China Showcases Expeditionary Military Power in Peace Mission 2010
On September 9-25, Kazakhstan hosted the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Peace Mission 2010 military exercise, at the Matybulak training range in Zhambyl region, designed to showcase the organization’s capabilities against extremism, separatism and terrorism. READ MORE
A Strategic Opportunity for Ukraine
There are neighborhoods in Kyiv one might easily mistake for Paris, London, or New York: intricately decorated Victorian apartment buildings and townhouses mingle with sidewalk cafes, small parks and monuments, mid-century office blocks, and glass-fronted modern office towers. And stretching skyward from the crests of Kyiv’s famous seven hills are its unmistakably Slavic monuments—the onion domes and golden crosses of St. Michael’s and St. Sophia’s cathedrals, and the Caves Monastery. READ MORE
Why Russia Is Cutting Off Major Arms Sales To Iran
Russia, a major global arms dealer, decided Wednesday to nix a controversial arms sale that would have given Iran missiles. READ MORE
Central Asia’s Perfect Storm
Dean Acheson, US President Harry Truman’s Secretary of State, liked to quote a friend who said that being in government made him scared, but that being out of it made him worried. To those of us not privy to the hidden complexities of NATO’s military intervention in Afghanistan, the situation there – and across Central Asia -- is extremely worrisome. READ MORE
Russia Not To Deliver S-300 Missiles To Iran - Russian Top General
Russia will not deliver S-300 air defense missiles to Iran as planned because such transfers are prohibited under UN sanctions, the chief of the Russian general staff said Wednesday. READ MORE
EU-Russia Partnership For Modernization Has To Include The Modernization Of Russia‘s Attitude Towards Neighbours, Lithuania‘s Foreign Minister Says
At a meeting of the European Union‘s and Russia‘s foreign ministers on 22 September in New York, Lithuania‘s Minister of Foreign Affairs Audronius Ažubalis said that Russia‘s attitude towards it’s neighbours had be modernized. Implementation of the EU-Russia Partnership for Modernization was one of the topics of this meeting. READ MORE
OSCE Police Advisory Team In Kyrgyzstan Has To Start Its Mission This Year, Lithuania’s Foreign Minister Says
During his visit to New York, Lithuania’s Foreign Minister Audronius Ažubalis urged Kyrgyzstan to enable the police advisory team of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) to start its duties in Kyrgyzstan already this year. READ MORE
Global crisis should not hamper Millennium goals, Ban warns
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has urged world leaders to lift millions of people out of poverty despite of the global economic downturn. But experts doubt the goals can be met by the 2015 deadline. READ MORE
Holding OSCE Summit in Astana very bold and serious initiative - Russia's Permanent Representative to EU V. Chizhov
It is not a secret that in various periods there existed various opinions regarding the effectiveness of the OSCE, and in the recent past its work aroused a lot of sharp remarks. Many experts said it was conditioned by several factors such as ambiguous status of the OSCE member states in the process of geopolitical transformation of the world. Critical moments caused by the conflict of geopolitical interests are still questionable; these problems have been piled up for years. READ MORE
Russia’s mission is Eurasian integration
For several centuries, everyone in Russia – from great minds to cooks – has been discussing the same issue: should Russia look to Europe or Asia? The world’s geopolitical structure has changed in this time, and yet we still have not resolved this issue. Xing Guangcheng, an expert on Russia and a professor at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, who will be attending the upcoming seventh meeting of the Valdai International Discussion Club, shared his views on this question. READ MORE