Amb. Venkatesh Varma analyzes the factors of stability in the India-Russia relationship and outlines how the conflict in Ukraine is seen from New Delhi.  

Amb. Venkatesh Varma was a Member of the Indian Foreign Service from 1988 to 2021. During his diplomatic career, he has worked in the Ministry of External Affairs, in the Office of External Affairs Minister and in the Prime Minister’s Office. He served as India’s Ambassador to Conference on Disarmament in Geneva, to the Kingdom of Spain and to the Russian Federation, until October 2021.

Marlene Laruelle and Vuk Vuksanovic discuss the sources of Russian soft power and the Kremlin’s flexible tactics of projecting influence abroad. The discussion focuses in particular on the Balkans, where local actors play a significant role in amplifying Russian narratives.  

Marlene Laruelle is Director and Research Professor at the Institute for European, Russian and Eurasian Studies (IERES), Elliott School of International Affairs, The George Washington University.  

Vuk Vuksanovic is a senior researcher at the Belgrade Centre for Security Policy (BCSP) and an associate at LSE IDEAS, a foreign policy think tank within the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE).

Edward Fishman presents his insights on how sanctions became the preferred U.S. policy response to Russian aggression in 2014 and 2022, followed by Adam Stulberg’s discussion of the theoretical considerations that factor into the sanctions-related policy calculus.  

Edward Fishman is an Adjunct Senior Fellow at the Center for a New American Security, a Nonresident Senior Fellow at the Atlantic Council, and an Adjunct Professor of International and Public of Affairs at Columbia University.  

Adam Stulberg is a Professor and Co-Director of the Center for International Strategy, Technology, and Policy (CISTP) in the Sam Nunn School of International Affairs.

Panelists Rose Gottemoeller, Sam Charap, David Holloway, and Siegfried Hecker discuss the possible outcomes of the war in Ukraine as well as its grave implications for strategic stability and the global nuclear order.

Liana Fix explains the international and domestic factors that have shaped Germany’s policy approach toward Russia since the 1990s, particularly in the spheres of security, energy, and conflict resolution.  

Dr. Liana Fix is a Program Director at the International Affairs department of Koerber Foundation in Berlin and a former resident fellow in GMF’s Washington office. She is a historian and political scientist, and her work focuses on Russia and Eastern Europe, European security, arms control, and German foreign policy.  

The event is moderated by Michael Kimmage.

Galip Dalay and Hanna Notte discuss Turkey’s geopolitical balancing act between the West and Russia, focusing on the cooperation and competition between Moscow and Ankara in such aspects as defense, energy, and conflict resolution.

Nikolay Kozhanov, Research Associate Professor at Qatar University’s Gulf Studies Center, presents his analysis of how MENA countries have perceived Russia’s role in the region since 1991.

Thomas Graham, distinguished fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, analyzes the two main pillars of U.S. policy toward Russia after 1991, explaining each administration’s rationale for following the grand strategy and how it led to crisis.

This event was recorded via Zoom on July 8, 2022 as part of the Monterey Summer Symposium on Russia. 

Alexander Gabuev, Senior Fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, discusses the foundations of the Russia-China relationship and its evolution against the background of the conflict in Ukraine.

This event was recorded via Zoom on July 8, 2022 as part of the Monterey Summer Symposium on Russia. 

Henry Wang, Founder and President of Center for China and Globalization, speaks about the historical and current conditions that shaped the Russia-China partnership and proposes a multilateral path toward peace in Ukraine. The event is moderated by Alexander Gabuev.

This event was recorded on July 8, 2022 as part of the Monterey Summer Symposium on Russia.