Vladimir Putin

• June 3, 2022

This week, our focus is on the continuing efforts of the United Nations to reduce civilian casualties in different pockets of unrest across the globe. You are reading This Week @UN, summarizing the most pressing issues before the organization. The information is gathered from UN press briefings, PassBlue reporting and other sources. This week, …

Africa, Disarmament, General Assembly, Humanitarian Aid, International Justice, Secretary-General, Security Council, This Week @UN

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Ukraine’s UN Envoy on Russia’s War and the Significance of ‘Swan Lake’

Dawn Clancy

• April 11, 2022

When he needs to unwind amid Russia’s disastrous invasion of his country, Sergiy Kyslytsya, Ukraine’s ambassador to the United Nations, takes long bike rides in Manhattan with his dog, Dezi (Dez, for short), a sprightly Jack Russell terrier. Her name is a riff on the title of Max Ehrmann’s poem “Desiderata,” which means something …

Peace and Security, Refugees, Security Council

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In Russia’s War, Ukraine’s Cultural Strengths Are Now Targets

Barbara Crossette

• March 30, 2022

In Europe and around the world, the landmark drama theater in the Ukrainian city of Mariupol will long be associated with crimes against humanity, whether or not a formal trial of the Russians who bombed it is ever held. At least 300 people, including many children — the final toll is not known — …

Peace and Security

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Who Is Putin the ‘Butcher’? The Enigma Around Him Persists

Dawn Clancy

• March 29, 2022

Vladimir Putin could be likened to a Rubik’s cube, a puzzle of a man who remains impossible to fully solve. As he unleashed his “special military operation” five weeks ago, to “de-Nazify” and “demilitarize” Ukraine, President Putin remains an enigma. While each day of his war against his Western neighbor leaves mounting casualties, piles …

Peace and Security

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WORLDVIEWS

Where Is the UN’s Guterres?

Stephen Schlesinger

• March 15, 2022

It is long overdue for United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres to intervene more forcefully in Russia’s war on Ukraine and use his good offices to try to forge a cease-fire and work out a final settlement on this nightmarish conflict. We have reached a perilous moment when any number of incidents may spin out …

Peace and Security, Secretary-General, WORLDVIEWS

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WORLDVIEWS

Putin Can Be Charged Personally for Carnage in Ukraine, Legal Experts Say

Yasuhiro Ueki

• March 7, 2022

Russia’s unprovoked military attack on Ukraine meets the definition of “act of aggression,” as defined by the International Criminal Court. The Rome Statute, which is the legal basis of the ICC, states in its Article 8 bis 2 that an “act of aggression means the use of armed force by a State against the …

WORLDVIEWS

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Putin Wants to Reunite Ukraine With Russia as He Faces Mortality

Stephen Schlesinger

• February 22, 2022

President Vladimir Putin is now 69 years old and he has been in office for almost 22 years, so he is starting to face his mortality: witness his two-year effort to isolate himself from Covid and holding meetings at comically long tables. He is frantic to resolve the problem of Ukraine before he dies. …

Peace and Security, Security Council

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What to Expect From This Year’s UN General Assembly, So Far

Stéphanie Fillion

• September 7, 2021

This year’s United Nations General Assembly could make or break the future of in-person meetings at the gathering in New York City. After a year of carefully negotiating, adapting and crafting health guidelines, UNGA organizers are hoping to avoid a repeat of last year’s first, almost entirely virtual, gathering. But the threat of the …

Africa, Asia, General Assembly, Latin America, Middle East, Secretary-General, Security Council, UNGA76, US-UN Relations

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WORLDVIEWS

Trump’s Mysterious Relationship With Putin

Stephen Schlesinger

• September 14, 2020

After President Trump’s nearly four years in office, we still do not have a good answer as to why the president has repeatedly deferred to Vladimir Putin on major issues. This is a central question that we face as a country, especially its consequences for American policies on Ukrainian sanctions, on the issue of …

US Foreign Relations, WORLDVIEWS

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UN75

Who Knew? Putin Loves the United Nations

Stephen Schlesinger

• June 24, 2020

It turns out that Vladimir Putin is a history buff. He has just written a lengthy piece for the American magazine National Interest, titled “The Real Lessons of the 75th Anniversary of World War 2″ and published on June 18. In his assessment, Putin reviews the events leading to the second world war, including the …

UN75

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GEOPOLITICS

Russia in Africa and Frank Talk on Feminist Foreign Policies: Our Latest Podcast Episode

Stéphanie Fillion and Kacie Candela

• November 20, 2019

African summits may be in vogue worldwide, and Russia’s recent summit in Sochi in late October was no exception. A PassBlue correspondent, Joe Penney, traveled to the Black Sea resort to report on President Vladimir Putin’s pitch to African leaders, as he promoted a second African independence, this time a financial one, with offers …

Africa, Gender Violence, Geopolitics, US Foreign Relations

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SECURITY COUNCIL PRESIDENCY

Russia Is Busy as Security Council President, but Putin Is Staying Home

Stéphanie Fillion

• September 4, 2019

Russia is president of the United Nations Security Council in September just as nearly 200 heads of state and government and even a prince or two will soon travel to New York City to attend the opening session of the General Assembly. President Vladimir Putin will not be taking part in any event this …

Nuclear Disarmament, Security Council Presidency, US Foreign Relations

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Strongmen to Kick Off the UN General Assembly Session in September

Stéphanie Fillion

• August 14, 2019

Donald Trump will shake hands with Emmanuel Macron, Jair Bolsonaro and Abdel Fattah el-Sisi. But will Benjamin Netanyahu; Boris Johnson and Angela Merkel be there, too? The 74th opening debate of the United Nations General Assembly, which starts on Sept.17 and ends on Sept. 30; the general debate begins on Sept. 24. With most …

Climate Change, General Assembly, US-UN Relations

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UNGA72

Myanmar, North Korea, Gender Parity: Guterres Highlights the Topics of the UN Debate

Dulcie Leimbach

• September 13, 2017

António Guterres, the secretary-general of the United Nations, said the top two problems he would highlight the most at the opening session of the General Assembly next week were Myanmar’s rapidly unfolding humanitarian disaster and North Korea’s nuclear-weapons provocations. “The humanitarian situation is catastrophic,” Guterres said at a media briefing on Sept. 13 at …

Secretary-General

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UN Puts on Big To-Do, Amid Tight Security, for Signing of New Climate Agreement

Dulcie Leimbach

• April 22, 2016

The United Nations threw a large and lavish party at its headquarters in New York on Earth Day, the opening day of the signing ceremony for the world’s new climate agreement. About 170 heads of state and government representatives came to inscribe their names, in alphabetical order by country, in the General Assembly Hall, …