The West’s consensus for a Ukraine Marshall plan is wrong
by Mat WhatleyPolitico
If solely based on money, a new “Marshall plan” for Ukraine simply won’t work. Yet, this is the consensus among Western nations, which not only misjudged the real scale of the war and its world-wide impact, but now stand to misapply the wrong lessons from the history of post-conflict reconstruction...
Keir Starmer’s peacekeeping plan for Ukraine won’t work
by Mat WhatleyThe Spectator
A decades-long failure to take Vladimir Putin’s warnings at face value has proven dangerously counterproductive. Putin has made it clear that Nato’s eastward expansion is perceived as an existential threat to Russia, using it as justification for his invasion of Ukraine. Despite this, Keir Starmer persists in advocating for Nato peacekeepers in Ukraine – a proposal destined to fail and which risks squandering precious time Ukraine does not have....
Lasting Peace Between Armenia and Azerbaijan Will Reduce Russia’s Influence
by Mat WhatleyForeign policy
Moscow is once again trying to flex its muscle by appointing a new general in Nagorno-Karabakh. Durable peace would derail the Kremlin’s plans....
Why Zelensky reversed his anti-corruption overhaul
by Mat WhatleyThe Spectator
On Tuesday, Volodymyr Zelenskyy approved a law to gut Ukraine’s anti-corruption agencies. On Thursday he backtracked, and said he would put forward new legislation to restore their independence.
Zelensky needs to clamp down on corruption to get a better peace deal
by Mat WhatleyThe Telegraph
Volodymyr Zelensky has partially mended ties with Donald Trump after the Oval Office bust-up. Ukraine has agreed to a ceasefire proposed by the Trump administration; military aid and intelligence sharing have resumed. Things seem to be heading in the right direction...
Tougher sanctions will leave Putin with nowhere to hide
by Mat WhatleyThe Telegraph
A decades-long failure to take Vladimir Putin’s warnings at face value has proven dangerously counterproductive. Putin has made it clear that Nato’s eastward expansion is perceived as an existential threat to Russia, using it as justification for his invasion of Ukraine. Despite this, Keir Starmer persists in advocating for Nato peacekeepers in Ukraine – a proposal destined to fail and which risks squandering precious time Ukraine does not have...
Promoting stability and normality in Georgia
by Mat Whatleygov.uk
In September 2008, responding to the conflict and its aftermath in Georgia, the EU agreed to deploy an unarmed civilian mission to monitor the Brussels-brokered peace agreements. In only two weeks, it deployed more than 200 monitors from 22 member states...
The EU Must Hold Both Azerbaijan and Armenia Accountable
by Mat WhatleyThe National Interest
The EU’s condemnation this week of a video—released now but purportedly recorded a month ago—of Azerbaijani soldiers fighting Armenian civilians at a time when the two countries narrowly averted full-blown war was swift and clear: Azerbaijan must immediately investigate the incident. Yet with blame effectively apportioned before any such investigation, it is a reminder to those who have served and experienced war how the reality is so different from public perception...
Russia’s Last Stand in the Caucasus Is Over
by Mat WhatleyThe National Interest
With the war in Ukraine in its second year, it is easy to pass over the fact that in other parts of the former Soviet Union conflict, both hot and cold, has been ongoing since the early 1990s, mostly at Russia’s instigation. By exploiting a string of unrecognized states and provinces Moscow has maintained influence in its so-called “near abroad” for a generation after its empire’s collapse...
Why is Britain funding Ghana’s Leftist, Russia-sympathising government?
by Mat WhatleyThe Telegraph
How far is too far in post-Brexit re-engagement with the wider world beyond Europe? Despite headlines about European resets, Labour has carried on the Tories’ project of flexing economic and diplomatic muscles from Africa to Asia that many thought had long atrophied...
Fast-tracking Ukraine’s EU accession helps no one — least of all Ukraine
by Mat WhatleyPolitico
U.S. President Donald Trump has forced a binary choice on Ukraine’s supporters. His aggressive push to end the war, at the cost of major Ukrainian concessions, has fueled instability in Kyiv. And in response, Europe has hardened its support, spurring unrealistic policymaking that leaves little room for nuance in the gulf between Brussels and the White House....
Escaping from Russia: Baltic playbook for the South Caucasus
by Mat WhatleySpectator Clingendael
Amid a geopolitical landscape marked by shifting dynamics, Armenia and the wider South Caucasus region find itself standing at a critical crossroads. As Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan recently signalled a shift away from Moscow’s grip, parallels emerge with the Baltic countries’ road towards less Russian influence. Former head of the OSCE Mat Whatley explains how the Baltic playbook could offer a roadmap for Armenia’s escape from Russia’s grip...
World must now save Armenia - Putin's next target for his new empire
by Mat WhatleyDaily Express
He needs a decisive – and crucially, quick – victory. This could come sooner than expected. But it probably won’t be in Ukraine. Instead look south-eastward, to the South Caucasus and another of Russia’s backyards where this week fighting has flared up again between Armenia and Azerbaijan, the deadliest since a fragile ceasefire between those two was brokered by Moscow in 2020...
