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Archive - 2012

November 19th

Integrating Russia’s Post-Imperium

By Dmitri Trenin

With Russia’s 2012 presidential elections effectively over since Vladimir Putin’s decision to reclaim his old Kremlin office, it is time to turn from personalities to policies. Putin plans to stay in the Kremlin for two more presidential terms, another 12 years, as he is enabled to do by the recently-amended constitution. So who will be Russia’s next president is now a certainty; less obvious is what he hopes to achieve. READ MORE

Estonia wary of Nord Stream expansion

Estonian Defense Minister Urmas Reinsalu sent a letter to Estonian Foreign Minister Urmas Paet on Oct. 23 urging the government to refuse to allow the third and fourth lines of the Nord Stream natural gas pipeline project to run through Estonia’s Exclusive Economic Zone. Reinsalu’s letter comes just a month after the Russo-German project requested permission to perform studies on Estonia’s seabed. Estonia rejected a similar request in 2007 for environmental and safety reasons and on the grounds that hosting a strategic Russian asset could create a security threat for the Baltic country. READ MORE

November 16th

Xi Jinping: the compromise candidate

 The political direction of China's new party chief, Xi Jinping, remains unclear even after serving as the party's vice president for five years. Maybe that is what qualified him for the job as president and party head. READ MORE

Afghan security forces on track to take full security responsibility

"Our national security forces continue to grow on a daily basis. I am confident that we will complete the process of transition to full Afghan security responsibility by the end of 2014, as previously agreed," said Major General Asadullah Akramyar, Deputy Assistant Minister for Policy and Strategy at the Afghan Ministry of Defence while visiting NATO Headquarters on 9 November. READ MORE

Merkel ready to sign Ukraine-EU Association Agreement when prerequisites created

German Chancellor Angela Merkel says that the conditions for signing the Association Agreement between the European Union and Ukraine are currently unavailable. READ MORE

Borg lambasts ‘gross calumny’ raised during EC briefing over Aliyev residence

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During European Commission press briefing, press asks whether EC is aware of MEPs looking into claims of a bribe to foreign minister to award residence permit to Kazakh billionaire Rakhat Aliyev. READ MORE

New Kazakhstan-US Energy Partnership Plan Adopted

By Richard Weitz

The latest meeting of the Kazakhstani-US Energy Partnership Commission took place in Washington on October 15–16, 2012. The two delegation heads, Kazakhstan’s Minister of Oil and Gas Sauat Mynbayev and the US Deputy Secretary of Energy Daniel Poneman, signed a Joint Action Plan for 2012–2013 that promotes cooperation in four broad categories: Nuclear Security and Nuclear Power, Hydrocarbon Resources, Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency, and Electric Power. READ MORE

Turkey Concerns New Authorities of Georgia to Limit Turkish Assets Flow

In Turkey they are concerned that new authorities in Georgia shall limit to some extent Turkish assets flow into this country. This was stated by the Director of the Institute of Oriental Studies of the National Science Academy of Armenia, orientalist Ruben Safrastyan in course of the panel discussion in Yerevan on the subject “Elections in Georgia and their Effect in the Region”. READ MORE

November 14th

Obama victory - what now for Europe?

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Poland's foreign minister has said that he expects President Obama to be more active in the Middle East after his win in the US elections on Tuesday. READ MORE

Oil and Gas Factor in Karabakh Conflict: New Trends

By Sergey Minasyan

It’s not a secret that today the main financial-economic and partially geographic resource of Azerbaijan within its policy in Karabakh conflict – are particularly significant incomes from Caspian energy sources production (oil and gas). They give hope to military-political leaders of Azerbaijan to achieve cardinal advantage in military-technical sphere and activation of armament race, to finance big regional projects around Armenia, to invest or even open corruption financial aid in third countries, and undertake other steps with the target to achieve favorable change of processes within Karabakh conflict, to force Armenia to make one-side concessions. Simultaneously oil factor also increases geopolitical significance of Azerbaijan per estimations of regional and even world actors. READ MORE