Ian Bond

Excellent paper by Duncan Allan for @ChathamHouse, analysing possible outcomes if a defeated Russia replaces Putin. Summary: still a difficult country for the West to deal with. Full disclosure: I was involved in discussions reflected in the paper.

Great thread on what Ukraine could negotiate with Russia (given that Russia is unlikely to surrender unconditionally). Let’s not have Minsk 3. This time it’s Russia that should be under pressure and forced to make meaningful concessions so Ukraine can be secure in future.

I missed this excellent piece for @POLITICOMag by @IvoHDaalder, on why it's essential that Ukraine becomes a NATO member if Russia is to be deterred from future attacks on it.

Great thread on concept of victory for Ukraine. V important point: need to win the peace as well as the war. I wrote about this last year, & I think it’s still largely valid. Trouble is, too few W leaders have accepted @carlbildt’s point: Europe is at war.

Good paper by colleague @LScazzieri. I'm still EPC-sceptic: what future is there for an entity w no staff to ensure continuity btwn meetings, no funds for projects & no agreed texts to guide members' activities? But Luigi makes fair case for it in context of EU-UK co-operation.

Very good piece on Georgia. The 'geopolitical' @EU_Commission needs to think about Georgia geopolitically - how to make sure it ends up in the Western camp, not as a Russian satellite.