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CSTO Agreement on Foreign Bases Frustrates Tajikistan’s Ambitions

By Alexander Sodiqov

On December 20, 2011, members of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) reached an agreement that makes it impossible for any individual country in the group to host a foreign military base on its territory without the full consent of all other members of the organization. The initiative empowers Russia to veto any foreign basing plans in Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan. Hence, the move serves as a continuation of Russia’s efforts to counteract the influence of the US military and reassert its own role in its immediate neighborhood (Interfax, December 21). READ MORE

Armed UAV Operations 10 Years On

One of the most iconic images of the American-led wars in Iraq and Afghanistan -- as well as global U.S. counterterrorism efforts -- has been the armed unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), specifically the MQ-1 "Predator" and the MQ-9 "Reaper." Unarmed RQ-1 Predators (which first flew in 1994) were flying over Afghanistan well before the 9/11 attacks. Less than a month after the attacks, an armed variant already in development was deployed for the first time. READ MORE

Traditional Meeting Of Security Experts In Trakai Discussed The Ways Of Strengthening The Integration Of Nordic-Baltic Region

Nordic-Baltic cooperation was the focus of this year’s traditional informal Snow Meeting of experts in international and security politics from Europe and North America in Trakai on June 11-12. The discussions were opened by Lithuanian Minister of Foreign Affairs Audronius Ažubalis, who highlighted the strengthening of economic ties and shared cultural identity regionally. READ MORE

A Changing NATO for a Changing World

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By John Adams

NATO can expect success if its goals and efforts reflect NATO nations' common purpose, as they did during the Cold War, and failure if they do not. READ MORE

French "genocide" bill is attack on Turkey's dignity, foreign minister says

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Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu made a final appeal on Wednesday to French parliamentarians not to back a bill that would make it a crime to deny that Armenians had suffered a "genocide" at the hands of Ottoman Turks, dpa reported. READ MORE

Ukrainian Vector of Vladimir Putin

By Alexey Makarkin

In Russia foreign policy course is defined by the President – that is why a political decision that Putin returns to this post in spring 2012 has become a significant event affecting the development of Russian-Ukrainian relations. At first sight these relations should get worse considering traditionally more rigid foreign political line of Putin and political stakes of Yanukovych to establish contacts first of all with Medvedev, who becomes Prime-Minister in the new system of power.  “Yanukovych, who is evidently more prone to communicate with liberal Medvedev, was made clear that now he’ll have to deal with rough Putin. If someone had illusions, that one can come to an agreement with one of the Kremlin leaders individually, playing on contradictions, then now there are no such”, - considers political analyst Vladimir Fesenko. READ MORE

Baltic Dimension of Cooperation

By Daniil Rozanov

In a narrow understanding the notion Baltic countries covers the states possessing direct access to the Baltic Sea, options for direct sea communications between each other without crossing borders of other states. And these are nine countries: Germany, Denmark, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Finland, Sweden, Estonia. READ MORE

NATO Foreign Ministers to discuss operations, partnerships and Chicago summit

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The foreign ministers of NATO Allies and partner countries will meet in Brussels on 7 and 8 December to discuss current operations, the Alliance’s relationship with its partners, and preparations for the NATO summit in Chicago on 20-21 May 2012. READ MORE

New Initiative of Nazarbayev “G Global Project”

I would like to address the World Community

In the very beginning of 2009 in the heat of the crisis, I came forward with an initiative of a world financial reform

In the articles “Key from Crisis” and “The Fifth Way” I said that cosmetic anti-crisis measures shall not save the world from new growing waves of crisis.

The course of events has proved these words.

Yet no one has managed to suggest global anti-crisis plan that would be adopted on consensus basis.

Unfortunately, the formats G20 and G8 demonstrate to be inefficient, they haven’t even get to discuss the world Anti-crisis Plan.
  READ MORE

Russia's Plan to Disrupt U.S.-European Relations

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By Lauren Goodrich

Tensions between the United States and Russia have risen in the past month over several long-standing problems, including ballistic missile defense (BMD) and supply lines into Afghanistan. Moscow and Washington also appear to be nearing another crisis involving Russian accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO). READ MORE