The quality of Russian crude is gradually improving after a contamination scandal that rocked oil markets, buyers said on Tuesday, but Russia’s energy minister cautioned that it will take until the second half of May to fix the problem.

• May 8, 2019

Gazprom Neft, the oil arm of Russian gas giant Gazprom, expects the global oil deal between OPEC and its allies to end in the first half of the year, a company official said on Tuesday.

• May 8, 2019

By Benyamin Poghosyan, PhD, Executive Director, Political Science Association of Armenia

The United States President Donald J. Trump’s decision to recognize Israel’s sovereignty over the Golan Heights brought upon criticism and admiration from both anti- and pro-Israeli groups worldwide. However, most parts of the discussion were focused on the damages or gains of that step for the US interests in the Middle East or for competing Arab and Israeli narratives regarding the history of the Golan Heights. Meanwhile, one of the lasting implications of this decision will be the future degradation of the world order based on international norms, rules, and principles. READ MORE

• May 7, 2019

By George Vlad Niculescu, Head of Research, the European Geopolitical Forum

On 11 April 2019, NATO confirmed US plans to deploy of the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system to Romania. According to NATO officials, the United States will fulfil its commitment to NATO’s Ballistic Missile Defence by the temporary deployment of a THAAD system to Deveselu in Romania. The scheduled work is part of the United States European Phased Adaptive Approach to ballistic missile defence, which has been implemented since September 2009. In response, Russian Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Alexander Grushko said: “Russia is “closely following” the temporary deployment of a THAAD system to the Deveselu base in Romania.” READ MORE.

• May 2, 2019

By Nika Chitadze, PhD, Director, Center for International Studies, International Black Sea University, Tbilisi

Since the first years of the restoration of independence, Georgia and Ukraine tried to establish close relations with the European Union. In the beginning of 1990’s, the European Union had already its own concrete position towards both states and considered the development of a regional partnership with post-Soviet republics as a main goal. The EU was promoting the integration of the new independent states to the international community and providing internal stability. EU’s CFSP was taking into consideration the same strategy toward all the post-soviet republics – Russia, Ukraine, as well as the South Caucasus or the Central Asian states. The purposes of EU on the way of transformation of those republics were practically similar. READ MORE

• April 17, 2019

United Arab Emirates’ energy minister said on Wednesday that Russia was committed to its oil supply cut agreement with OPEC and would not raise its output unless in coordination with the exporting group.

• April 17, 2019

President Vladimir Putin said on Tuesday that Russia and OPEC should discuss the future of their oil output-cutting deal later this year, adding that current oil prices suited Moscow.

• April 17, 2019

Russian energy major Gazprom Neft expects the Arctic to account for more than half its oil and gas production by 2020, the company said on Tuesday, reflecting Moscow’s drive to develop the resource-rich region.

• April 17, 2019