With the deadline for the Iranian nuclear deal approaching on Monday, negotiators are scrambling to keep up the pressure on the regime to accede to concessions now rather than parley for another extension. US Secretary of State John Kerry insisted that negotiators push for a deal by Monday and to refuse talks of yet another…
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…
Representatives from Iran, the US, and the EU began an unscheduled day of talks after reported unresolved disagreements threatened to overturn the framework before deadline, which is looming in just two weeks. Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif, US Secretary of State John Kerry, and EU envoy and former foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton met in…
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…
The ruble’s value plunged once again against other currencies after the Central Bank of Russia returned to a “free-float” on the ruble yesterday. The move was designed to reduce speculative pressure on the currency as it continued to face heavy selling despite a major rate increase last week. The bank did not fully remove itself…
Graeme Robertson is currently an Associate Professor of Political Science at the University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill. He received his BA from Oxford University, his MA from Harvard in Russian, East European, and Central Asian Studies, and his Ph.D from Columbia University, with work focusing on political protest in Russian politics. His book…
Talks surrounding the state of Iran’s nuclear program have resumed in Vienna. Negotiators on both sides predicted the meeting’s success in the days leading up to the meeting, though early indications show that fundamental differences still exist between the two sides. The Iranian Foreign Ministry has alleged that it has accepted Western stipulations that only…
The sale of Morgan Stanley’s oil trading and storage businesses to state-owned Russian energy giant Rosneft appears to be in jeopardy following statements released by Morgan Stanley representatives. The transaction, which was brokered last year by the two sides and submitted for approval in July, has recently been hamstrung by the current state of economic…
As inflation rises out of control in Russia thanks to the astonishing 17% decline in the value of the ruble against the dollar, coupled with the drop in the price of oil and infusions of capital by the Russian Central Bank, the Russian economy has certainly seen better days. Russia originally aimed at the beginning…
Russia announced that nuclear talks between Iran and the P5+1 powers were moving along steadily, and that some 95% of a final deal had been agreed to, despite the presence of “two or three very difficult issues that remained.” Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergi Ryabkov said that the deal is feasible if there is enough…
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