Tense comments and warnings from Russia set the tone Wednesday for Secretary of State Rex Tillerson as he attempts to persuade Moscow to abandon its support for Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad. – Washington Post
When Secretary of State Rex Tillerson meets with Vladimir Putin’s top diplomat in Moscow on Wednesday, he’d better come prepared. Tillerson’s counterpart, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, is a wily veteran of world diplomacy who has dueled — and routinely infuriated — no less than four of Tillerson’s predecessors as secretary of state. - Politico
RFE/RL's Russian Service spoke to three gay Chechen men who gave their personal accounts of their escapes from the abuse they faced in the southern Russian republic, where homosexuality is stigmatized and so-called honor killings carried out by family members are not uncommon. – Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty
An anticorruption protest in the Siberian city of Irkutsk on March 26 passed peacefully…The drama came later, in the early morning hours of April 6. – Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty
More than 17 years after Mr Putin became president, the authoritarian system he built is showing signs of internal corrosion. Mr Navalny’s ambitions are not expected to undo Mr Putin’s re-election bid. But the uncertainty over what comes next is stirring ambitions and sparking jostling among power brokers in the Kremlin and across Russia. – Financial Times
Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny vowed on Tuesday to continue his fight against President Vladimir Putin after spending 15 days in jail for organising the largest anti-Kremlin protests in years. – Financial Times
President Donald Trump's frequent questioning about the integrity of his spy agencies is coming back to haunt him. As his administration used U.S. intelligence to pressure Moscow over its support for Syrian President Bashar Assad, Russian President Vladimir Putin parroted back Trump's doubts about the reliability of U.S. spy agencies. – Associated Press
Analysis: Even in a presidency marked by unpredictability, the head-spinning shift from coziness to confrontation has left Washington and other capitals with a case of geopolitical whiplash. The prospects of improving Russian-American relations were already slim given the atmosphere of suspicion stemming from Kremlin meddling in last year’s election, but the détente once envisioned by Mr. Trump has instead deteriorated into the latest cold war. – New York Times
Editorial: The investigations into ties between Russia and the Trump presidential campaign have a long way to go, but Mr. Trump isn’t acting like someone who is making foreign-policy judgments out of fear of Russia’s response. This is reassuring and will strengthen his leverage with the Russian strongman. – Wall Street Journal (subscription required)
Leon Aron writes: So instead of wasting time on Foreign Minister Lavrov’s denials and counter-accusations, Tillerson should convey a message of credibility and seriousness: The US will bomb Assad again if he uses chemical weapons. If Russia escalates, so will the US. – AEI Ideas
Michael Carpenter writes: All eyes are on Moscow this week as Secretary of State Rex Tillerson prepares to meet with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Wednesday, following Friday’s U.S. airstrikes in Syria. After President Donald Trump’s sudden change of heart on the utility of striking Syrian military installations to punish and/or deter the use of chemical weapons (something he vigorously opposed during the Barack Obama presidency), the Russian side will try to use the meeting to better understand U.S. intentions in Syria and other key global hotspots. – Foreign Policy’s Shadow Government
When Secretary of State Rex Tillerson meets with Vladimir Putin’s top diplomat in Moscow on Wednesday, he’d better come prepared. Tillerson’s counterpart, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, is a wily veteran of world diplomacy who has dueled — and routinely infuriated — no less than four of Tillerson’s predecessors as secretary of state. - Politico
RFE/RL's Russian Service spoke to three gay Chechen men who gave their personal accounts of their escapes from the abuse they faced in the southern Russian republic, where homosexuality is stigmatized and so-called honor killings carried out by family members are not uncommon. – Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty
An anticorruption protest in the Siberian city of Irkutsk on March 26 passed peacefully…The drama came later, in the early morning hours of April 6. – Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty
More than 17 years after Mr Putin became president, the authoritarian system he built is showing signs of internal corrosion. Mr Navalny’s ambitions are not expected to undo Mr Putin’s re-election bid. But the uncertainty over what comes next is stirring ambitions and sparking jostling among power brokers in the Kremlin and across Russia. – Financial Times
Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny vowed on Tuesday to continue his fight against President Vladimir Putin after spending 15 days in jail for organising the largest anti-Kremlin protests in years. – Financial Times
President Donald Trump's frequent questioning about the integrity of his spy agencies is coming back to haunt him. As his administration used U.S. intelligence to pressure Moscow over its support for Syrian President Bashar Assad, Russian President Vladimir Putin parroted back Trump's doubts about the reliability of U.S. spy agencies. – Associated Press
Analysis: Even in a presidency marked by unpredictability, the head-spinning shift from coziness to confrontation has left Washington and other capitals with a case of geopolitical whiplash. The prospects of improving Russian-American relations were already slim given the atmosphere of suspicion stemming from Kremlin meddling in last year’s election, but the détente once envisioned by Mr. Trump has instead deteriorated into the latest cold war. – New York Times
Editorial: The investigations into ties between Russia and the Trump presidential campaign have a long way to go, but Mr. Trump isn’t acting like someone who is making foreign-policy judgments out of fear of Russia’s response. This is reassuring and will strengthen his leverage with the Russian strongman. – Wall Street Journal (subscription required)
Leon Aron writes: So instead of wasting time on Foreign Minister Lavrov’s denials and counter-accusations, Tillerson should convey a message of credibility and seriousness: The US will bomb Assad again if he uses chemical weapons. If Russia escalates, so will the US. – AEI Ideas
Michael Carpenter writes: All eyes are on Moscow this week as Secretary of State Rex Tillerson prepares to meet with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Wednesday, following Friday’s U.S. airstrikes in Syria. After President Donald Trump’s sudden change of heart on the utility of striking Syrian military installations to punish and/or deter the use of chemical weapons (something he vigorously opposed during the Barack Obama presidency), the Russian side will try to use the meeting to better understand U.S. intentions in Syria and other key global hotspots. – Foreign Policy’s Shadow Government
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