Atlantic Council

Polish foreign minister Radoslaw Sikorski, speaking at the Atlantic Council today, declared that Russia's justification for invading Georgia, that it was defending its friends abroad, is one that has been used by Russian autocrats for centuries to justify a doctrine of imperialism.

His Excellency Radoslaw Sikorski, the Polish Foreign Minister, spoke today at the Atlantic Council as part of the Council's Global Leadership Series.  He praised continuing U.S.-Polish cooperation and solidarity, noting Poland's "traditional affinity" for the U.S.

Robert Hutchings, a member of the Atlantic Council's board of directors and its Strategic Advisors Group, published an op-ed in today's Washington Post entitled "A Global Grand Bargain."

Will this weekend's G20 summit really be "Bretton Woods II?"  The answer from Europe (like the U.S.) seems to be no. 

The European public and its leaders have embraced Barack Obama’s victory while, in most cases, expressing some reservations.

Atlantic Council president and CEO Frederick Kempe tells Deutsche Welle's Anna Kuhn-Osius that the election of Barack Obama to the presidency will improve transatlantic relations.

French president Nicolas Sarkozy was the first foreign leader to offer congratulations to President-elect Barack Obama. In a statement released by the Elysee palace, Sarkozy declared, “At a time when we must face huge challenges together, your election has raised enormous hope in France, in Europe and beyond … France and Europe... will find a new energy to work with America to preserve peace and world prosperity.”

The European Union has already come too far with the project of closer integration to stop now. At least that was the view of former French President Valéry Giscard d'Estaing, speaking at a conference in London last month.

Martin Wolf, chief economics commentator and associate editor of the Financial Times, believes the West, and particularly the United States, will actually emerge as more dominant financial actors as a result of the ongoing financial crisis.  While somewhat ironic, given that U.S. excesses led to the crisis, he sees the dollar and Euro strengthening their hold on the global economy as investors seek to weather the storm.

David Phillips, an Atlantic Council senior fellow and the author of the Council's recent report "Post-Conflict Georgia," has published an editorial in today's Wall Street Journal entitled "Smart Aid" outlining a plan for economic assistance to that country.