This episode was recorded as a live broadcast on 29 March 2022
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine shook the world and gave way to the most severe conflict of the last decades on the European continent. As hostilities are growing by the day, we will analyse how the Russian aggression might unfold and discuss the possible solutions to end the war.
Russia’s attack has been met with an extraordinary show of solidarity and cohesion from the international community, and the transatlantic relationship appears stronger than ever. Is this the beginning of a new era of Western unity, is this cohesion sustainable in the long term and will it eventually lead to a negotiated solution?
In this public webinar, our panel of foreign policy experts will debate the strengths and weaknesses of the West’s response to the war in Ukraine and analyse what lies ahead.
Keynote speaker:
Ambassador João Vale de Almeida – Ambassador of the European Union to the United Kingdom. Prior to his current role, Ambassador Vale de Almeida served as EU Ambassador to the United Nations (from 2015 to 2019). In New York, he coordinated the EU’s presence in all UN bodies, working closely with the Permanent Representatives of the EU Member States. Ambassador Vale de Almeida previously served as the first EU Ambassador to the United States of America, from 2010 to 2014.
On the panel:
Robert Brinkley – Chairman, Steering Committee, Ukraine Forum, Russia and Eurasia Programme at Chatham House and former UK Ambassador to Ukraine. Robert was a British diplomat for 34 years. He served as High Commissioner to Pakistan (2006 – 2009), Ambassador to Ukraine (2002 – 2006) and as head of the UK’s worldwide visa operation (2000 – 2002). He had previously had two postings in Moscow (both in Russia and in the Soviet Union), as well as positions in Bonn, Geneva and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in London. In 2010 – 2011 he was seconded to Associated British Foods plc. He speaks Ukrainian, Russian and German. Since leaving government service in 2011, Robert has built a portfolio with charity, education and international dimensions. He is an honorary senator of the Ukrainian Catholic University (UCU), having been a senator from 2013 to 2019. Until 2018 he was chairman of The BEARR Trust, a British charity which supports small health and social welfare groups in Russia, Eastern Europe, Central Asia and the South Caucasus. He has been a trustee of the Keston Institute, which studies religion in Communist and former Communist countries. He chairs the Advisory Board of the University College London School of Slavonic and East European Studies and is the Chairman of the Ukrainian Institute London.
Natalie Jaresko – Executive Director of the Financial Oversight and Management Board for Puerto Rico and former Finance Minister of Ukraine. Natalie is a recognized International Finance Executive with successful transformational experience in the private sector, public service, and non-governmental organizations. Natalie served as Minister of Finance of Ukraine (2014-16) at one of the most difficult times in Ukraine’s history, rocked by a deep recession, foreign occupation, and war on part of its territory. She led the successful negotiation and implementation of the largest IMF program in the institution’s history. She spent two decades in the private equity industry focused on small and medium-sized business in the region, as co-founder and CEO of Horizon Capital, a fund manager with over $600 million under management, and as President and CEO of the Western NIS Enterprise Fund. She began her career in Federal government serving in the U.S. State Department in Washington, D.C. from 1989-92, as Chief of the Economic Section of the U.S. Embassy in Ukraine from 1992.
Ambassador Matti Maasikas – EU Ambassador, Head of the EU Delegation to Ukraine. Matti began his career in the Estonian civil service in 1996, as the Head of the Foreign Relations Department in the Chancellery of the Estonia Parliament. In 1999 he was nominated as Head of the PM Mart Laar’s Private Office. He then entered the Estonian MFA, first as Ambassador to Finland (2001-2005) and later (2005-2008) as Secretary-General in Tallinn. In 2009 he moved to Brussels where he joined the Cabinet of Olli Rehn, European Commissioner for Enlargement and Economic and Monetary Affairs. He was then (2011-2016) the Permanent Representative of Estonia to the EU. 2016-2019 Matti served in Tallinn as Deputy Minister for EU Affairs in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, including during the Estonian Presidency in the EU Council. Matti was nominated in August 2019 as EU Ambassador, Head of the EU Delegation to Ukraine.
Joseph Nye – University Distinguished Service Professor Emeritus and former Dean of Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government. He received his bachelor’s degree summa cum laude from Princeton University, won a Rhodes Scholarship to Oxford, and earned a Ph.D. in political science from Harvard. He has served as Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs, Chair of the National Intelligence Council, and a Deputy Under Secretary of State, and won distinguished service awards from all three agencies. His books include The Future of Power, The Power Game: A Washington Novel, and Do Morals Matter? He is a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the British Academy, and the American Academy of Diplomacy. In a recent survey of international relations scholars, he was ranked as the most influential scholar on American foreign policy, and in 2011, Foreign Policy named him one of the top 100 Global Thinkers. In 2014, Japan awarded him the Order of the Rising Sun.
Moderated by:
Suzanne Lynch – Author of the POLITICO Europe Brussels Playbook