Who ate all the Minsk pies?

US-Belarus negotiations and the latest prisoner releases, and what it means for European policy.

A quick appraisal of recent political developments in Georgia. And a short postscript on the 28-point plans (now we have two of them).

America considers letting Lukashenka get up off the naughty step. A comment on Belarus-US relations and sanctions.

A US delegation went to Minsk. It gave Lukashenka a photo opportunity, the US something to crow about, and caused a headache for everyone else.

This could get a lot worse, quickly.

The erosion of America's soft power under President Donald Trump.

Anne Applebaum's latest book offers a breezy tour of Dictatorland. And it's a chilling read.

Beneath the veneer of bipartisan consensus in the US, the Democrats and Republicans have different positions on China.

This blog post is about the sentencing of Vladimir Kara-Murza, and about political prisoners in Russia and Belarus. It is also about...