🔔BiEPAG member @dimitarbechev.bsky.social for @carnegieeurope.bsky.social "The #WesternBalkans are on the path to become a net contributor to EU security, but much more needs to be done. The 3 NATO members - Albania, North Macedonia, and Montenegro - should lead the way. tinyurl.com/29cd6fj7

Amazing. The architect and urban planner who built Islamabad, Pakistan's capital, was born in Bulgaria. Constantinos Doxiadis came from a Greek family in Stenimachos (Assenovgrad) in 1913, moving to Greece two years after. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constan...

New: Trump cancelled his Budapest summit with Putin after a Russian memo to Washington holding firm to hardline demands on Ukraine was swiftly followed by a tense call between Rubio and Lavrov. Moscow would not negotiate. w/ @maxseddon.bsky.social @a-mackinnon.bsky.social www.ft.com/content/d665...

“The fate of China, whose maritime gates have for a century been sagging under the pressure of the West and are now being battered down by Japan, will largely be determined by what happens at the inland gates that open toward, or from, Central Eurasia and Siberia.” Owen Lattimore in 1935.

Charles King writing more than 20 years ago. The Black Sea: A History (Oxford UP: 2004), p. 4.

Up there with the historic Delors one.

The last survivor of the Crimean War died in 2004. "Timothy" spent 40 years in the Navy. After retirement, having moved in with the Earl of Devon, she revealed she was a girl. She would wander round his garden wearing a sign that said. "My name is Timothy. I am very old. Pease do not pick me up".

The closing chapter in my forthcoming book The Scramble for Europe: Russia, China and Turkey Challenging Regional Order discusses rearmament @oxfordacademic.bsky.social

Indian Oil Corp resumed buying Russian crude purchasing five cargoes from non-sanctioned entities for December delivery despite US pressure to stop, while other major Indian refiners paused purchases after sanctions on Rosneft and Lukoil, Reuters reports. www.reuters.com/business/ene...

Listened to an old episode on @restisclassified.bsky.social on Russia's Bulgarian spy ring in the UK. At some point, @gordoncorera.bsky.social & D. McClosley struggle with the surname "Dzhambazov".It actually comes from the Persian jānbāz /جانباز (veteran) -> Turkish cambaz (daredevil/acrobat)

"Saying buccaneering a lot" - Ganesh is in top form!

My new piece: New measures from the United States and European Union confirm why Russian energy exports were always a double-edged sword. foreignpolicy.com/2025/10/29/p...

The Western Balkans' defense industry can contribute to Europe's security. But first, governments must modernize their militaries, attract investment, & gradually integrate into the EU's initiatives, say @dimitarbechev.bsky.social & @ilirianagjoni.bsky.social. carnegieendowment.org/europe/strat...

⚡️Ukrainian drones target Moscow in overnight attack, mayor says. Moscow's Domodedovo and Zhukovsky airports have temporarily suspended operations in response to the drone threat.

A Chinese LNG tanker owned by Pacific Gas was spotted receiving fuel from a sanctioned Russian vessel off Malaysia, the first documented case of a Chinese ship assisting blacklisted Russian LNG transport, Bloomberg reported. www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

BIG NEWS if true: the Commission looks to have found a solution to use the frozen 🇷🇺 assets to fund 🇺🇦! www.politico.eu/article/eu-d...

The EU is about as likely to break up economic ties with Israel as Middle Eastern countries severing relations with Russia.

Interesting article. Paradoxically, Tufan Erhürman's victory in the presidential election in Northern Cyprus against the candidate supported by the AKP could benefit Ankara, which has not abandoned the negotiating table and intends to improve its relations with Europe. t24.com.tr/yazarlar/bar...

Trump and Putin do what they know best: smoke and mirrors. open.substack.com/pub/scramble...

Check out Dr. Dimitar Bechev’s latest piece on Trump and Putin relations. atlasthink.org/the-trump-pu... by @dimitarbechev.bsky.social

Among the consequences of Ukrainian migration to Central and SE Europe is the cross-pollination btw Ukrainian and Russian and local Slavic languages. Just came across an example by a Russophone Ukrainian from Primorsk (Zaporizhiya) living in Sofia. "Жду на спирке" (остановке).

Just another day in Sofia. Source: www.facebook.com/share/p/19sE...

Алло, Адольф Алоизович? Это Рузвельт беспокоит. Тут Сталин звонил, просил какой-то «лендлиз». Как думаете, давать им его или нет? — Ни в коем случае, Франклин Джеймсович! Это не повлияет на ход войны! — Ну, ладно, так и сделаю, всего хорошего! — Привет Элеоноре Эллиотовне!

A programme on Algerian pop music. Gotta love Bulgarian National Radio.

A great piece by @massdara.bsky.social (also interviewed on @foreignaffairs.com podcast by Dan Kurtz-Phelan). Highlights a problem w/ analysis on Russia which oscillates between extremes. The Russian military is not an unstoppable filghting machine but nor is it a paper tiger.

Coming to you from Oxford University Press in 2026.

Outrage one day, admiration the next. Vučić’s reaction to Turkey's drone sales to Kosovo captures the fragile pragmatism holding Serbia–Turkey relations together. ✍️ My latest in Balkan Insight: balkaninsight.com/2025/10/10/t...

New in Advance Articles: War and Eurasia’s Ethnic Boundaries: Chinese Intellectuals on the Russian Invasion of Ukraine by Ed Pulford 👉 doi.org/10.1525/cpcs...

Trump is pursuing a thaw in ties with Belarus, but the chance of these efforts paying strategic dividends is slim.

The Western left is ridden by Trump envy, not Trump derangement. It's like "Wait a second, it is us that were supposed to be the disruptors of established order! Why did we fail?!"

My substack - Scramble for Europe - is now on. Do subscribe. open.substack.com/pub/scramble...

Turkey’s flagship carrier Turkish Airlines plans to launch direct flights to Armenia, as Ankara steps up efforts to normalize relations with its neighbor after decades of hostility. www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

My latest piece for @foreignpolicy.com Erdogan’s visit to Washington showed that the United States and Turkey just don’t need each other as much as they used to. foreignpolicy.com/2025/09/30/t...

atlasthink.org/how-rock-sol... by @dimitarbechev.bsky.social

Are markets the last check on Turkey’s democratic credentials? I will ask just that in our live webcast today. Tune in below:

🇷🇺 🇺🇦 U.S.-funded research has identified more than 210 sites where Ukrainian children have been taken for military training, drone manufacturing and other forced re-education by #Russia, as part of a large-scale deportation programme. www.reuters.com/world/europe... #Ukraine #RussianWarCrimes

US President Donald Trump finally labeled Russia the aggressor in the war against Ukraine, further demonstrating a hardening of his position toward Moscow.

This escalation has been expected by many of us since at least the point when it became clear that Trump would be re-elected. I hope European NATO has a plan to respond, given the ample warning they've had to develop one, because this won't be a one-off. 🧵

Moscow sends “a big delegation” to Syria to woo the government that toppled its ole buddy Assad. If they can make friends with the Taliban, anything is possible. www.reuters.com/world/middle...

I cannot recommend enough the Brzeziński biography by @edwardluce.bsky.social It is a riveting read: rich, thorough, well-informed and erudite. Ed Luce made me read some of Zbig's own books, notably The Soviet Bloc: Unity and Conflict (1960).

One less contract for Timchenko

Good thread. My 5c: globalisation has not reduced the importance of physical space in international politics. In fact, connectivity at the global scale means the maritime domain plays a key role.Not much new, except possibly data cables laid on the seabed. Though: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transat...

atlasthink.org/natos-hague-... by @dimitarbechev.bsky.social

The Black Sea is pivotal in Russia's war against Ukraine and the wider standoff between Moscow & the West. To counter the Russian threat in the region, the EU has adopted a new strategy & Turkey is building up its capabilities, says @dimitarbechev.bsky.social. carnegieendowment.org/europe/strat...

Russia has decided to watch the Israel-Iran fight from the sidelines because (1) it is too weak to make a difference, (2) its priority is subjugating Ukraine, (3) it values ties to Israel and wants to restore balance, and (4) Iran isn't as useful anymore.

The Georgian & Serbian leaders' pivots away from the EU accession path show the bloc's waning appeal. To keep #enlargement on track, the EU should focus on candidate countries that are making genuine progress toward membership, says @dimitarbechev.bsky.social. carnegieendowment.org/research/202...

ℹ️Our BiEPAG Member @dimitarbechev.bsky.social is one of the authors of the latest Carnegie Europe article on #Kosovo and the various obstacles on its EU path. 🔹 Overcoming Inertia in Kosovo Read the whole analysis and potential scenarios and ways forward👇 #Kosovo #EU #EUEnlargement

"membership is only one option.... countries like Georgia and Serbia can change over time and recommit. But in the meantime, the EU should devote its limited resources to those candidates that are fulfilling its conditions." - @dimitarbechev.bsky.social carnegieendowment.org/research/202...

Noteworthy remarks from the ANF interview with Cemil Bayik: 1) PKK's May 12 announcement of disbandment is perceived as the beginning of the 2nd phase of Kurdish resistance. Bayik sees the first phase as a successful effort to build the "Kurdish identity, Kurdish people and Kurdish society".

A podcast Joe Nye recorded recently.