By Catherine Kent

Reuters reported on April 6, 2015 that Russia does not fear that the preliminary deal with Iran on Tehran’s nuclear program will lead to a new arms race. According to Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, the delay in the deal-making is the fault of the United States and Europe. The deal, reached –between Iran and the U.S., Britain, France, Germany, China, and Russia–involves curbing Tehran’s nuclear research for at least 10 years and slowly lifting the Western sanctions. Lavrov commented that lifting these sanctions will help Russia, as Iran can now pay in full for deals with Russia’s nuclear agency.

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April 23, 2015

By Catherine Kent

Reuters reported on April 6, 2015 that lawyer Gary Osen filed an amended complaint in federal district court in Brooklyn against six Western banks for conspiring with Iranian banks to circumvent U.S. sanctions on Iran. The plaintiffs, over 200 former U.S. soldiers and their families, claim to have been victims of Iran-sponsored attacks during the Iraq war. The six Western banks have allegedly masked wiring of $60 million worth in transactions with Iranian banks designated by the US to be terrorist organizations.

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April 22, 2015

By Catherine Kent

On April 6, 2015, The National reported that due to a preliminary deal last week between the United States and Iran, oil prices have bounced back. The world benchmark North Sea Brent crude oil futures are trading up 2.7% from the close of the previous day, at $56.47.  While a deal was reached, it was not the final deal, and both parties also agree that this is just the first step down a long road. The plan is for the sanctions to be lifted slowly in congruence with Iran’s meeting certain milestones within the agreement. This bounce-back in oil prices might be short-lived as, Iran has 700,000 barrels per day of spare capacity that it has not been able to sell since the sanctions were put in place.

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April 21, 2015

By Catherine Kent

President of the European Council, Donald Tusk, seems to be taking a cautious approach in response  to the situation in Ukraine. Tusk and President Obama met on Monday, March 9 in Washington, D.C. to discuss the United States and the European Union’s next steps regarding Russia. As Obama urges European members to meet their NATO commitments on defense spending and take a firmer stance alongside the U.S. in countering Russian influence in Ukraine, Tusk is hesitant to tighten sanctions against Russia before he can build a consensus between the 28 democracies he oversees.

Tusk explained to Obama that he believes Russia is trying to divide EU member countries from one another as well as from the U.S. With some aggressive lobbying from groups in Britain, France, Germany and now a new left-wing government party in Greece, however, Tusk’s task of uniting the 28 democracies is now more difficult

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March 31, 2015

By Catherine Kent

After the Russian rouble nearly halved in value last year because of the oil crash and Western sanctions, Russia’s spending power was greatly diminished. Sectors of the consumer market that relied on Russians with larger amounts of disposable income–international travel and luxury goods –are feeling the squeeze. International travel spending by Russians fell from a steady 20 percent per year increase to a 6 percent decrease in 2014. Turkey, Egypt, and various airlines have felt the loss of the Russian tourists, and responded by cutting prices for hotels and trips, or offering fewer seats on flights to Russia.

Luxury goods companies such as Burberry, Armani, Ulysse Nardin, and Michael Kors also rely heavily on Russian consumers and have taken various responses to counteract the fall in the Russian economy. Russian sales account for around 20-30 percent of many luxury good companies.  French lingerie maker Mairson LeJaby cut 27% of its staff this month, attributing the necessary cut to its loss in Russia’s business, which accounts for 30 percent of its sales. Other companies have chosen to take a loss on profits, and try to wait out the storm.

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March 30, 2015

By Catherine Kent

Talks are ongoing between Iran and the United States, France, Germany, Russia, China, and Britain. In exchange for relief from sanctions that have seriously damaged its economy, Iran will take steps to curtail its nuclear program. U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and Iranian Minister of Foreign Affairs Mohammad Javad Zarif are set to meet again on March 15 in Switzerland to continue their attempt to reach an agreement over future of Iran’s nuclear development. Though Kerry’s last met with Zarif, on Monday, March 2, nothing has yet been agreed upon. Iran, on the other hand, denies seeking atomic weapons, maintaining that its nuclear energy program is strictly peaceful. “The imposed sanctions on Iran are cruel and illegal … lifting all the sanctions is the only way to reach a nuclear deal,” said Ali Shamkhani, secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council. Bilateral and trilateral meetings with the P5+ countries will follow these one-on-ones, and the countries hope to reach a final deal by June 2015.

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March 27, 2015

By Catherine Kent

Thirty years have now passed since North Korea joined the international Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty in 1985. As nuclear weapons have come to the forefront, the rhetoric and hostility between North Korea and the United States has been escalating. It seems, however, that neither the U.S., nor North Korea can gain the upper hand.

The U.S. has made its presence known to the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK), and kept the country on notice that if need be, the U.S. will come to the defense of South Korea. Each year, South Korea hosts joint U.S.-South Korea military exercises. These drills, lasting several weeks, mainly focus on maintaining preparation for a North Korean assault against South Korea. The annual joint exercises do not typically put North Korea in a pleasant mood; in fact, the reaction is generally pretty poor. Last year, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) stated that the U.S. and South Korea would “have to pay a dear price” for the exercises. 

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March 19, 2015

By Catherine Kent

On Monday, Britain’s High Court referred the case of a Russian state-controlled oil group, Rosneft, to the European Court of Justice. Rosneft brought the case against the EU and argued that the sanctions against them by the EU were invalid under a 1994 partnership and co-operation agreement between the EU and Russia. Additionally, Rosneft argues that the sanctions legislation is so unclear and uncertain that they violate general principles of law and the principle of legal certainty. The High Court decided that because the points raised by Rosneft were “at least arguable”, they should be referred to European Court of Justice.   

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February 25, 2015

By Catherine Kent

NITC, Iran’s main oil tanker firm, has been on and off the EU’s blacklist.  With the EU to put NITC back unto the blacklist, NITC sought an urgent injunction on Friday to compel Britain to veto against EU decision. The High Court denied NITC the injunction on Monday, finding merit with Britain’s arguments that a British veto would detract from London’s reliability on the Iranian nuclear issue.

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February 24, 2015

By Catherine Kent

If there are any doubts left, the European Union’s endgame with Russia is peace. Reuters reported that on Monday, European Union foreign ministers decided to allow for a one-week delay before implementing a new round of sanctions against Russia and eastern Ukraine. Because of a recent push for peace by France and Germany, the EU is holding off on adding 19 new individuals and nine new entities to the sanctions list. Depending on how the peace talks go in Belarus, the EU may even choose to cancel this round of sanctions.

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February 23, 2015

By Catherine Kent

The G20 Summit in Brisbane, Australia, which concluded on Sunday, November 16, reportedly had tight security.  Protests were expected  against President Putin and Russia’s alleged involvement in Ukraine. A few days before the summit, Putin remarked that the U.S. sanctions on Russia were a mistake, as they were not only in violation of international trade law, but also undermined trade. When asked if he would bring up the sanctions at the summit, Putin said no, because this would be “pointless.” After the conference ended on Sunday, November 16, (and trade sanctions had not been discussed), Putin commended the summit for its “constructive atmosphere ”.

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December 08, 2014

By Catherine Kent

It is well known that the EU does want Israel to stop building settlements on land that the Palestinians want as their state. Nonetheless, on Monday, November 17, the EU’s foreign policy chief, Federica Mogherini, was forced to publicly deny allegations made in an Israeli newspaper, Haaretz, which allege that it has obtained an internal EU document, listing possible sanctions for the EU to take against Israel if it prevents the Palestinians from forming a state. Ms. Mogherini maintained that all EU discussions regarding Israeli and Palestinian issues are based on an effort to “re-launch a peace process,” and do not involve plans to isolate or sanction any other nation.

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December 05, 2014

By Catherine Kent

Reuters reported on Monday, November 17, that the EU decided to freeze the assets and issue travel bans against more  Ukrainian separatists.  However, the EU declined to impose further sanctions against Russia. With the upsurge in violence in the Ukraine, and NATO’s assertions that Russia has recently sent tanks and troops to eastern Ukraine, the EU is still crafting an appropriate response. With sanctions already in place which have cut off Russia from much of the finance, energy, and defense markets, the EU is deeply divided as to whether they should impose more economic sanctions. Many of the EU member nations fear that further sanctions would harm their own economies. The issue of imposing more sanctions may be set aside until EU leaders meet in Brussels on December 18. 

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December 03, 2014