Inside News on Odessa and Ukraine
Well, I was hoping to write something truly interesting from the meeting between the CIS Prime Ministers that has been held over the past few days in Yalta. Unfortunately, not much worthy of real comment has been said or done - unless you want to include the nearing ascension of Kazakhstan and then Kyrgyzstan as […]
Ukraine sows and China reaps? Not yet, but very soon. Last year I mentioned China’s expansion into Ukraine several times. In fact I wrote a rather link heavy post called China Watch at the end of last year that listed just a few Chinese expansions across almost every serious political and trade sphere in Ukraine. A few […]
Which comes first? Democracy, rule of law, development/modernisation or a strong State when creating/rebuilding a nation? Isn’t that a good question? Given all are somewhat shaky in Ukraine in comparison to most other nations in Europe, which is the priority for the State and is it the same priority for society? Not necessarily the same […]
Well, following on from yesterday’s post relating to Russian soft power and how it affects Ukraine, it is only right to look at the other geopolitical actor seeking to influence the nation, the EU. Today those very clever people at The European Council on Foreign Relations publish their annual scorecard on EU foreign policy relating […]
Well, I have been posed a very good question by a regular reader, asking which way Ukraine will head in 2012. East or West? Before I give the answer I think more likely, it is probably necessary to look are the regional situation in broad, rather than detailed, brush strokes. Firstly let us look East. […]
Well here is an interesting article in Kommersant. China will replace the IMF in Ukraine. So why has Kyiv fallen out with the IMF? Officially no doubt over the refusal of the current government to raise the prices to consumers of utilities even more than it already has done. It should be noted that utility […]
Oh dear. The IMF is getting in a tizzy because the National Bank of Ukraine and National Bank of China have come to an agreement on Ukraine holding the Yuan as part of its reserve currency. According to Kommersant Ukrainy newspaper, an NBU official has stated “We will only hold about $2.5 billion in Yuan […]
Now here is a rather timely announcement, or not, considering China has just sailed out its first aircraft carrier for trials. An aircraft carrier it bought from Ukraine from old stock and completely refurbished. It seems that whilst military technology is on the agenda via an intergovernmental commission on military-industrial cooperation, more to the point […]