Russia allows transit of NATO supplies via Ulyanovsk
Opening of customs hub expected in August, fulfilling a proposal made by Russia in March. READ MORE
NATO in South Caucasus: Pragmatism or Farewell to Illusions?
A few years ago the subject of NATO’s role in regional policy in South Caucasus was one of the key within estimations and declarations of many politician, experts and reporters involved into the region. The August Russian-Georgian war of 2008, world financial-economic crisis, “Arab spring” and return of “classic” geopolitics into the region have changed the priority of perception of the North Atlantic Alliance in South Caucasus. NATO is already perceived by South Caucasian countries not the way as it was in the first part of 2000. In its turn Brussels also already not that ambitiously targets at South Caucasus. READ MORE
U.S. wants to use Manas airport after 2014, but may also look to neighbouring countries
The United States would like to extend its agreement with Kyrgyzstan on the use of Manas airport for the delivery of goods to Afghanistan after 2014, CA-NEWS reports. However, Washington does not exclude the possibility that it will have to look for another hub in one of the neighbouring countries, assistant U.S. Secretary of State for South and Central Asia, Robert Blake said at a congressional hearing on Tuesday, ITAR-TASS reported. READ MORE
Twenty years ago: the birth of NATO’s crisis-management role
Twenty years ago, in July 1992, NATO started taking on a limited crisis-management role in support of international efforts to end the conflict in the former Yugoslavia. Within a few years, the Alliance was called upon to play a more robust role: it deployed its first ever peace-support operation to Bosnia and Herzegovina in 1995 and later intervened to end the crisis in Kosovo in 1999. NATO’s involvement in stabilising the Western Balkans has played a key role in the transformation of the Alliance after the end of the Cold War. READ MORE
New Lithuanian National Security Strategy
On 26 June the Lithuanian Seimas approved draft National Security Strategy. “This is a much more realistic Strategy: the evaluation of Lithuania’s security environment in the current Strategy is rather “euphoric”, whereas in the new draft this evaluation is more careful", said Rasa Juknevičienė, the minister of national defense while presenting a draft Strategy to the Seimas. READ MORE
Giorgi Baramidze: “Russia believes that the Georgian factor should be eliminated”
Georgia is the most recent example of the serious threats that the Black Sea states are facing.
Its dynamic and successful domestic reforms coupled with the intention to determine its own foreign policy prompted Russia to apply informational and economic pressure followed by direct military assault in 2008. Russia seems to view Georgia as a dangerous role model for other post-soviet states.
Why Russia Is Backing Syria
Many in the West believe that Russia’s support for Syria stems from Moscow’s desire to profit from selling arms to Bashar al-Assad’s government and maintain its naval facility at the Syrian port of Tartus. But these speculations are superficial and misguided. The real reason that Russia is resisting strong international action against the Assad regime is that it fears the spread of Islamic radicalism and the erosion of its superpower status in a world where Western nations are increasingly undertaking unilateral military interventions. READ MORE
The Realist Prism: U.S. Power and Its Discontents
There are two simultaneous and contradictory trends occurring right now in the international system. The first is the diffusion of power, as reflected by the displacement of the old Group of Seven, which at its founding in the 1970s comprised the bulk of the world’s productive capacity, by the Group of 20, where there is no longer one dominant power capable of driving the global agenda. The second is the reality that the United States still far outstrips any other one state or group of states in terms of capabilities, ranging from the power of its currency to its ability to project military force to any corner of the globe. READ MORE
Struggle for Regional Leadership Gradually Comes to Nuclear Issue
Most citizens of Turkey vote for the possessing independent nuclearweapon in case of possible nuclear threat from Iran. READ MORE
The CSTO Enfant terrible
Suspension of Uzbekistan Membership in the Organization May Have the Most Serious Consequences READ MORE
