E. Batu Kutelia, Georgian Ambassador to the United States, Canada and Mexico, has had to cancel his scheduled visit to the World Affairs Council on April 7. The World Affairs Council hopes to reschedule for late June.

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Council to Host Georgian Ambassador

Yesterday’s bombing in the Moscow subway brought renewed focus to the Caucasus, in the southern part of the Russian Federation, as officials expressed suspicions that the suicide bombers were from the area. While Georgia is not implicated, it shares a border with the area of the Russian Federation from where many militants have come in the past, including Abkhazia, Chechnya, Ingushetia and Ossetia. Learn more about Georgia, the state of bilateral relations and the importance of Georgia as an ally in the Caucasus in June, when the World Affairs Council hosts H.E. Batu Kutelia, Ambassador of Georgia to the United States, Canada and Mexico.

For more information on Russian concern of spreading guerrilla warfare, read this article from the New York Times.

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President of Kosovo Visits Council

The World Affairs Council was honored to host the President of Kosovo, Dr. Fatmir Sejdiu, on January 12. As the leader of the world’s youngest country, Dr. Sejdiu is optimistic about Kosovo’s future, but also recognizes the many challenges it faces. Regionally, Kosovo is challenged by Serbia’s continued refusal to acknowledge the state’s independence. Globally, Kosovo has only been recognized by 65 of the 192 sovereign UN member states, including the United States and 22 of the 27 European Union member states; notably absent from this group are Spain, Russia and China. As Kosovo’s second anniversary approaches, the president ended on a positive note: “We can’t forget, but we can move forward!”

To listen to the entire program with President Sejdiu, please visit our online archive. To read about the latest country to recognize Kosovo’s independence, Mauritania, click here, and to learn more about the Serbian position, read the recent New York Times interview with Serbia’s Minister of Foreign Affairs.

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Kosovo: What do you know about Europe’s Youngest Country?

The Republic of Kosovo declared its independence in February 2008 and currently 64 countries have recognized her as a sovereign state. After almost two years of self-rule, the Council is honored to host Kosovo’s first President, Dr. Fatmir Sejdiu, on Tuesday, January 12^th to discuss the future for this new nation.

For a look back at the days before and after Kosovo declared independence, visit New York Times journalist Andrew Testa’s slide show.

With its international allies and partners committed to ensuring the stability of Kosovo, watch BBC News’ coverage of President Clinton’s recent trip to Prishtina, the capital of Kosovo, for the inauguration of a statue honoring our 42^nd President.

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Pipeline Politics

The construction of the Nabucco pipeline, slated for completion in 2012, is part of the effort to reduce European dependence on Russian gas amid concerns and fears that Russia, the supplier of between 30 and 40% of Europe’s natural gas, will use its economic leverage for political gains. However, recent developments in Turkmenistan, China, Iran, Turkey, and Europe itself, raise many questions and uncertainties regarding the future of the Nabucco pipeline. What are the new implications of and aims for building such a pipeline? Is continued construction necessary? What are the benefits and dangers of using the Nabucco pipeline—or rather the promise of its discontinuation—as a political bargaining chip? Steve LeVine, foreign affairs and energy correspondent for BusinessWeek and author of The Oil and the Glory and Putin’s Labyrinth, joined the Council and the Young Professionals International Forum (IF) last night to share his thoughts and insights into pipeline politics and Russia’s new energy diplomacy. Full program recordings will be available soon at our online archive. 

For more on pipeline politics, check out this article from Deutsche Welle on the recently signed agreement between Russia and Turkey to build the South Stream pipeline, a new rival to the Nabucco pipeline.

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Poland and the Changing Geopolitics of Europe

Poland’s Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski joined the Council Wednesday night for our fourth Guggenhime Speaker Event of 2009 to address his nation’s role in the changing geopolitics of Europe and abroad. Minister Sikorski described Poland’s transition from the events of 1989 to a modern democratic nation, a member of NATO and of the European Union. A leader in Polish and European affairs, Minister Sikorski also provided great insights, debunking some common misconceptions about the workings of the European Union. Finally, Minister Sikorski discussed the history of warm bilateral relations and current cooperation between the United States and Poland, highlighting issues of security and democratization and emphasizing Poland’s continued support for the U.S. in Afghanistan and Iraq. For more on Polish, European, and transatlantic politics, as well as thoughts on NATO, Russia, and democratization, watch or listen to full recordings of this program with Radoslaw Sikorski at our online archive.

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A successful “reset” to U.S.-Russian Relations?

Is the Russian political system best understood as a “managed democracy” and who is managing it—President Medvedev or Prime Minister Putin? What are the implications for U.S.-Russian relations? After his visit to Moscow earlier this month, has Obama successfully “reset” relations with Russia and what must he do to improve future relations between the two countries? How have both Europe and Russia responded to initial overtures by President Obama and the new administration since the beginning of 2009?  Journalist and Pulitzer Prize-winning author Anne Applebaum joined the Council last night to share her interpretation and analysis of Russia’s relations with the United States, Europe, its neighbors, and current political issues within the country. For her full talk, listen or watch recordings here at our online archive. For more on these issues be sure to check back when Applebaum’s husband, Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski, joins the Council on August 5, 2009 for our Richard & Judith Guggenhime Speaker Series.

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