The British Ambassador to the United States Explains How Russia Sanctions Were Coordinated

I caught up with Ambassador Karen Pierce in the middle of a very intense day of diplomacy on February 22.

She is the United Kingdom’s Ambassador to the United States and earlier that morning Boris Johnson announced new British sanctions on certain Russian oligarchs and financial institutions. This was followed by similar sanctions announcements by the European Union and the United States later in the day.

These new sanctions come after Vladimir Putin’s government formally recognized the independence of two regions of Eastern Ukraine, Donetsk and Luhansk.  This specific set of sanctions from the United Kingdom, European  and USA seem to be a very calibrated and coordinated response to this provocation, which we discuss at the outset of this interview.

Transcript available here

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The Foreign Policy Implications of the U.S. Midterm Elections

Screen Shot 2014-11-05 at 11.27.50 AMThe foreign policy implications of the U.S. midterms could be profound. How might Republican control of the U.S. Senate affect the sensitive nuclear negotiations with Iran? How would it impact President Obama’s Foreign Affairs budget requests. And what do the election results say about foreign policy debates within the Republican party? Here with me to discuss these questions and more is Boston Globe columnist Michael Cohen of The Century Foundation. Enjoy (or not, depending on your political preference!)