Fencing off the EU from neighboring countries such as Ukraine and Turkey would lead to a loss for Europe, 66th U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice (2005-2009) has said. READ MORE

Russian President Vladimir Putin addressed his most controversial policies in a whirlwind interview with the RT television news network on Thursday, defending what his critics say is his crackdown on dissent, repeating the Kremlin’s warnings against foreign intervention in Syria, and engaging foreign rivals over contested issues. READ MORE

In his first official bilateral visit to Kazakhstan since April 2008, President Islam Karimov and other senior Uzbekistani officials discussed a range of important bilateral, regional and international issues with their Kazakhstani counterparts in Astana on September 6–7, 2012. These topics included boosting two-way economic ties, discouraging other Central Asian countries from taking actions that threatened their water supplies, and discussing how to manage the ongoing civil war in Afghanistan. READ MORE