Russia Reports (Volume 4) - International Affairs, Putin, Moldova, Transnistria, Ukraine, Georgia, Chechnya, Lithuania, Belarus, Iran, Natural Gas, Energy Policy, Arms Control, Nonproliferation

Seventeen reports, studies, and documents provide special insight into Russian international affairs, with detailed discussions of vital topics which are of particular interest during the ongoing crisis involving Russian aggression against Crimea and the Ukraine. Reports in this compendium: Russian Natural Gas: Regional Dependence * Russian Energy Policy Toward Neighboring Countries * Transnistria: Prospects for a Solution * Russia's Information Policy in Lithuania - The Spread of Soft Power or Information Geopolitics? * Belarus: Is There Any Way Out of The "Kremlin Trap"? * Russia-Georgia Conflict in August 2008: Context and Implications for U.S. Interests * Russia-Georgia Conflict in South Ossetia: Context and Implications for U.S. Interests * Stability in Russia's Chechnya and Other Regions of the North Caucasus: Recent Developments * Russia's 2008 Presidential Succession * Russia's Prospects in Asia * Russia's Invasion of Chechnya: A Preliminary Assessment * Russia, Iran and the Nuclear Question: The Putin Record * Next Steps in Nuclear Arms Control with Russia: Issues for Congress * Nonproliferation and Threat Reduction Assistance: U.S. Programs in the Former Soviet Union * Will Russia End Eastern Europe's Last Frozen Conflict? * China's Rapid Political and Economic Advances in Central Asia and Russia * Does Russian Democracy Have a Future?

Transnistria - Prospects for a Solution - Since 1992, there has been an ongoing debate regarding the situation in Transnistria. After the conclusion of the agreement that ended the armed conflict, Chisinau and Tiraspol made efforts to find a political solution, under the supervision of a negotiation mechanism that included, until recently, Russia, Ukraine and OSCE. Russia's last plan to that end was rejected by the Moldovan leadership. This triggered a set of political and economic punishments by Moscow. The political context of the last two years has given a new impetus to the negotiations on the resolution of the Transnistrian conflict. The changes in Georgia and Ukraine and the resuscitation of GUAM have significantly influenced the premises for a settlement, while the US and the EU have become observers in the negotiation mechanism. In spite of these evolutions (or maybe as a result of them), the prospects to reach a solution in the short term are slim, as the present negotiating mechanism continues to lose importance. This paper argues that the decisions of the actors involved have affected negatively the evolution of this mechanism, and that the parties appear to continue undertaking unilateral steps that they perceive might improve their position in the future or might defend the actual status-quo.