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November 29th

To break stalemate with Armenia Turkey should resolve Nagorno-Karabakh conflict

By Lamİya Adİlgizi, İstanbul

If Turkey wants to ease the current stalemate with Armenia, it should work with Armenia, Azerbaijan and Russia to begin to find a solution to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, says prominent American-Armenian scholar Ronald Grigor Suny from Michigan University. READ MORE

U.S. Ambassador: we care for what goes on in Latvia

Arranging a meeting with Judith Garber, the United States of America Ambassador to Latvia, was not difficult at all. It took a single phone call to the Public Affairs Section of the U.S. Embassy and the date was set. Chief of the U.S. diplomatic mission surprised Gregory Zubarev, member of BNN Editorial Board, already from the very first moment. Having passed through three security control points, he was personally welcomed by Ms. Garber herself. Dressed elegantly, but without any pretentiousness, she was smiling openly, accompanying her speech with natural and vigorous (but feminine) gestures. The interview took place in the library. READ MORE

Construction of South Stream Pipeline’s Serbian Section Gets Under Way

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The construction of the Serbian leg of the Russia-initiated South Stream gas pipeline, designed to diversify Moscow’s energy supply routes, was launched Sunday as a steel pipe was symbolically welded north of Belgrade.  READ MORE

November 27th

ARTIS PABRIKS: Over more than a decade Latvia has been security exporter to the South Caucasus and Central Asia regions

Exclusive interview of the Minister of Defence of the Republic of Latvia   Dr. Artis Pabriks  READ MORE

Foreign Minister Erlan Idrissov took part in the Seventh EU-Central Asia Ministerial Meeting

On November 20, the Seventh European Union and Central Asia Ministerial Meeting took place in Brussels. Kazakhstan was represented by Foreign Minister Erlan Idrissov. READ MORE

Afghan President Delays Signing of Deal with US

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By Sharon Behn

In an historic decision, Afghanistan’s assembly of tribal and community elders, the Loya Jirga, overall approved a multi-page Bilateral Security Agreement with the United States.  But it is still unclear when the deal will be signed. READ MORE

Estonian ministry: building gas pipeline to Finland is not decided yet

The Estonian Economy and Communications Ministry is not certain that the Estonian end of the Balticconnector gas pipeline, planned to be built between Estonia and Finland, should come on shore somewhere near Paldiski or whether the pipeline would even be built, LETA/Public Broadcasting reports. READ MORE

Pipelines Of Empire

By Robert D. Kaplan and Eugene Chausovsky

At this juncture in history, the fate of Europe is wound up not in ideas but in geopolitics. For millennia, eruptions from Asia have determined the fate of Europe, including invasions and migrations by Russians, Turkic tribes and Byzantine Greeks. Central and Eastern Europe, with their geographical proximity to the Asian steppe and the Anatolian land bridge, have borne the brunt of these cataclysms. Today is no different, only it is far subtler. Armies are not marching; rather, hydrocarbons are flowing. For that is the modern face of Russian influence in Europe. To understand the current pressures upon Europe from the east it is necessary to draw a map of energy pipelines. READ MORE

November 25th

Iran agrees to curb nuclear activity at Geneva talks

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Iran has agreed to curb some of its nuclear activities in return for about $7bn (£4.3bn) in sanctions relief, after days of intense talks in Geneva. READ MORE

Energy security and its mysteries

By Dainius Genys

Today energy security is one of the key issues of the Lithuanian economic policy. It is usually referred to as a technological or economic  energy self-sufficiency problem, yet recently more focus is given to the impact of energy on the development of society. This aspect creates prerequisites for discussion: what are the views of social sciences with respect to the national energy security? READ MORE