Eurasia: heading to a new economic powerhouse, European elections: radicals on the rise, Petr Poroshenko: is he a president of war? These hot issues hosts Sergei Strokan and Julia Lyubova are discussing at the Voice of Russia's weekly program Red Line.
BEYOND THE HEADLINES
Eurasia: heading to a new economic powerhouse
Leaders of Russia, Kazakhstan and Belarus met in Kazakhstan’s capital of Astana to sign a landmark treaty on the establishment of Eurasian Economic Union, starting Jan.1, 2015. The treaty paves the way for the creation of a common market of three ex-Soviet republics with the total population of 170 mln people – an ambitious integration project for post-Soviet Eurasia.
Prominent experts, Sergei Oznobishev, director of the Institute for Strategic Assessment, Ivan Safranchuk, editor-in-chief of the "Great game: politics, business and security in Central Asia", and Alexander Lukin, vice-chancellor, of the Diplomatic Academy, shared their opinion with the Voice of Russia.
BETWEEN THE LINES
European elections: radicals on the rise
The results of the elections to European parliament came as a shock to the leadership of the European Union. A strong performance of radicals and eurosceptics showed that Europeans are getting increasingly disappointed with the idea of pan-European home. The outcome of the vote is described as a critical test for the EU, which was initially seen as a land of milk and honey by the citizens of the European continent.
Sergei Oznobishev, Director of Institute for Strategic Assessment, Soren Liborius, Spokesman and Head of Press and Information Delegation of the European Union to Russia, and Marc Pierini, EU career diplomat and a visiting scholar at Carnegie Europe, shared their views on this development with the Voice of Russia.
MAN IN THE NEWS
Petr Poroshenko: is he a president of war?
The election of billionaire Petr Poroshenko as the new President of Ukraine was followed by intensified military crackdown in rebellious Donetsk region. In his first statement after claiming victory in the polls Mr. Poroshenko promised to pay his first visit to troubled region while pledging to crush separatists with iron fist. On its part, Moscow warned that military offensive can hardly set the stage for the much-awaited dialogue between Kiev and country’s eastern regions.
Sergei Oznobishev, Director of Institute for Strategic Assessment, and Arkady Moshes, Director of EU Eastern neighborhood and Russia Program of Finnish Institute of International Affairs, shared their opinion on the situation with the Voice of Russia.