On 27 October 2022. the European Leadership Network (ELN) convened the Contact Group on Russia-West relations via Zoom to discuss Turkey’s positioning on the war in Ukraine and resulting foreign policy relations.
In some western circles, there has been a question mark over Turkey’s position on Russia’s war in Ukraine, writes Ambassador Tacan Ildem. Here he outlines the long history of Turkish-Russian relations, and how Turkey’s policy on Ukraine today is a balancing act informed by the geopolitics of the region.
Although it may now be hard to escape a cold war, especially between Russia and the West, countries can still make real choices that affect the course of the confrontation, writes ELN Director Sir Adam Thomson. Here he suggests four axes along which all states involved should be considering their positioning as they pursue their clashing desired outcomes.
On 29 September, the ELN Contact Group on Russia-West Relations met to discuss Belarus with speakers from Minsk providing their assessment of the country’s positioning in Russia’s war with Ukraine and in the broader confrontation between Russia and the West.
The significance of NATO’s June Summit is in the adoption of a tougher and more robust approach to security through a renewed emphasis on defence, deterrence and, whenever necessary, confrontation, write ELN Senior Associate Fellows Nicholas Williams and Simon Lunn.
As the 10th NPT RevCon continues, the Head of the Philippine Delegation to the RevCon, Carlos D. Sorreta, warns that NATO’s plans to increase defence spending ignore Russia’s diminished military capabilities. As Russia cannot keep up with the West’s conventional arms build-up, it will rely more heavily on its nuclear force which will lead to a new arms race and increased tensions.