'Under Putin, Russia has failed to democratize and modernize its economy'
Following the May 19 phone call between US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin regarding Ukraine, the Russian leader stated that Moscow "supports a peaceful settlement of the Ukraine crisis" but repeated that the "root causes" of the conflict must be eliminated. Putin depicts root causes based on a fictitious and revanchist narrative that Ukraine belongs to Russia and that American and European efforts to protect Ukraine's sovereignty pose an existential threat. His recent statement signals that Putin intends to continue to spin history to make implausible demands on Ukraine; avoid meaningful negotiations; and use force to subjugate, neutralize and demilitarize the country.
Russia's invasion of Ukraine was a war of choice. History will show that the Kremlin's decision to attack a sovereign nation in the middle of Europe in the 21 st century was rooted in systemic corruption that drives Russia toward aggression – against Ukraine, against the international liberal rules-based order, and against democracy itself.
Under Putin, Russia has failed to democratize and modernize its economy. Despite considerable natural resources, technological know-how and human capital, the country is unable to build industries that can compete globally based on international rules, including those of the World Trade Organization that Russia joined in 2012. Instead, Russia's institutions are captured by an oligarchy that extracts the nation's wealth both to enrich itself and monopolize political power.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
LeMonde
an hour ago
- LeMonde
'The simultaneous rise of the far right and persistently sluggish growth in Europe is striking'
This is not a tidal wave, but rather a slow and steady advance. From south to north, far-right parties are making progress across Europe. If current trends continue, a particularly cynical statistician might hazard the following prediction: Within five to 10 years, Nigel Farage (Reform UK) will be in power in the United Kingdom, Alice Weidel (Alternative für Deutschland, AfD) in Germany and Marine Le Pen (Rassemblement National, RN) in France. A grim but unlikely trio? Not so sure. The magnitude of the phenomenon – which should preoccupy both center-right and center-left parties – demands attention. How did this happen? And why? The latest elections have been telling. In Poland, Portugal and Romania, protest-driven far-right parties have come close to first or second place. In early May, during a series of local elections in England, Reform UK dealt a defeat to Labour under Prime Minister Keir Starmer and outpaced the opposition Conservatives, the Tories, led by Kemi Badenoch. Brexit in 2016 failed to deliver on any of its promises – in fact, quite the opposite – but one of its most notorious standard-bearers, Farage, has returned to the heart of British politics. In France, the Rassemblement National is the party with the largest number of MPs in the Assemblée Nationale – and is best positioned for the first round of the 2027 French presidential election. On a national-populist, euroskeptic and Putin-friendly platform, Robert Fico once again heads the Slovak government. In Northern Europe, protest movements sometimes take part in governing coalitions. In Italy, far-right Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has struck a shrewd balance: tough on immigration, pro-European, supportive of Ukraine and on good terms with Donald Trump. Frequent hostility toward the EU The image of a uniform rise of the far right, with the same causes and actors defending the same agenda, must be qualified. National differences matter. The cocktail of right-wing populism is mixed differently from one country to another. The sense of being outnumbered by immigrants is often assumed to be universal. Yet Romania and Slovakia, for example, suffer more from emigration than immigration.
Euronews
3 hours ago
- Euronews
Stampede at cricket stadium in India kills 11 and injures dozens
US President Donald Trump is moving to block nearly all foreign students from entering the country to attend Harvard University. The move is the latest attack of the incumbent administration against the US' oldest and wealthiest university. This latest attempt seeks to choke the Ivy League school from an international pipeline that accounts for a quarter of the student body. In an executive order signed on Wednesday, Trump declared that it would jeopardise national security to allow Harvard to continue hosting foreign students on its campus in Cambridge, Massachusetts. 'I have determined that the entry of the class of foreign nationals described above is detrimental to the interests of the United States because, in my judgment, Harvard's conduct has rendered it an unsuitable destination for foreign students and researchers,' Trump wrote in the order. It's a further escalation in the White House's feud with the university. A federal court blocked the Department of Homeland Security from barring international students at Harvard last week. Trump's new order however invokes a different legal authority. Trump invoked a broad federal law that gives the president authority to block foreigners whose entry would be 'detrimental to the interests of the United States.' He used the same authority when announcing that citizens of 12 countries would be banned from visiting the US and those from seven others would face restrictions, in what some are calling a resurrection of his infamous first term's 'Muslim ban'. Trump's Harvard order cites several other laws, too, including one barring foreigners associated with terrorist organisations. In a statement on Wednesday night, Harvard said it will continue to protect its international students. 'This is yet another illegal retaliatory step taken by the Administration in violation of Harvard's First Amendment rights,' university officials said. The feud stems from Harvard's refusal to submit to a series of demands made by the federal government. It has escalated recently after the Department of Homeland Security said the Ivy League school refused to provide records related to misconduct by foreign students. Harvard says it has complied with the request, but the White House snapped back saying the school's response was insufficient. The dispute has been building for months after the Trump administration demanded a series of policy and governance changes at Harvard, calling it a 'hotbed of liberalism' and accusing it of tolerating anti-Jewish harassment. Harvard defied the demands, saying they violated the university's autonomy and represented a threat to the freedom of all US universities and higher education institutions. For foreign students already at Harvard – around 6,800 currently enrolled – Trump says US Secretary of State Marco Rubio will determine whether or not their visas should be revoked. The new order is scheduled to last six months. The Trump administration also reserves the right to renew the order, and will make a decision on the matter within 90 days. At least 11 people were killed and close to three dozen others were injured in a stampede outside a cricket stadium in southern India's Karnataka state, as crowds rushed to enter the grounds, according to authorities. The crush happened as tens of thousands of cricket fans gathered outside the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru city to celebrate the winners of the Indian Premier League, the world's most popular T20 cricket tournament. Karnataka state's Chief Minister Siddaramaiah – who only uses one name – said the crowd tried to break one of the stadium's gates and enter to take part in the celebrations. Eleven people were killed and 33 others were injured, said Siddaramaiah, adding that most of the injured were stable and receiving treatment in hospitals. 'At a time of celebration, this unfortunate event should not have happened. We are saddened by this,' he told reporters. "No one expected this crowd,' he said. Cricket fans had come out to celebrate Royal Challengers Bengaluru's first Indian Premier League title win. The team had given away free passes to fans for the event through its website, and urged them to follow guidelines set by police and authorities. The team in a statement said it was 'deeply anguished.' Local Indian media outlets showed some people stretched out on the ground and emergency personnel carrying people into ambulances, while celebrations inside the stadium continued. Deputy chief minister of Karnataka state, D.K. Shivakumar, told reporters that 'the crowd was very uncontrollable." The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), which organises the Indian Premier League (IPL) called the incident 'unfortunate' in a statement. 'This is a negative side of popularity. People are crazy for their cricketers. The organisers should have planned it better,' said Devajit Saikia. Secretary of the BCCI. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi called the incident 'heartrending' and said his 'thoughts are with all those who have lost their loved ones.' Stampedes are relatively common in India when large crowds gather. In January, at least 30 people were killed as tens of thousands of Hindus rushed to bathe in a sacred river during the Maha Kumbh festival, the world's largest religious gathering. US President Donald Trump resurrected his travel ban policy from his first term, signing a proclamation on Wednesday night that will prevent people from 12 countries from entering the United States. The list includes Afghanistan, Myanmar, Chad, the Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen. In addition to the ban, which takes effect at midnight next Monday, heightened restrictions will be imposed on visitors from Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan and Venezuela. 'I must act to protect the national security and national interest of the United States and its people,' Trump said in his proclamation. The list results from an executive order the US President issued on his inauguration day – January 20 – requiring the Departments of State and Homeland Security, as well as the Director of National Intelligence, to compile a report on 'hostile attitudes' toward the US and whether entry from certain countries represents a national security risk. During his first term, Trump issued an executive order in January 2017 banning travel to the US by citizens of seven Muslim-majority countries — Iraq, Syria, Iran, Sudan, Libya, Somalia and Yemen. It was one of the most chaotic and confusing moments of his first term in office. Travellers from those nations were either barred from getting on their flights to the US or detained at US airports after landing. They included students and faculty as well as businesspeople, tourists and people visiting friends and family. The order, often referred to as the 'Muslim ban', was retooled amid legal challenges until a version was upheld by the Supreme Court in 2018. The ban affected various categories of travellers and immigrants from Iran, Somalia, Yemen, Syria, Libya, North Korea, and some Venezuelan government officials and their families. Trump and others have defended the initial ban on national security grounds, arguing it was aimed at protecting the country and not founded on anti-Muslim bias. However, the US president had called for an explicit ban on Muslims during his first campaign for the White House.
France 24
3 hours ago
- France 24
Iranians' World Cup dream crushed by US travel ban
The 2026 tournament will be co-hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico, but most matches, including the final, are scheduled to be played on American soil. Many in Iran had clung to hopes of cheering from the stands until Wednesday when US President Donald Trump rolled out a new travel ban on 12 countries including Iran, which will take effect from Monday. "My friends and I have been waiting for years to watch Team Melli (a nickname for the national team) play in a World Cup on US soil, and when they qualified, it felt like a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity," Sohrab Naderi, a real estate agent in Tehran, told AFP. "Now with the new travel ban, that dream is shattered because of politics that we don't care about and have no control over," said the 46-year-old who attended the 2022 World Cup in Qatar which saw the US side defeat Iran 1-0 in the group stage. The prospect of Iran competing in a US-hosted tournament comes against the backdrop of a decades-long enmity, with diplomatic ties broken since the 1979 Islamic revolution. The two sides are currently engaged in high-stakes talks over Iran's nuclear programme, with the United States threatening military action if no deal can be reached. 'Degrading to all Iranians' Trump said the new travel ban was prompted by a makeshift flamethrower attack on a Jewish protest in Colorado that US authorities blamed on a man they said was in the country illegally. The ban will not apply to athletes competing in either the 2026 World Cup or the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, the order said. Nonetheless, supporters who had dreamed of crossing the Atlantic to cheer on their team will no longer be able to make the trip. "Every Iranian has the right to support their team, just as much as any other country, whether the game is in America or in any other country," said Hasti Teymourpour, a 16-year-old football fan. Since his return to office in January, Trump has reinstated his "maximum pressure" policy of sanctions against Iran and vowed that "something bad" would happen unless the Iranians "move quickly" towards a nuclear deal. Naderi, who called the ban "inhumane" and "degrading to all Iranians", still hopes the Iran-US nuclear talks will yield a deal that might persuade Trump to reconsider. The outcome of the US-Iran talks that began in April remains unclear, and many fans worry that even if they result in a deal, it may be too late for them. Some Iranians have refused to give up hope, however, seeing in the World Cup an opportunity to thaw relations. "Sports diplomacy can act as a strong catalyst and bring the efforts of political diplomats to fruition sooner," said political commentator Mohammad Reza Manafi. It could be "a great opportunity to help advance diplomacy between the two countries". Friendly? In a memorable 1998 World Cup clash, Iranian players handed flowers to their American adversaries and posed together for photos -- a rare public gesture of goodwill between the nations. Iran won 2–1, a victory celebrated in Tehran as a source of both sporting and political pride. With the 2026 draw expected in December, it remains unclear whether Iran and the United States will face off again, but anticipation is building. "The two countries are not hostile to each other, this political discussion is for the governments," said 44-year-old day labourer Siamak Kalantari. Another fan, Mahdieh Olfati, said: "If we face the US again, we'll definitely win." "Ours are real players," the 18-year-old added. Manafi, the commentator, said a friendly before the tournament, possibly hosted by a third country, could help ease tensions. Such a game, he said, could help "achieve what politicians from both sides have not managed to do for years".
