KIEV, Ukraine—President Viktor Yanukovych brushed off Moscow's latest efforts to woo Ukraine into a Russia-led trade bloc, insisting in an interview that Kiev wants special terms that would allow it to develop relations with the European Union as well. READ MORE

On May 3rd – 4th the capital of Kazakhstan shall hold the IV Astana Economic Forum (AEF) on the subject: “New Decade: Challenges and Prospects”. READ MORE

Kazakhstan tries to balance its geopolitical interests between the east and the west when handing out oil and gas reserves. So it was high time that India, which landed a block in the Caspian Sea on Saturday, got a break in the central Asian country where US, Russian and Chinese oil firms have secured huge energy deals. READ MORE

The problem of non-proliferation still remains to be a complicated international problem. Current war in North African Libya once again has reminded of it. Politicians and experts began remembering, that Muammar Gaddafi intended aforetime for Libya to become a member of the nuclear club. But under powerful pressure of the leading UNO member-states he was forced to refuse of such plans, which in practice helped him to restore relations of Tripoli with world powers and other states of the world. Today, when Libya has found itself under the pressure of the UN sanctions, when NATO member-states lead warfare within its territory, it is even frightful to think what could happen if Gaddafi possessed nuclear weapon. They say, that in this case there could be no intervention of western states into Libya. READ MORE

The American investor who once employed Sergei Magnitsky, a whistle-blowing lawyer who died unattended in a Moscow jail cell in 2009, said Monday that tax officials involved in the fraudulent $230 million refund scheme that Magnitsky was trying to expose have bought millions of dollars’ worth of real estate in Russia, Montenegro and Dubai, and stashed millions more in offshore bank accounts. READ MORE

Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan, the Caspian littoral states that are known to have common history of foundation and development in old time and as member states of the former USSR have always maintained amicable and good neighborly relations. The countries embarked on a brand new level of relations since both had gained independence back to 1991. READ MORE

A huge surge in support for a Finnish nationalist party that opposes eurozone bailouts is complicating Europe’s plans to rescue Portugal and other debt-ridden economies. READ MORE

There are wars in pursuit of interest. In these wars, nations pursue economic or strategic ends to protect the nation or expand its power. There are also wars of ideology, designed to spread some idea of “the good,” whether this good is religious or secular. The two obviously can be intertwined, such that a war designed to spread an ideology also strengthens the interests of the nation spreading the ideology. READ MORE

The former British chief scientific adviser says the UK should press on even faster with new nuclear power stations; the German voters say Germany should dump them altogether – and it looks as though the Berlin government will agree. READ MORE

Perspective is needed when deciding between nuclear and other power sources. Renewable energy and conservation aren't enough in the real world. And burning fossil fuels will only worsen global warming. READ MORE

Nuclear power no solution. READ MORE

TALLINN - Estonia’s transit industry continues to show double-digit growth in 2011. This is a very encouraging sign for the economy, and leads analysts to speculate that the transit sector would be a lucrative investment in the future. Estonia is uniquely positioned to capture a significant share of the transit market between Russia and Scandinavia, Western Europe and the Baltics. READ MORE

A couple of weeks ago, Kyrgyzstan's president, Roza Otunbayeva, announced that the country was planning to construct two counterterror training centers in the southern part of the country, and that one would be built by Russia and the other by the U.S. Her announcement raised a lot of questions, which I posed to Alisher Khamidov, a EurasiaNet contributor and expert on southern Kyrgyzstan. He said that fears of Islamist militants from Tajikistan as well as the military of Uzbekistan are motivating Kyrgyzstan to develop the centers, and that Otunbayeva puts a higher priority on the U.S. center than on the Russian one. READ MORE

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev will attend the Boao Forum for Asia (BFA) Annual Conference in China where he will address Russia's economic integration into the Asia Pacific region, a presidential aide said on Tuesday. READ MORE

Events in the Middle East are reverberating throughout the world, but no government is as committed to squashing domestic protests as is the leadership in Beijing. The government there has begun a crackdown against liberal voices in China. This seems to be a systematic effort that includes control of communications, beefing up internal security, arrest and prosecution of progressives, and even extralegal mechanisms. READ MORE

More oil and gas drilling, biofuels, the abandonment of climate change ambitions and perhaps more fuel-efficient vehicles: this is the United States' recipe for energy in the next decade READ MORE

Snap elections of the President in Kazakhstan ended with firm victory of the current Head of the state Nursultan Nazarbayev. This may have various estimations and viewpoints. But there is the fact – the election campaign was of pure virtuosity. READ MORE

The commencement of military operations in Libya has led to some unexpected reactions in Eastern European capitals. It was widely expected that Russia, whose uneasiness with the very principle of humanitarian intervention is well-known, would have used its veto at the U.N. Security Council to block the passage of Resolution 1973. After all, Russia's firm opposition to the Kosovo intervention in 1999 led the United States to work through NATO rather than bring the matter to the Security Council. And Moscow has had a clear track record over the last decade of resisting Western calls for intervention on humanitarian grounds in places like Sudan, Zimbabwe and Burma. Yet Russia chose to abstain from the vote on the Libya resolution, not veto it, and in the absence of Russian resistance, China chose not to be the lone standout on the issue. While there has subsequently been a great deal of criticism -- most notably expressed by Prime Minister Vladimir Putin -- emanating from some circles in Russia, there has been no indication that Moscow is prepared to take any drastic steps to register its displeasure. READ MORE

A buildup of external pressure, combined with growing internal economic stress, makes Tajikistan a Central Asian state worth keeping an eye on. READ MORE

Emerging markets, in particular China, are protecting the luxury sector from the worst of the global economic downturn. READ MORE

Ukraine this week continued its weeklong negotiations with the European Union over associate membership in, and the formation of a free trade agreement with, the bloc. READ MORE

Ukrainian authorities still count on the revision of gas treaties, concluded during the period when Julia Timoshenko was the Prime Minister. This is regularly indicated by the President Viktor Yanukovych, the Prime Minister Nikolay Azarov and Fuel and Energy Minister Yury Bojko. The subject shall become more urgent when gas discount ends to be valid, which was gained in the result of Kharkov agreements on Black Sea Fleet. And what’s then? READ MORE

On a recent trip to London, I was asked by several experts whether the domino effect that started in the Middle East could affect Kazakhstan and its neighbors. My answer was a simple no for three reasons. READ MORE

Change is in the air in northern Africa and energy policy is also undergoing a revolution. The region boasts ideal conditions for solar and wind energy plants. And even Europe stands to profit. READ MORE

Poland's old anti-Russian prejudices are preventing it from finding its true place in Europe READ MORE

Tuesday, April 5, Oslo - President Dalia Grybauskaitė started a two-day state visit in Norway. The President was officially welcomed at the Royal Palace, where she met with King Harald V and Queen Sonja of Norway, Crown Prince Haakon and his wife Crown Princess Mette-Marit, and Princess Astrid. READ MORE

During the visit in Brussels on 24 February, Vladimir Putin tried to push own energy policy model to the EU. Negotiations were indeed very difficult and parties didn’t manage to coordinate their positions. But the EU’s third internal energy market package took effect on 3 March. READ MORE

The unrest that has gripped North Africa and the Middle East has been driven by a potent mixture of economics and politics. Citizens have taken to the streets to protest falling living standards, a lack of political power and an absence of opportunities. READ MORE

A major review of Europe's water policies next year will pave the way for savings targets to be adopted by member states and industries, according to a senior EU official who was speaking on World Water Day. READ MORE

What does Russia's divergent response to international action in North Africa say about future foreign-policy choices in the region? READ MORE

Georgia will become a NATO member by convincing Allies that it is a significant “net contributor” to the common security in the North-Atlantic region, John Bass, the U.S. ambassador to Georgia, said on March 24. READ MORE

Will Serbia get a piece of Gazprom’s South Stream pipeline or not? Vladimir Putin, Russia’s prime minister, rattled nerves across the region this week by saying “different versions” of the route were under consideration. READ MORE

Russia signed a deal with EU member Slovenia , paving the way for the construction of the South Stream gas pipeline through the Adriatic country. READ MORE

VILNIUS - The tragedy of Japan, including the nuclear accident in Fukushima, got an immediate response from Lithuanian hearts. Over 200,000 litas (58,000 euros) in donations, mostly via calls to charity phone numbers, were collected by ordinary Lithuanians during the first five days after the earthquake and tsunami hit Japan, and the charity action continues. That sum from the first five days is almost equal to the Lithuanian government’s help in blankets and sleeping-bags for Japan. READ MORE