This Week’s Highlights:

• U.S. President Joe Biden's administration has extended the New START nuclear treaty with Russia by five years. The Russian Foreign Ministry welcomed the extension and said it hoped Biden was turning the page on the "destructive U.S. policy" of ending arms control measures, according to AFP. The ministry added that "significant efforts will be required" to get U.S.-Russian dialogue on arms reduction back on the right track. 
• Russia will continue for now to conduct and receive observation flights under the Open Skies Treaty and could reconsider its decision to withdraw from the treaty if the U.S. returns to compliance, Interfax cited Konstantin Gavrilov, the head of Moscow's delegation to arms control talks in Vienna, as saying in an interview with the Kommersant newspaper Feb. 5.
• The U.S. may be prepared to enter talks with Germany on easing its sanctions on Nord Stream 2, bne Intellinews has reported, citing German business paper Handelsblatt. The news outlet sees this as a possible signal that the Biden administration has resigned itself to the prospect that the Russian pipeline will be completed. 
• “American leadership must meet this new moment of advancing authoritarianism, including the growing ambitions of China to rival the United States and the determination of Russia to damage and disrupt our democracy,” U.S. President Joe Biden said in his first major foreign-policy speech at State Department headquarters Feb. 4. Biden also said that the “politically motivated jailing of Alexei Navalny and the Russian efforts to suppress freedom of expression and peaceful assembly are a matter of deep concern to us and the international community.” 
• The EU’s top diplomat said Feb. 5 that the bloc's ties with Russia had reached a new low following the poisoning and jailing of Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny. "Our relationship is indeed in a difficult moment," Josep Borrell said at the start of talks with his Russian counterpart, Sergei Lavrov, according to multiple press reports. Lavrov noted that Brussels was increasingly behaving like the United States and imposing unilateral restrictions on countries: "For Russia, the EU is an unreliable partner," RFE/RL quoted Lavrov as saying.

 

I. U.S. and Russian priorities for the bilateral agenda

Nuclear security and safety:

• The European Parliament Committee on Industry, Research and Energy has approved a draft resolution on the safety of the Ostrovets nuclear power plant in Belarus. The committee said on Jan. 28 that it "regrets the hasty launch" of the plant and calls for its activities to be "suspended until all EU safety recommendations have been implemented." (World Nuclear News, 02.02.21)

North Korea’s nuclear and missile programs:

• No significant developments.

Iran and its nuclear program:

• U.S. President Joe Biden is eyeing an urgent restoration of the international nuclear deal with Iran as a first step to deal with a range of threats from that country, new national security adviser Jake Sullivan said Jan. 29, suggesting a faster timeline than the administration has previously outlined. Sullivan did not mention Biden's oft-stated precondition that Iran make the first move by rolling back nuclear activities to come back into compliance with terms of the 2015 deal.  (The Washington Post, 01.29.21)
• Iran's ambassador to Russia said Jan. 30 that Tehran expects to receive the first batch of Moscow's Sputnik V coronavirus vaccine by Feb. 4, state news agency IRNA reported. Two more batches are to be delivered by Feb. 18 and 28, he added, without specifying quantities. (AFP, 01.31.21)

Great power rivalry/new Cold War/saber rattling:

• The United States must be ready for a nuclear war with China or Russia and seek new ways to deter both countries’ use of newly acquired advanced strategic weapons, the commander of the U.S. Strategic Command is warning in a major new review of the global balance of nuclear forces. Adm. Charles Richard, writing in the current issue of the U.S. Naval Institute journal Proceedings, noted: “There is a real possibility that a regional crisis with Russia or China could escalate quickly to a conflict involving nuclear weapons, if they perceived a conventional loss would threaten the regime or state.” (Washington Times, 02.01.21)
• A Russian Sukhoi Su-24 frontline bomber has conducted a low pass over the United States Navy’s guided-missile destroyer in the Black Sea, the U.S. Sixth Fleet reported Feb. 1. The USS Donald Cook has been stationed in neutral waters “to ensure security and stability in the region” as part of an operation under a NATO mandate, the Sixth Fleet tweeted alongside a video of the incident. (The Moscow Times, 02.01.21)
• U.S. government and aerospace-industry officials are removing decades-old barriers between civilian and military space projects, in response to escalating foreign threats beyond the atmosphere. The Pentagon and NASA are joining forces to tackle efforts such as exploring the region around the moon and extending the life of satellites. (Wall Street Journal, 02.01.21)
• Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu chaired a meeting at rocket-design facility NPO Mashinostroenia outside Moscow to discuss additional procurement of hypersonic and long-range precision weapons. "The Russian president oversees the development of long-range precision weapons and their supplies to the armed forces. In April, we have to report to the head of state about the progress in the sphere," Shoigu said. (TASS, 02.05.21)

NATO-Russia relations:

• President Joe Biden is freezing plans to withdraw 12,000 American troops from Germany, administration officials said Feb. 4, and has ordered the Pentagon to conduct a review of how American forces are deployed around the world. (New York Times, 02.04.21)

Missile defense:

• No significant developments.

Arms control:

• U.S. President Joe Biden's administration on Feb. 3 extended the New START nuclear treaty with Russia by five years. "Biden pledged to keep the American people safe from nuclear threats by restoring U.S. leadership on arms control and nonproliferation," Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement. "The United States is committed to effective arms control that enhances stability, transparency and predictability while reducing the risks of costly, dangerous arms races." Blinken said that even while engaging Russia on arms control, "we remain clear-eyed about the challenges that Russia poses to the United States and the world." Russian President Vladimir Putin signed off on legislation extending the accord on Jan. 29. (AFP, 02.04.21)
• The Russian Foreign Ministry welcomed the extension of New START and said it hoped Biden was turning the page on the "destructive U.S. policy" of ending arms control measures. The ministry added in a statement that "significant efforts will be required" to get U.S.-Russian dialogue on arms reduction back on the right track. (AFP, 02.04.21)
  • NATO welcomed the extension of New START, saying it would preserve international stability even as the United States keeps negotiating with Russia. "This is the beginning, not the end, of an effort to further strengthen international arms control," NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said. (AFP, 02.04.21)
  • EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said that the extension "limits strategic competition and increases strategic stability." (AFP, 02.04.21)
  • China welcomes the prolongation of New START, warning the U.S. against slander and accusations addressed at China due to its "unwillingness to disarm itself," Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesman Wang Wenbin said Feb. 5. (TASS, 02.05.21)
• Russia will continue for now to conduct and receive observation flights under the Open Skies Treaty and could reconsider its decision to withdraw from this treaty if the United States returns to compliance, Konstantin Gavrilov, the head of Moscow's delegation to the talks in Vienna on military security and arms control, said in an interview published in the Kommersant newspaper Fe. 5. (Interfax, 02.05.21)

Counterterrorism:

• “What hasn’t stopped is the commitment by the United States, by the people of the United States, to provide information that would stop a terrorist from killing innocent Russians and people from other countries… I’m proud of the fact that my government will provide information to protect Russians from terrorist violence,” Ambassador John Sullivan said. (Dozhd/U.S. Embassy in Russia, 01.28.21)

Conflict in Syria:

• Russia’s special envoy for the Middle East and Africa, Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov, and U.N. Special Envoy for Syria Geir Pedersen had a phone call Feb. 1 to discuss the fifth session of the Syrian Constitutional Committee’s small body held in Geneva. Pedersen earlier said that the sides failed to reach the set goals in Geneva without disclosing any details. (TASS, 02.01.21)
• More than 140 children from the families of militants of Russian origin who had fought in Syria have been repatriated to Russia, the Russian and Syrian interagency coordination headquarters for repatriation of refugees said in a joint statement Feb. 1. (TASS, 02.01.21)
• Russian military advisors carried out a series of training exercises with artillery personnel of the Syrian Arab Army in the Aleppo province, a spokesman for Russian armed forces in Syria, Yevgeny Kuleshov, told reporters. (Interfax, 02.01.21)

Cyber security:

• Russia is “legally and technologically” ready to disconnect from the global internet if needed, former President Dmitry Medvedev told Interfax on Feb. 1. (The Moscow Times, 02.01.21)
• Hackers had accessed at least one of SolarWinds Corp’s Office 365 accounts by December 2019, and then leapfrogged to other Office 365 accounts used by the company, Sudhakar Ramakrishna said in an interview Feb. 2. "Some email accounts were compromised. That led them to compromise other email accounts and as a result our broader [Office] 365 environment was compromised," he said. (Wall Street Journal, 02.02.21)

Elections interference:

• No significant developments.

Energy exports from CIS:

• The U.S. may be prepared to enter talks with Germany on easing its sanctions on Nord Stream 2, German business paper Handelsblatt has said, signaling that the Biden administration may have resigned itself to the fact that the Russian pipeline will be completed. Washington has been an ardent opponent of Nord Stream 2, causing clashes with Germany and its other European allies that are anticipating economic gains from the project. However, the new U.S. administration has signaled it could be willing to discuss lifting its sanctions, Handelsblatt reported, citing a U.S. official involved in the talks. The report comes after White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said in late January that the Biden administration would review sanctions imposed by its predecessor. (BNE, 02.03.21)

U.S.-Russian economic ties:

• A stock exchange founded in Russian President Vladimir Putin’s hometown, St. Petersburg, just became the busiest venue for equity trading in the country thanks in part to last week’s retail-trader frenzy in the U.S. Trading volumes on the SPB, as it’s known, surpassed those of the Moscow Exchange for the first time on record last month, climbing 14% to $36.1 billion. The St. Petersburg brokerage lets investors buy and sell foreign shares directly via their Russian brokerage accounts, while the Moscow exchange focuses on Russian securities. (Bloomberg, 02.04.21)

U.S.-Russian relations in general:

• “American leadership must meet this new moment of advancing authoritarianism, including the growing ambitions of China to rival the United States and the determination of Russia to damage and disrupt our democracy,” U.S. President Joe Biden said in his first major foreign-policy speech at State Department headquarters. (White House.gov, 02.04.21)
• “I made it clear to President Putin, in a manner very different from my predecessor, that the days of the United States rolling over in the face of Russia’s aggressive actions—interfering with our elections, cyberattacks, poisoning its citizens—are over. We will not hesitate to raise the cost on Russia and defend our vital interests and our people. And we will be more effective in dealing with Russia when we work in coalition and coordination with other like-minded partners,” Biden said in the speech. (White House.gov, 02.04.21
• “The politically motivated jailing of Alexei Navalny and the Russian efforts to suppress freedom of expression and peaceful assembly are a matter of deep concern to us and the international community. Mr. Navalny, like all Russian citizens, is entitled to his rights under the Russian constitution. He’s been targeted—targeted for exposing corruption. He should be released immediately and without condition,” Biden said in his speech. (White House.gov, 02.04.21)
• U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said, "The United States is deeply concerned by the Russian authorities’ decision to sentence opposition figure Alexei Navalny to two years and eight months imprisonment, replacing his suspended sentence with jail time." Blinken has said the Biden administration is considering possible action against Russia, a day after police used batons and tasers against protesters demanding the release of the jailed opposition politician. In a TV interview aired Feb. 1, Blinken said he was "deeply disturbed by the violent crackdown." Blinken then voiced concern over Navalny and imprisoned Americans in a telephone call Feb. 4 with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov. Blinken "reiterated President Biden's resolve to protect American citizens and act firmly in defense of U.S. interests in response to actions by Russia that harm us or our allies," a State Department statement said. (AFP, 02.04.21, RFE/RL, 02.01.21, RFE/RL, 02.02.21)
• U.S. Ambassador to Russia John Sullivan: “Two points I’d make on the Navalny case. First, it’s not a U.S.-Russia bilateral issue. There are a lot of other countries that are concerned. … And then second, it’s the human rights issues that are implicated by, first, the poisoning of Mr. Navalny, and then his subsequent—after his recovery—his arrest upon his return here.” (Dozhd/U.S. Embassy in Russia, 01.28.21)
• A bipartisan group of U.S. senators has introduced legislation to impose fresh targeted sanctions on Russian officials found to be complicit in the poisoning of Navalny. The bill directs the administration to determine if the Kremlin has violated U.S. laws prohibiting the use of chemical and biological weapons. The bill also requires a report on the assassination of Russian opposition politician Boris Nemtsov. (RFE/RL, 02.04.21)
• “Gross U.S. interference in the internal affairs of Russia is a proven fact, as is the ‘promotion’ of fakes and calls for unauthorized actions by internet platforms controlled by Washington,” the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a Facebook post Feb. 1, assigning blame to the new U.S. secretary of state, Antony Blinken. (RFE/RL, 02.04.21)
• Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Feb. 3 accused the West of “going overboard” in its reaction to the Navalny hearing and ruling. He also claimed laws regulating protests in the West were tougher than those in Russia. (RFE/RL, 02.03.21)
• "This is very aggressive, unconstructive rhetoric, to our regret," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told journalists on Feb. 5. "Any hints of ultimatums are unacceptable to us. We have already said that we won't pay attention to any lecturing," he added. (RFE/RL, 02.05.21)
• A prominent U.S. investor and French banker denied they were guilty of embezzlement Feb. 2, on the opening day of a trial in Moscow that has rattled Russia's business community. Michael Calvey, the 53-year-old founder of Russia-based investment fund Baring Vostok, was arrested along with French banker Philippe Delpal in February 2019 and accused of defrauding Vostochny Bank of 2.5 billion rubles ($32.9 million). (The Moscow Times, 02.02.21)
• No preparations for a summit meeting of the U.N. Security Council’s quintet (the five permanent members) are on track at the moment, but some work on this issue is afoot, in the U.S. as well, deputy chairman of Russia’s Security Council Dmitry Medvedev told Russian media. (TASS, 02.01.21)

II. Russia’s domestic policies

Domestic politics, economy and energy:

• Russia confirmed 16,688 new coronavirus cases and 527 deaths on Feb. 5 compared to 16,714 cases and 521 deaths on Feb. 4. (Interfax, 02.05.21) Here’s a link to RFE/RL’s interactive map of the virus’ spread around the world, including in Russia and the rest of post-Soviet Eurasia. For a comparison of the number and rate of change in new cases in the U.S. and Russia, visit this Russia Matters resource.
• Russia's Sputnik V vaccine is 91.6% effective against symptomatic Covid-19, according to results published in The Lancet on Feb. 2 that independent experts said allayed transparency concerns over the jab, which Moscow is already rolling out. (AFP, 02.02.21)
• A judge in Moscow has ordered that a suspended 3 1/2 year sentence received by opposition politician Alexei Navalny in 2014 be changed to time in a penal colony, adding that time previously spent under house arrest under the sentence would count as time served, thus reducing his incarceration to 2 years and 8 months. (RFE/RL, 02.02.21)
  • Navalny was on trial Feb. 5 charged with defaming a World War II veteran, days after his jailing under a years-old fraud conviction sparked international outcry. Navalny was charged with "discrediting the honor and dignity" of the 95-year-old veteran after describing him and others who appeared in a pro-Kremlin video as "the shame of the country," “corrupt lackeys” and "traitors" in a June 2020 tweet. (The Moscow Times, 02.05.21)
  •  Navalny’s supporters will stop staging protests demanding his release until at least this spring, a key aide of the imprisoned Kremlin critic said Feb. 4. Leonid Volkov, head of Navalny’s regional network of campaign-style offices, announced he would not be calling supporters to take to the streets for a third successive weekend of protests across Russia, citing the forceful police crackdowns and concerns that more arrests would hamper the organization’s plans to campaign ahead of parliamentary elections scheduled for September. (The Moscow Times, 0.2.05.21)
  • Independent monitors estimate that more than 10,000 people have been detained at recent rallies in Russia in support of Navalny, filling detention centers in Moscow to bursting point and forcing authorities to divert buses full of detainees to towns outside of the capital. (The Moscow Times, 02.03.21)
  • The Siberian doctor who was in charge of Navalny's treatment in the days after he first became ill following his poisoning has died. On Feb. 4 an obituary for Dr. Sergei Maksimishin, 55, was posted on the web page of Omsk City Hospital No. 1. The hospital did not list a cause of death, but a local media outlet cited the regional health ministry office as saying Maksimishin had been ill and died of a heart attack at work. (CBS News, 02.05.21)
• Russian oligarch Arkady Rotenberg, Putin's longtime friend and judo partner, claimed the palace complex that Navalny has alleged was built for Putin actually belongs to him. Rotenberg has been under U.S. sanctions since 2014 as a member of Putin's inner circle who profited from high-priced state tenders. (The Washington Post, 02.01.21)
• Almost half of young people in Russia disapprove of President Vladimir Putin’s performance, according to a poll by the independent Levada Center published Feb. 4. Some 46% of Russians aged 18-24 said they did not approve of Putin—a sharp rise from the 31% who said the same last year. Putin’s net approval rating—the difference between those who approve and disapprove of his performance—among 18- to 24-year-olds now stands at +5, down from +60 three years ago. (The Moscow Times, 02.04.21)
• Russian President Vladimir Putin’s popularity slumped to 53%, according to a state-owned pollster, the Russian Public Opinion Research Center, in the wake of a brutal crackdown by police on weekend demonstrations called by jailed anti-corruption activist and opposition politician Alexei Navalny. Putin’s approval rating dropped to a two-decade low of 53% in April 2020 during the worst of the coronacrisis last year, but has since recovered to end last year at 65%, according to independent pollster the Levada Center. (BNE, 02.02.21)
• Russia finished 2020 with a milder than expected 3.1% contraction, according to preliminary data from the Economics Ministry released Feb. 1. “The data from Rosstat came as a surprise: We were forecasting a decline of 3.6% year on year while government and consensus were even more negative with estimates of 3.8-3.9%,” BSC Global Markets chief economist Vladimir Tikhomirov said in a note. (BNE, 02.02.21)
• Russians' average take-home wages adjusted for inflation have been declining since the Ukraine crisis. They are now 10% lower than seven years ago. It is taking a toll on support for the Putin government. (New York Times, 01.31.21)
• Getting the 12 national projects to work has become an existential problem for the Kremlin, and they are not working. The government has prepared a repackaging of the national projects program, according to a report by The Bell on Feb. 5. the government is attempting to restart the reforms yet again, and kicked off the effort with a meeting chaired by Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin on Jan. 27, The Bell reports, citing two government sources involved. (BNE, 02.05.21)
• The IHS Markit Russia Manufacturing PMI posted its first gain since August 2020, rising to 50.9 in January, up from 49.7 in the last month of 2020, the first gain in five months. Any result above 50 is an expansion of business. (BNE, 02.01.21)
• A Russian court fined mining giant Norilsk Nickel 146 billion rubles ($2 billion) Feb. 5 for its role in the worst oil spill in the country’s modern history. (The Moscow Times, 02.05.21)

Defense and aerospace:

• No significant developments.

Security, law-enforcement and justice:

• The European Court of Human Rights on Feb. 1 announced it has informed Russia that it will consider a complaint filed to the court by the opposition politician Alexei Navalny. Navalny’s legal team argues Russia violated his right to life under the European Convention on Human Rights by refusing to open a criminal case into his poisoning with a Soviet-era nerve agent last August. (RFE/RL, 02.01.21)
• When asked what happened to the Russian operatives who tried to kill Sergei Skripal in Salisbury, Bellingcat’s Eliot Higgins said his group’s work suggests “they just got given really rubbish jobs.” (Financial Times, 01.29.21)

III. Russia’s relations with other countries

Russia’s general foreign policy and relations with “far abroad” countries:

• At the start of talks with his Russian counterpart, the European Union's top diplomat, Josep Borrell, said Feb. 5 that the bloc's ties with Russia were “under severe strain” and had reached a new low following the poisoning and jailing of Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny. Borrell also said he hopes the Russian-developed coronavirus vaccine will be approved for use in the European bloc soon. "It's good news for the whole of mankind because it means we will have more tools to fight the pandemic," he said. Borrell said he hoped the European Medicines Agency would certify the vaccine for use in EU member states, adding that it could help the bloc overcome its "shortage of vaccines." Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told reporters as he headed into the meeting with Borrell that "a fair review" of Russia-EU relations was "long overdue." He also noted that Moscow had noticed how Brussels was increasingly behaving like the United States and imposing unilateral restrictions on countries. "For Russia, the EU is an unreliable partner," Lavrov said as the two sides took a break. (The Moscow Times, 02.05.21, The Moscow Times, 02.05.21, RFE/RL, 02.05.21)
• French President Emmanuel Macron has renewed his call for dialogue with Russia despite what he called its "huge mistake" in jailing opposition politician Alexei Navalny, and offered to be an "honest broker" in talks between the United States and Iran. It was "impossible" to have peace and stability in Europe without being able to negotiate with Russia, he said. In separate earlier remarks, he said: “The condemnation of Alexei Navalny is unacceptable. Political disagreement is never a crime. We call for his immediate release.” In response to the crackdown on protesters, France's secretary of state for European affairs, Clément Beaune, stepped up pressure for further sanctions against the Russian government on Feb. 1. Beaune also urged the German government to abandon the controversial Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline. (The Washington Post, 02.01.21, RFE/RL, 02.02.21, RFE/RL, 02.04.21)

• British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said in reference to the conviction of Navalny: “Today’s perverse ruling, targeting the victim of a poisoning rather than those responsible, shows Russia is failing to meet the most basic commitments expected of any responsible member of the international community.” (RFE/RL, 02.02.21)
• German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas said in reference to the conviction of Navalny: "Today's verdict against Alexei Navalny is a bitter blow against fundamental freedoms and the rule of law in Russia.” Chancellor Angela Merkel's spokesman Steffen Seibert said, "After this ruling, there will now also be talks among EU partners. Further sanctions cannot be ruled out." Nevertheless, Germany is maintaining its support for the controversial Nord Stream 2 pipeline with Russia. (AFP, 02.03.21, RFE/RL, 02.02.21)
• Russia has declared personae non gratae an unspecified number of employees from the diplomatic missions of Sweden, Poland and Germany, saying they participated in protests to support opposition politician Alexei Navalny. (RFE/RL, 02.05.21)
• German Chancellor Angela Merkel said that Sputnik V could be used in the European Union if it got regulatory approval. German Health Minister Jens Spahn has hinted that coronavirus vaccines from China and Russia could be used to overcome Europe’s current deficit of doses. (RFE/RL, 02.05.21)
• The state-run Russian Direct Investment Fund, which has sponsored research into the jab, says Moscow hopes to produce up to 1.4 billion doses of the Sputnik vaccine this year, including in countries such as China, Brazil and India. (The Financial Times, 02.02.21)
• The European Union is allowing its diplomats in Moscow to be vaccinated with the Russian-made Sputnik V vaccine if they choose, even though it hasn't been approved by the bloc's regulators, according to an internal email seen by RFE/RL. (RFE/RL, 02.04.21)
• Belarus, Kazakhstan and Turkey have already signed up to manufacture and develop Sputnik V, with Iran, which has banned Western vaccines, also agreeing to join. India, South Korea, Brazil and China will also produce it, according to the Russian Direct Investment Fund, which funded the vaccine and is responsible for selling it globally. (RFE/RL, 02.05.21)
• Russia's largest crude oil producer, state-controlled Rosneft, signed a collaboration agreement with British Petroleum on supporting the carbon management and sustainability activities of both companies. BP is the largest foreign shareholder in Rosneft with a 19.75% stake. (BNE, 02.04.21)
• Export of Russia’s agricultural products increased by 28% in January 2021 year on year to $1.957 billion, the Agroexport federal center for development of agriculture exports under Russia’s Ministry of Agriculture reported Feb. 3. Among destination countries for agricultural exports, China accounted for 25.3%, Turkey for 14.7%, EU countries for 10.4%, South Korea 8.8% and Egypt 6.3%. (TASS, 02.03.21)
• A  new report by Freedom House says the Russian government "conducts highly aggressive" transnational repression activities abroad, relying "heavily" on assassination as a tool to target former insiders and other individuals perceived as threats by the Kremlin. The Russian campaign accounts for seven of 26 assassinations or assassination attempts identified globally by the U.S.-based nongovernmental organization between 2014 and 2020. Pakistan, Azerbaijan and all five Central Asian republics—Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan—are also among countries that target their nationals abroad. (RFE/RL, 02.04.21)

China-Russia: Allied or Aligned?

• The United States and its Western allies are increasingly concerned about growing cooperation between Russia and China in areas of common interest, NATO’s top general said Feb. 3. Tod Wolters, NATO’s supreme allied commander Europe, or SACEUR, told reporters that the growing cooperation “really does suggest an emergence of a partnership of convenience.” (Reuters, 02.03.21)
• Russia’s state-run space corporation Roscosmos is in talks with its Chinese counterparts to determine scientific tasks for a lunar base and to discuss technical aspects of the project’s implementation, Roscosmos deputy director Sergei Savelyev told TASS. (TASS, 02.03.21)

Ukraine:

• The Ukrainian delegation to participate in the Trilateral Contact Group announced the death of a Ukrainian soldier wounded in the area of Popasna (Luhansk region) on Jan. 26. (Interfax, 01.31.21)
• In a phone call with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba on Feb. 1, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken "emphasized strong bipartisan support for Ukraine and the priority the United States places on Ukraine's sovereignty, territorial integrity and Euro-Atlantic aspirations," the State Department said in a readout of the call. "He pledged to continue robust U.S. economic and military assistance to Ukraine," it added, while working on a diplomatic resolution to Russia's aggression in eastern Ukraine and Crimea. Blinken also called on Ukraine to maintain progress on fighting corruption and implementing rule of law and economic reforms. (RFE/RL, 02.02.21)
• “I know our allies and partners, the French government, the German government, Chancellor Merkel, President Macron, are very deeply committed to seeing a resolution that does right by Ukraine and the Ukrainian people across the entire country. So we’ll continue to have that dialogue and work through the various processes that were engaged in, whether it’s the Normandy format, and other communications between governments. So, we haven’t achieved a lot of success in the past six or seven years, but it doesn’t relieve us of the obligation to continue to work to achieve that,” U.S. Ambassador to Russia John Sullivan said. (Dozhd/U.S. Embassy in Russia, 01.28.21)
• “After something like this, I believe it would be very difficult for the world to see the United States as a symbol of democracy,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said in reference to the riots at the Capitol in Washington, DC. (Axios, 02.01.21)
• Ukrainian parliamentarians and anyone else who played a part in electoral interference in the United States should be made to feel the full force of the law and prosecuted, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said in an interview with HBO's Axios program. (Interfax, 02.01.21)
• Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky noted that in case of Ukraine's membership in NATO, the rest of the alliance members should come out to defend the country. "And this is correct. Because we are now defending Europe," the Ukrainian president said. (Interfax, 02.01.21)
• Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has said that the Normandy format is currently stagnant due to Russia's reluctance to move forward and expressed hope that U.S. President Joe Biden would join the talks. The Biden administration is reportedly considering whether to seek participation in the Normandy format talks. (Ukrinform, Russia Matters, 02.01.21)
• Breakaway regions in eastern Ukraine controlled by Kremlin-backed separatists began a vaccine drive with Russia's Sputnik V jab, officials said Feb. 1, as the government in Kyiv struggled to secure alternative doses. (AFP, 02.01.21)
• The current Ukrainian administration is trying to torpedo the Minsk process and it will use the image of Russia as an occupant country to justify its own failures, Russian Security Council Deputy Chairman Dmitry Medvedev said. At the same time, Medvedev said he believes there is no alternative to the Minsk process. (Interfax, 02.01.21)
• Ukraine’s pro-Russian parties launched an impeachment process against Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Feb. 3, the day after the president closed down TV stations associated with the group. The announcement was made by Vadym Rabinovych, co-chairman of the Opposition Platform “For Life” parliamentary faction in Ukraine's Verkhovna Rada says. "Three leading television channels have been cut off from the air for the first time in the entire history of independent Ukraine," Rabinovych said as cited by Interfax Ukraine. (BNE, 02.05.21)
• Ukraine's state security service (SBU) is investigating a shareholder meeting of Motor Sich, a maker of jet engines for the defense industry, after the government imposed sanctions against Chinese investors seeking to purchase a stake in the company. Ukraine on Jan. 29 slapped sanctions on four Chinese companies seeking to buy a controlling stake in Motor Sich after the United States added one of them, Beijing Skyrizon Aviation, to its own sanctions list two weeks earlier. (RFE/RL, 01.31.21)
• Ukraine cannot afford to sell a controlling stake of its strategic defense enterprises to any country, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has said, noting that the problem is not with China specifically. (Interfax, 02.01.21)
• China last year became Ukraine’s largest trading partner. Ukraine’s trade turnover with China through October was $12 billion. By contrast, Ukraine’s trade with Russia and with Germany was $6 billion. (Ukraine Business News, 02.01.21)
• The European Union has questioned a move by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to sanction three television stations nominally owned by a member of a pro-Russian faction. Although Taras Kozak, a member of the Opposition Platform “For Life” (OPZZh), is listed as the owner of the three outlets, Ukrainian media claim that the broadcasters—Ukrainian television channels112, NewsOne and ZIK—are actually owned by Vicktor Medvedchuk, the head of OPZZh’s political council and one of the richest and most influential individuals in the country. (RFE/RL, 02.03.21)
• The CEO of Ukraine’s national gas company Naftogaz, Andriy Kobolev, has started the process of separating the gas company from Ukraine’s leading oil company, Ukrnafta, as the battle between the state and the oligarchs heats up. The move is the latest in the government’s recent attempts to rein in the country’s powerful oligarchs who have inserted themselves into many of Ukraine’s most valuable assets. Oligarch Ihor Kolomoisky is a major shareholder in Ukrnafta and a high-level Ukrainian official told bne IntelliNews that Kolomoisky has in the past siphoned off cash from activities such as the state procurement of oil, among other schemes. (BNE, 02.04.21)

Russia's other post-Soviet neighbors:

• The first container train from China to Kyrgyzstan has passed through the Kazakh border railway station Altynkol and Kazakhstan Temir Zholy (KTZ) Khorgos Gateway dry port, the press office of the railway company KTZ Express JSC has said in a statement. (Interfax, 02.05.21)
• The World Bank’s Kazakhstan Economic Update published on Jan. 29 anticipates that the Central Asian nation's economy will grow by 2.5% in 2021 and by 3.5% in 2022. (BNE, 02.01.21)
• Kazatomprom has issued preliminary 2020 production figures of 19,477 tU (on a 100% basis), which is 15% down from its 2019 output of 22,808 tU. Production volumes for the fourth quarter and for 2020 were significantly lower, related to the expected impact of the pandemic and the company’s decreased wellfield development activity, as well as lower staff levels in April-July 2020. Guidance for 2021 is 22,500-22,800 tU (100% basis). (WNN, 02.02.21)
• Kyrgyz President Sadyr Japarov has approved a new, slimmed down government as the Central Asian nation moves forward less than four months after a public uprising ousted the country's rulers for the third time since 2005. The new government was sworn in on Feb. 3 after Japarov endorsed the parliament's approval of Prime Minister Ulukbek Maripov's Cabinet. (RFE/RL, 02.03.21)
• A court in Bishkek has extended the pretrial detention of former Kyrgyz President Almazbek Atambaev until April 7. Atambaev was sentenced to 11 years and two months in prison in June 2020 over his involvement in the release of a notorious crime boss. In November, the Supreme Court sent the case back to a Bishkek district court for retrial. The reason for the decision was not immediately given. (RFE/RL, 02.04.21)
• Human rights experts at the United Nations have called for the "prompt" release of prisoners of war and other captives by Armenia and Azerbaijan from their recent conflict in the breakaway region of Nagorno-Karabakh. (RFE/RL, 02.01.21)
• “I was briefed by the Foreign Ministry not that long ago, along with my colleague the French ambassador. The United States and France are co-chairs, along with Russia, of the so-called Minsk Group, and we were briefed on developments in Nagorno-Karabakh and the conflict which has been stopped between Azerbaijan and Armenia,” Ambassador John Sullivan said. (Dozhd/U.S. Embassy in Russia, 01.28.21)
• A joint Turkish-Russian observation center to monitor a cease-fire between Armenia and Azerbaijan over the Nagorno-Karabakh region started operations after an opening ceremony with senior defense officials in attendance on Jan. 30. (RFE/RL, 01.30.21)
• Former Kyrgyz Prime Minister and current member of parliament Kubanychbek Jumaliev has been detained on suspicion of corruption. (RFE/RL, 02.04.21)