The importance of Azerbaijan is rising in the world, David Merkel, senior fellow at the Centre for Transatlantic Relations - John Hopkins University in the U.S. and Former U.S. State Department and National Security Council senior official believes. READ MORE

China has signed no international-legal documents on transboundary water objects. READ MORE

In recent years, Kazakhstan has made an effort to deepen and expand cooperation with the world’s Islamic community. The focus has been on economic and cultural ties, but political and security issues have also been prominent due to the large number of internal and regional conflicts afflicting Muslim majority countries. Toward this end, in 1995, Kazakhstan joined the Organization for Islamic Conference (OIC), which was established in 1969. Kazakhstan then became the first Central Asian country to chair the organization as the rotating head of its Council of Foreign Ministers (CFM) from June 2011 to November 2012. READ MORE

United States plans to link the countries of Central Asia by new rail lines with Afghanistan. At the same time, Washington opposes neither the construction of a railway corridor from Central Asia through Iran, nor Chinese extensions of its national rail system into the area. Nevertheless, according to analysts at the Moscow Strategic Culture Foundation, these overlapping transportation development projects threaten to spark a new “railroad war” in the Central Asian region—one that in the absence of counter-efforts by the Russian Federation is likely to result in a sharp reduction of Moscow’s influence over the countries there. READ MORE

Till 2014 Lithuania intends to build a terminal of condensed natural gas (CNG) in Klaipeda in order to reduce the dependence of supplies from (yet the only source) Russian gas. Meanwhile Russian gas giant Gazprom loses European market rapidly, giving the way to other suppliers, for example, Qatar and is concerned about the issues of terminal construction by Lithuania. READ MORE

More than 40% of Britain's Afghan military equipment may not return to the UK, according to Government exit strategy plans. READ MORE

The last chance for peaceful talks to resolve the nuclear issue. READ MORE

Interviewee: Commodore Steven Jermy RN, former Strategy Director in the British Embassy in Afghanistan READ MORE

Will Nino Burjanadze leave big politics? Can the former opposition leader and one of the most influential Georgian politicians compete with the national hero Bidzina Ivanishvili? Has Burjanadze lost her credibility in the eyes of the public and will she run for the post of the head of the country? The closer the presidential election, the more urgent these issues are. READ MORE

Lithuania and Poland will join forces and turn to the European Commission (EC) to ask for the European Union's (EU) financial support to the projected gas pipeline, Lithuania's Prime Minister Algirdas Butkevičius has said after meeting with his Polish counterpart. READ MORE