Russian President Vladimir Putin announced that Moscow will abandon the South Stream pipeline project. The South Stream project would have consisted of a submarine pipeline running under the Black Sea and into Central Europe. The project quickly lost momentum as relations between Russia and the European Union soured and the EU posed sanctions on the…
Multi-billion dollar Indian conglomerate Essar Group will seek to work around Western sanctions to broker an oil-for-steel deal with Iran. India is currently one of the National Iranian Oil Company’s largest clients, while Iran continues to purchase significant quantities of Indian steel in spite of comprehensive sanctions that complicate transacting business with NIOC or other…
Under pressure from Western nations concerned with the status of reform projects, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko will soon move to form a new government, the first such initiative since the former chocolate magnate took office in October. The delays in forming a government have led to poor delegation of humanitarian and military aid originating in…
Today marked the deadline for P5+1 and Iranian negotiators to come to terms on an agreement concerning the Iranian nuclear program. The probability that a “permanent” agreement would be reached in accordance with the deadline was virtually zero as Iranian negotiators had previously declared a deal before November 24 “impossible” and Western negotiators had already begun to…
Italian oil major Eni finalized a deal with Turkmenistan that will allow the energy giant to begin exploration in the Turkmen offshore reserve known as Nebit Dag. Turkmen officials had long been in talks with Eni officials, though the deal was ultimately ratified after a visit between Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi and Turkmen President…
The European Union ratcheted up asset seizures, travel bans and financial freezes on funds belonging to Russian officials and pro-Russia separatists, as well as organizations in their favor, though stopped short of sanctioning Russia, their chief patron. The fact that the European Union balked at levying more restrictions on the Russian economy is expected and…
NATO officials confirmed that Russian military vehicles and armor columns have again entered Ukraine. Vehicles ranging from tanks, artillery transport vehicles and armored personnel carriers were seen crossing the Ukrainian southeastern border. The nature of the crossing appears to be to twofold, with Russia actively seeking to reinforce pro-Russia rebels inhabiting Donetsk on one hand,…
Dr. John Heathershaw is currently Associate Professor in International Relations at the University of Exeter’s Centre of Advanced International Studies. He received his Ph.D. from the London School of Economics and has held teaching or research positions at LSE, the American University in Central Asia, and King’s College London. Professor Heathershaw has conducted extensive research on Tajikistan as…
The Ukrainian military reported that columns of Russian armor have rolled across the Russia-Ukraine border and advanced towards rebel locations in the country’s southeast. Movement of Russian forces within this region of Ukraine had previously been criticized by Ukrainian and Western observers and labeled as a “blatant violation of Ukrainian sovereignty” undertaken to resupply pro-Russia…
Oil inspectors working for the Russian government have begun to investigate “major Russian oil firms” on suspicion of market rigging and price fixing. The inquiry was announced as officials in Moscow begin to suspect that key Russian energy firms have leveraged their status as significant economic players to drive up the price of oil across…
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