The European Parliament has proposed August 23 as a common remembrance day of the victims of totalitarian regimes in a Resolution on European conscience and totalitarianism which was adopted today by a very large majority. The Resolution, which was originally initiated by EPP-ED Members Jana Hybáškova (Czech Republic ), Tunne Kelam (Estonia ) and József Szájer (Hungary ), is an historical breakthrough. Following the plenary debate on 25 March 2009, the adoption of this Resolution is the first formal and full acknowledgement of the evils of communism by the European Parliament...

WITH A FIRST presidential meeting set for this week between Barack Obama and Russia's Dmitry Medvedev, it appears that the two sides may have different ideas of what to expect from the "reset" in relations that the Obama administration has promised . The Russian view seems to be that the resetting has to come primarily from the Americans...

The European Union's announcement that it will finance the modernization of Ukraine's gas pipeline system has sparked fresh tensions with Russia, whose state-run gas behemoth now looks like the odd man out as EU companies get set to propel the project forward. Prime Minister Vladimir Putin was among the first Russian officials to respond to the news of the EU-Ukraine agreement. His reaction left little room for ambiguity...

On Monday, 16 March 2009, a U.S. high-level bipartisan commission ( Hart-Hagel Commission) recommended that the new American administration reach out to Russia in a number of ways, including the withdrawal of support for NATO membership for Ukraine and Georgia. It recommended that the American government accept that "neither Ukraine nor Georgia is ready for NATO membership," and that the United States does not now have "a compelling security interest" in NATO membership for either country. Should this recommendation prevail in U.S. foreign policy...

On April 3-4, 2009, a NATO Summit of Heads of State and Government will be held in Baden-Baden and Kehl, Germany, and in Strasbourg, France. The issues of security for the states of the Alliance as well as the future chartered course of NATO will dominate the discussions at the Summit. During the consultations regarding the armed military conflicts and energy security issues which have arisen since the last NATO Summit in Bucharest, the NATO allies must find strength and resolve in their consideration of Ukraine's geo-strategic interests and security guarantees...

The contemporary history of Ukraine is the history of a European state which is committed to sharing and protecting the common values and responsibilities of its European family, promoting peace and security, and further strengthening the Euro-Atlantic area. A course towards integration into the Euro-Atlantic security structures and future NATO membership is one of the key foreign policy priorities of Ukraine. This strategic course is written...

Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin has said a gas plan presented by Ukraine to the European Union is "ill-considered and unprofessional." Putin's comments came after the EU promised 2.5 billion euros on March 23 to help upgrade Ukraine's aging gas-pipeline network in exchange for a pledge from Kyiv for greater transparency in its energy sector. Speaking to reporters in Sochi, Putin said Moscow would have to review its relations with European partners should its interests be ignored in continued talks between the EU and Ukraine over gas supplies. "The document that we're talking about is ill-considered and unprofessional...

Russia on Tuesday postponed indefinitely talks with Ukraine on a number of economic and trade issues in apparent reaction to the country’s plans for closer cooperation with the European Union in the energy sector. Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko planned to visit Moscow in early April for the talks with her Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin, but the meeting will now be postponed, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said. “We must consider postponing the talks,” Medvedev said...

Brussels - Russia's energy minister on Monday accused the European Union and Ukraine of going behind his country's back and putting Europe's energy supplies at risk by drawing up a joint declaration on modernizing Ukraine's gas transit network. 'A unilateral approach, not taking on board suppliers' interests, would lead to a skewed system. The system would have to be radically reviewed, which could lead to serious damage...

From 1920 to 1990, the Soviet Union was governed by totalitarian communists whose regime was inspired and legitimized by the writings of Marx, Engels, Lenin, Stalin and the numerous state-supported commentators who followed them. These writers believed that “scientific Marxism” (as they variously defined it) explained all aspects of human history and culture, including the origin and development of religion, kinship, ethnicity, nations and empires, as well as the dynamics of the economy, politics, the arts and psychology...