Opinion
KABANOVSKY: Where Nazis dare – missing the trees for the forest in Belgorod
Significant developments are unfolding in Russia. On May 22, an unexpected yet strategic incursion into the Belgorod Oblast was orchestrated by the Freedom of Russia Legion (FRL) and the Russian Volunteer Corps (RVC).
ING: Turkey no change in central bank’s policy approach
The Central Bank of Turkey kept its policy rate flat at the May meeting and concluded that the current rate is adequate to support the recovery from February's earthquakes. It did not offer any signals about a policy change ahead.
COMMENT: The diamond industry is in crisis and Botswana is going rogue!
Last year, the ‘Knot’, the highly rated American wedding magazine, asked 12,000 newly wed couples whether they had chosen a natural or a lab-grown diamond for their engagement ring? A third went for industrial stones.
OPINION: Azerbaijan’s energy diplomacy pivots to the Balkans
Azerbaijan can’t fully substitute for Russian gas at the pan-European level, but it can play a crucial role in promoting the energy security of individual states.
OPINION: Romania's fast-growing foreign debt
It is high time to scrutinise the sustainability of Romania’s foreign debt, which has reached over €154bn and close to 60% of the country’s GDP.
DON: Janet Yellen is relaxed about de-dollarisation, but is her calm justified? The numbers suggest not.
Countries outside the US/UK/Europe bloc are leaving the dollar-based trade community at a rate which has begun to alarm US geopolitical strategists, and neocons in particular.
COMMENT: Conspiracy or bad analysis? Turkey observers still scratching heads over how Erdogan won vote
If there was widespread ballot box fraud, then we will never know as nobody was set up to look out for it. But if Turkey’s strongman does indeed remain so popular, analysts must learn that hope is not analysis.
KABANOVSKY: Public dissent within the Russian elite heralds power struggle to come
Once Russian losses on the battlefield mount and Ukraine begins to push the Russian army out of the occupied territories, the delicate house of cards will fall.
STOLYPIN: So much rests on Ukraine's counter-offensive
After months in which Ukrainian officials and their Western cheerleaders talked up the chances of a quick victory, now they are trying to manage expectations of the key coming battle.
COMMENT: Russia’s inflation is low but inflationary risks remain
In April Russia’s inflation rate fell below 3%, less than the Central Bank of Russia’s target rate of 4%, but it is not expected to stay there. A range of inflationary drivers are lined up to push the rate up again.
RIMMER: Gule Gule, Tayo
Yes, by rights, it has to be Bye Bye Erdogan in Sunday's Turkey elections. A genius for manipulating idiots has sustained him in power for 20 years, but the aggregation of voter dissatisfactions has generated a faecal tide.
ING: Disinflation in Romania is becoming more evident.
At 11.2%, Romania's April inflation surprised to the downside as both the market consensus and our expectations were 11.5%.
COMMENT: Five professionals give their take on what will happen in Turkey’s weekend elections
Scenario in which Erdogan and his ruling party refuse to hand over power repeatedly mentioned.
KABANOVKSY: Kyiv celebrates Victory Day in the shadow of an ongoing war
It has been more than 24 hours since I left Berlin for Kyiv, and I am exhausted as the train pulls into the central train station. Despite the fog of two sleepless nights, I am struck by Kyiv's greenness. And then there was a drone attack.
KABANOVSKY: The fall of the USSR – a disaster for the West?
Of the many questionable statements Vladimir Putin has made over the years, the one concerning the tragedy of the collapse of the Soviet Union may have been the closest to the truth, but not in the way he intended.
OPINION: Tragic school shooting to scar Serbia for years
The first mass killing of children by another child in Serbia has shocked the nation and is expected to have political and social repercussions for years to come.
ING: Hungarian budget posts biggest April deficit on record
Hungary’s budget follows last year’s trajectory as deteriorating economic activity puts pressure on the revenue side. The expenditure side also looks challenging, with sky-high inflation at the forefront.
RISK ADVISORY: Can Turkey set a new course?
If Kemal Kilicdaroglu manages to unseat Recep Tayyip Erdogan, to achieve his aims, he may have to utilise presidential powers, the very levers he has pledged to loosen.
KABANOVSKY: Russia after Putin – a grim legacy
A post-Putin Russia will be a land of blood, toil, tears and sweat, but not of victory or a future. “Après nous, le déluge!” said Madame Pompadour, commenting on problems inherited from Louis XIV that led to the French Revolution.
COMMENT: Poland’s geostrategy
In the heart of Europe and caught between east and west, Poland is a country where geopolitics has a real, immediate and visceral effect on its people in a way that the rest of Europe struggles to understand.
