According to the WSJ report, U.S. intelligence agencies have shared the assessment with some European intelligence agencies. But some European security officials “remain skeptical” that Putin didn’t play a direct hand in Navalny’s death, considering his tight grip on Russia. The U.S. assessment is “based on a range of information, including some classified intelligence, and … Read more
“If we are told that tomorrow we will become a member of the EU, then it will be possible to very easily cancel it, revise, transform or adopt a new one,” Garibashvili said. At the same time, he claimed that “there is no consensus a country can become a member of the EU today” because … Read more
The rules would require NGOs, campaign groups and media outlets that receive more than 20 percent of their funding from abroad to register as agents of “foreign influence.” If adopted, Miller said, the measures “could limit freedom of expression, stigmatize organizations that deliver these benefits to the citizens of Georgia, and impede independent media organizations working to provide Georgians with access to high … Read more
Exhorting international leaders to take “every effort” to “prevent a further escalation” of the fighting in the Middle East, the Ukrainian leader argued that “Iran’s actions threaten the entire region and the world, just as Russia’s actions threaten a larger conflict.” And then he brought his point home: “Words do not stop drones and do … Read more
Czech authorities in March sanctioned the Prague-based Voice of Europe website over claims that European politicians had engaged with the outlet, using their influence to discourage support for Ukraine in its war against Russia. Two of the channel’s executives — including Viktor Medvedchuk, a longtime ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin — were hit with sanctions. … Read more
“The law in its current form risks having a chilling effect on civil society and media organizations, with negative consequences for the many Georgians benefiting from their work,” said the EU’s top diplomat, Josep Borrell, when Georgian Dream first introduced the bill. “This law is incompatible with EU values and standards,” he added. Attempts to … Read more
Azerbaijan has reported Armenia is building up military equipment along the border, publishing footage that purports to show unarmored transport vehicles lining up close to the frontier. The claims have been denied by Armenia but shared widely in Russian state media, while Moscow has accused the West of attempting to “drag the South Caucasus into … Read more
And yet, the election comes at a febrile political moment: Slovakia appears evenly split between a pro-Western camp that’s alarmed by Russia’s aggression, and a reactionary one that’s suspicious of the West and attuned to the Kremlin’s talking points. And it is this divide that will determine Saturday’s outcome. While political leaders, parties and specific … Read more
The AfD is just one of several parties in Europe with pro-Russian views. Others include Hungary’s Fidesz, France’s National Rally, Italy’s Lega and Slovakia’s Smer. In the run-up to the EU-wide election in June, Russia is ramping up its attempts to sway EU opinion and, where possible, infiltrate the bloc’s institutions. A Serbian national linked … Read more
From football fields to the battlefield The 40-year-old Kapustin was born in Moscow. He moved with his parents at the age of 17 to Cologne, Germany, where he quickly established a fearsome reputation as a street-brawling white-power skinhead always up for a punch-up with everyone, especially Antifa activists. He tells POLITICO he was unhappy with … Read more
