Only two weeks after it was agreed upon, the ceasefire in Syria has finally broken down. However, the US and Russia are still trying to find common grounds, not for a new truce, but for an arrangement about splitting Syria’s carcass. This is a clear indication that the war will continue until the two powers […]Syria: Why did the US-Russia brokered ceasefire collapse? What does the duo care for?
September 26, 2016 by Leave a Comment
Only two weeks after it was agreed upon, the ceasefire in Syria has finally broken down. However, the US and Russia are still trying to find common grounds, not for a new truce, but for an arrangement about splitting Syria’s carcass. This is a clear indication that the war will continue until the two powers […]The impossible end of the war in Syria
September 15, 2016 by Leave a Comment
The United States and the Russian governments without the slightest remorse announced that it was with their guns the Syrians have been killing each other for the last six years. This is the translation in plain English of last weekend’s news, which is that Washington and Moscow agreed on a truce in Syria, after very […]US – Russia bargain on Syria, Ukraine but EU kept out
March 31, 2016 by Leave a Comment
President Bashar al-Assad’s regular Syrian army aided by Lebanon Hezbollah fighters plus some Iranians, and of course under the air cover of Russia’s fighter jets last week pushed the ISIS murderers out of the ancient city of Palmyra. Reportedly, a Russian ground special force played also a role in this decisive battle, that probably constitutes […]Syria: Why did the US now take the Russian offer for a truce? What next?
February 29, 2016 by Leave a Comment
The US-Russia plan for a “cessation of hostilities” in Syria, endorsed by the UN Security Council on Friday 26 February kicked off in the early hours of Saturday and two days after is still more or less observed. Understandably the cease-fire may collapse at any moment but the US and Russia seem determined to keep […]The Syrian knot cannot be cut without devastating consequences
February 18, 2016 by Leave a Comment
Brussels seems quite lost with what is happening now in Syria. The statement issued last Monday 15 February by the European High Representative Mogherini and Commissioner Stylianides on the atrocious and murderous attacks on hospitals and schools in Syria stands as an infallible witness to that. At this point in time, the foreign powers, regional or […]EU-Ukraine Free Trade Agreement sees the light as Moscow’s reaction once more looms
January 5, 2016 by Leave a Comment
The new year started with big news on trade for the European Union, and not just for the economic relevance of the matter. On January 1st, the free trade deal between Ukraine and the EU officially came into effect, as part of a broader EU Association Agreement, which was signed at the end of June 2014 by […]EU: Turkey to shelter Syrian refugees and turn other immigrants back in return of €3 billion
December 3, 2015 by Leave a Comment
A genuine Turkish bazaar took place last Sunday in Brussels during the meeting of the EU heads of state or government with the Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu. The horse-trading was about what it will cost the EU to stem of the flow of immigrants who pass through Turkey on their way to Europe. Finally […]The European Sting writes down the history LIVE from G20 Leaders’ Summit in Turkey
October 26, 2015 by Leave a Comment
Just a few days now remain until the world’s highest level Summit where the 20 most powerful leaders will convene. This year the exclusive G20 Leaders’ Summit will be taking place in Antalya Turkey on 15-16 November 2015. The Sting, faithful to the tradition it has created to cover the world’s most important Summits, like the […]From Russia with love: Brussels and Moscow close to an agreement on Ukraine’s gas supplies
September 15, 2015 by Leave a Comment
Following a few months of mere “meditation”, the European Commission and Russia held a bilateral meeting in Vienna last week where they finally made progress on Ukraine gas supplies and energy security. Russia was represented by the Minister for Energy, Mr. Alexander Novak and the CEO of Gazprom, Mr. Alexej Miller. The EU was represented by Maroš Šefčovič, Vice-President […]What the world will look like after the Iran and 5+1 deal; the US emerges as major power broker in Middle East
July 23, 2015 by Leave a Comment
The first to travel to Tehran after the nuclear agreement was struck last week between Iran and the 5+1 (France, Russia, China, the United Kingdom, and the United States plus Germany) are the German Vice Chancellor Zigmar Gabriel and Laurent Fabius the French minister for Foreign Affairs. Understandably, French and German dignitaries are more welcomed […]EU members commit to build an integrated gas market and finally cut dependency on Russia
July 14, 2015 by Leave a Comment
Last week, amid uncertainty driven by the Greek vote in the referendum, an important step towards Energy Union was taken. Fifteen EU and Energy Community countries signed a deal to accelerate the building of gas infrastructure, and so to reduce their long lasting reliance on Russia. Ministers from Ukraine and other fourteen countries, more than half […]Who is to lose from the 6-month extension of the EU economic sanctions against Russia?
June 24, 2015 by Leave a Comment
The European Foreign Ministers gathered in Luxembourg two days ago and decided to continue imposing economic sanctions to Russia for another six months. This shows the strong intention of Europe to weaken Russia’s power in Ukraine and thus put a stop on Russia’s imperialistic plans. However, Russia claims these sanctions as “illegal and unfounded” and will fight […]The G7 adopted dangerous views about Ukraine and Greece
June 11, 2015 by Leave a Comment
Last weekend the leaders of the G7 countries in reality acknowledged their impotency or probably unwillingness to effectively confront the expansion of the destructive and unlawful activities of the “too big to fail” banks and the shadow banking sector. After that, they decided that Ukraine and Greece have to go on bleeding in order not […]A few, or rather two, trade and economic alliances may rule our brave new world
June 1, 2015 by Leave a Comment
Jean-Claude Juncker, the EU Commission President together with the Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe gave a Press conference following the 23rd EU-Japan Summit which took place in Tokyo on 29 May. The focal point of the meeting was supposed to be the free trade agreement (FTA) between the two sides. However the EU dignitary spoke […]Does Greece really weigh what is asking for today in Russia?
April 8, 2015 by
Today is the day that Alexis Tsipras meets Vladimir Putin in Moscow to discuss about business and trade under a spiritual Easter atmosphere for the “Orthodox brothers”. The date of this summit was strategically decided to be this week, in order to put some pressure, at least this is what the Greeks believe, to the European leaders-creditors who […]Have Europe’s Ukrainian wounds begun to heal?
March 23, 2015 by Leave a Comment
The wounds the Ukrainian civil war has inflicted on Europe have now stopped bleeding and if not begun healing at least they claim no more fatalities. The Minsk II agreement is holding well and the Europeans, most of them, have made clear to the Americans that there is no chance of starting a new war […]Can the US-Iran rapprochement change the world?
March 19, 2015 by Leave a Comment
The United States global gendarmes and the Shiite Iran were brought together in a common fight against the Islamic States murderers in Iraq and Syria, thus opening the way for a wider understanding between the two until recently sworn enemies. The American government saw one more major geostrategic advantage in the rapprochement with Tehran. And […]Sanctions on Russia to be the biggest unity test at this European Council
March 17, 2015 by 1 Comment
The relations between the European Union and Russia, as well as the entire, delicate situation in Ukraine, will be discussed at the European Council commencing this Thursday, although no big news are likely to come. EU leaders have not yet agreed on how to proceed on Russian sanctions, but they are unlikely to reach agreement […]Only the Americans are unhappy with the ceasefire agreement in eastern Ukraine
March 12, 2015 by Leave a Comment
Despite the fact that the Minsk ceasefire agreement is holding more or less well and the bloodshed in eastern Ukraine has stopped, the Americans seem quite unhappy. They insist on the need to supply the Ukrainians with heavy armaments to continue the war, this time clearly against Putin’s Russia. Let’s follow the facts. On 25 […]The West and Russia accomplished the dismembering and the economic destruction of Ukraine
March 2, 2015 by Leave a Comment
With the Minsk Agreement the West and Russia finally got what they wanted or close to that from Ukraine, not minding much about leaving the miserable country in ruins, its map ruthlessly chopped and the economy in a perfect chaos. On the one side the EU or rather Berlin and Paris plus Washington and on […]Minsk “ceasefire” leaves more doubts than safety, with EU already planning steps further
February 24, 2015 by Leave a Comment
When the EU’s Foreign Policy Chief Federica Mogherini said that the Minsk ceasefire deal was important “but not definitive”, at the morrow of the agreement, everyone knew she was right. Minsk agreement was a crucial happening, in which a big step towards peace between Russia and Ukraine was taken given the delicate moment, but only a step. […]Greece and Ukraine main items on EU28 menu; the course is set
February 12, 2015 by Leave a Comment
The world community will be watching very closely today’s gathering of the 28 leaders of the European Union in Brussels. The reason is that its agenda includes two crucial issues; the economic fate of Greece and a discussion on the outcome of a conference in Minsk, Belarus for the future of Ukraine. Yesterday afternoon both […]Europe, US and Russia haggle over Ukraine’s convulsing body; Russians and Americans press on for an all out civil war
February 9, 2015 by Leave a Comment
Germany and France are alarmed at the prospect that the Americans could turn Ukraine into an unbelievable inferno, by overtly delivering heavy armaments to Kiev. In such an event implications on Europe’s security will be vast. The French President François Hollande and the German Chancellor Angela Merkel rushed to Moscow last Friday and met the […]Russia to cut gas supplies again: can the EU get back to growth without a solid energy market?
January 21, 2015 by Leave a Comment
“Energy” is a word that may sound a bit alarming in the European Union nowadays. This happens because Europe has a problem: its energy supplies are not secure. The EU’s prospects of remaining a strong, independent economic and political player in the international arena will largely depend on whether the bloc will be able to […]Eurasian Union begins: the giant modelled on the EU is Moscow’s biggest challenge
January 6, 2015 by Leave a Comment
On the first day of 2015, when all the world was waking up ready to taste what this New Year will be like, the treaty creating the Eurasian Economic Union took effect. The new EEU has now become a reality, allowing free movement of trade, services, and capital between Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan and Russia. What […]Can Kiev make face to mounting economic problems and social unrest?
January 5, 2015 by Leave a Comment
The time of truth for the European Union’s strategy on the Ukrainian question finally came. Brussels is about to let the poor country not only be dismembered, but what will be left of it will be pushed into an economic and political inferno. As it happens, Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker essentially ‘ordered’ Kiev to “bring […]EU-Russia relations: the beginning of a warmer winter?
December 30, 2014 by Leave a Comment
The year 2014 has seen many changes and overturns in the EU-Russia relations, but although the New Year is just a few hours away, there is still time for the last swing. From both sides. Yesterday a few Russian media outlets reported that the High Representative of the European Union Federica Mogherini stated that Western powers […]Iran nuclear talks’ deadline extended: the match is still open for many
November 25, 2014 by Leave a Comment
One year and one day has passed since the Joint Plan of Action (JPA) was forged in Geneva, on November 24 2013, between Iran and the P5+1 Countries. The interim agreement went into effect on January 2014, and its first extension deadline was set to 24 November 2014, the date that was originally seen as […]The West definitively cuts Russia off from the developed world
November 17, 2014 by 1 Comment
Last weekend’s G20 Summit in Brisbane Australia in a direct way ineradicably mapped the abyss now dividing the West from Russia. American and European leaders including Barack Obama, Angela Merkel and David Cameron threatened Russia with more sanctions, meant to completely cut her off from western markets and besiege her economy, if Moscow doesn’t stop […]Brussels wins game and match in Ukraine no matter the electoral results
October 27, 2014 by Leave a Comment
Yesterday’s election in Ukraine, even if after countless countings over the next days it gives President Petro Poroshenko’s Block a clear victory, is not expected to change anything to the better for the war-torn country. Kiev held this election in the loyal regions and the pro-Russian rebels in Luhansk and Donetsk are to hold theirs […]Russia accepts what the EU has to offer and settles to negotiate with Ukraine
October 20, 2014 by Leave a Comment
This time the Europeans did it without the Americans in Ukraine. They managed to convince Russia to guarantee unobstructed natural gas supplies for the war-torn country and the EU for ‘at least’ during this winter. They did it last Friday in Milan, northern Italy, during the EU-Asia leaders meeting. The German Chancellor Angela Merkel took […]EU cracks under the weight of its policy on the Ukraine-Russia nub
September 29, 2014 by Leave a Comment
The Ukrainian civil war, with the two sides patronised respectively by the West (EU and US) and Russia, has now deeply divided the entire Old Continent. On Friday 26 September Hungary decided to cut off its secondary supplies of Russian natural gas to Ukraine. Last June, after Moscow cut its direct deliveries of gas to […]Ukraine-EU deal sees the light but there’s no defeat for Russia
September 17, 2014 by Leave a Comment
While the ceasefire between Ukraine’s military forces and the separatists appears to be holding since the September 5th truce, something “historic” – as leaders called it – might have happened yesterday. Ukraine ratified a landmark trade-and-political deal with the European Union, officially moving towards the West. The moment was crucial not only for the importance […]
