United States of America

​"I am concerned that US sanctions will affect Europe more than the United States," Tzimitras, director of the PRIO Cyprus Centre, told Anadolu Agency (AA).

Last week, the United States and Britain imposed sanctions on Russia by banning oil and gas imports, while the European Union (EU) member states, which are heavily dependent on Russian gas, are trying to find alternative sources in response to Moscow's war against Ukraine.

Full interview here.

​In a MidEast Policy Brief, Research Professor Pavel Baev writes about the future of UN humanitarian aid to Syria, following the UN Security Council adoption of Resolution 2585 on 9 July 2021. Even though the resolution might appear to be a recycle of the compromise reached at the Security Council in 2020, it is different in many important aspects and will be tested again in 2022, argues Baev.

​Research Professor Pavel Baev argues that the sequence of proactive moves in the Middle East by the new US administration simultaneously gladdens and alarms the Kremlin. In his piece for the Eurasia Daily Monitor he writes: "Russian intrigue-spinners are delighted at the occasion to contend with the top-ranked opponent in this complicated region; but at the same time, they worry about Russian policy weaknesses potentially becoming exposed in the process."

​In a new policy brief on the importance of a neighborly concert for Afghan peace, Kristian Berg Harpviken examines the present state of affairs in each of the main regions surrounding Afghanistan: Central Asia, South Asia and the Gulf. Qatar, having hosted the intra-Afghan peace talks, currently stands out as the winner, not only because it hosted a high-profile peace process, but also because it has been able to use its relevance to the US in managing the diplomatic offensive of Saudi Arabia and other Gulf countries over the past several years.

The new and global Women, Peace and Security Index, developed by PRIO and the Georgetown Institute for Women, Peace and Security, launched at the United Nations today. 

​​​Yesterday, at the Edmund Pettus Bridge​, President Obama and over 100 members of the US Congress celebrated the 50th anniversary of the historic civil rights march in Selma, a turning-point in the non-violent civil rights movement. President Obama was introduced by John Lewis, who with Hosea Williams and others led the march fifty years ago and was severely beaten by the Alabama police.

John Lewis gave the 2011 PRIO Annual Peace Address, on the Role of Non-violence in the Struggle for Liberation​​.

The first seminar focused on ‘What Has Worked?’, the second on ‘What Has Not Worked?’. Both seminars were chaired by Hilde Henriksen Waage, Associate Professor (UiO) and Senior Researcher (PRIO).