By actual freezing of NABUCCO project the attempts (starting from mid of 2011) to rehabilitate already forgotten (for the first time the idea of such gas pipeline was announced in 1996) project of the Trans-Caspian gas pipeline have intensified. In March 2012 the President of Turkmenistan Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov visited Ukraine.  In Kiev for uncovered joy of Ukrainian authorities Berdymukhamedov announced the idea of construction of the pipeline Turkmenistan-Azerbaijan-Georgia (with optional branch to Ukraine) – Turkey – the European Union (EU) for supplies of gas to Europe by-passing Russia. The capacity of planned gas pipeline should comprise up to 25 billion cubic meters of natural gas annually. READ MORE

There will be no base of the Alliance in Ulyanovsk, not Even Its Representatives READ MORE

CA-NEWS (CA) - NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said the Alliance wants to include a number of Central Asian countries in NATO deliberations on the future development in Afghanistan, reported the Silk Road Newsline. READ MORE

As campaigning continues ahead of the 6 May run-off for French president both candidates set out on Monday to court the more than six million people who voted for the far-right Front National party of Marine Le Pen in Sunday’s first round. READ MORE

Potential large shale gas deposits in Europe have raised hopes that the old continent may in the future rely less on oil and natural gas imports from Russia. However, fears of potential environmental effects of hydraulic fracturing and the lack of a clear policy by the European Union have led to the suspension of shale gas exploration in France and Bulgaria in the past year. In April, environmental protests spread to Romania raising concerns that shale gas exploration could be stalled in yet another EU state. READ MORE

One of the more pernicious obstacles to rational policy-making is the "ratchet effect": the tendency for policies, once adopted, to acquire a life of their own and to become resistant to change, even when they have ceased to be useful. For example, you can be confident that we will all be wasting time in airport security lines decades from now, long after Osama bin Laden's death. Existing security measures may not pass a simple cost-benefit test, but what political leader would dare relax them? READ MORE

In his last major address as Russia's prime minister before retaking the presidency, Vladimir Putin outlined "five priorities" for his third presidential term. His fifth task is to boost cooperation across the Eurasian space, enhancing Russia's global position by having it lead a new effort towards integrating the states of the former Soviet Union. Speaking before the Duma last Wednesday, Putin said, "Creation of a common economic space is the most important event in post-Soviet space since the collapse of the Soviet Union." READ MORE

Despite the fact that relating to the accident at the Japanese Fukushima nuclear power plant seriously undermined people's confidence in nuclear power up to the point of abandoning functioning nuclear projects, some countries on the contrary, want to build their own nuclear power plants. READ MORE

God bless the American soldiers in Afghanistan. READ MORE

The West needs to look beyond the stereotypes if relations with Russia are to improve READ MORE

Exclusive interview  Estonian Foreign Minister READ MORE

On 10 April in Washington, D.C., Lithuanian Vice-Minister of Foreign Affairs Evaldas Ignatavičius discussed an upcoming NATO summit with Assistant Secretary for Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs Philip Gordon. The Vice-Minister participated in a round table discussion on Belarus together with representatives from U.S. think tanks and gave a lecture about the Baltic-Nordic-U.S. cooperation. READ MORE

The President of Lithuania Dalia Grybauskaitė decided not to go to the meeting, arranged by the President of Poland Bronislaw Komarowski, with the heads of Baltic states in Warsaw. It is reported that during this meeting the President of Poland wants to discuss with the Heads of neighbor-states the issues of the on-coming NATO Summit in Chicago. But the plans of Grybauskaitė don’t anticipate the visit to Warsaw. READ MORE

Bulgaria has scrapped two of its three Russian-backed energy projects. Plans to build the 2,000MW Belene nuclear power plant on the Danube River were cancelled last week, and the Burgas-Alexandroupolis oil pipeline was dropped in December. Usually saying ‘no’ to Russian President-elect Vladimir Putin carries a heavy price. READ MORE

What is going on in Central Europe? After Viktor Orban’s consolidation of power in Hungary, another political strongman has returned to the helm, this time in Slovakia. Former Prime Minister Robert Fico has once again assumed the leadership of Slovakia following his Smer-Social Democracy (SMER-SD) party’s landslide victory in last month’s elections. Like Orban in Hungary, Fico will preside over the first single-party cabinet in Slovakia since the collapse of communism in 1989. His coalition government between 2006 and 2010 had been accused of abuses of power and a lack of respect toward the opposition, media, and NGOs. And, much like his Hungarian counterpart, Fico could yet use his political mandate to attempt to reinterpret Slovakia’s history, change key laws, or battle with the European Union on nationalistic grounds. READ MORE

NATO supports Georgia's expectations to join NATO and confirms the position, announced at the summit in Bucharest in 2008, related to Georgia's accession to NATO, NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen. According to him, Georgia is an exemplary partner of the Organization. READ MORE

The Report on Latvian-Lithuanian Co-operation Perspectives was presented in January of this year by the ambassadors Neris Germanas (Lithuania) and Alberts Sarkanis (Latvia). In fact Lithuania’s foreign policy is directed toward the U.S., Russia, Belarus and Poland, whereas a close neighbor Latvia is somehow left aside. The authors of the Report ask: “Why… in reality today we are not closer and better acquainted with each other than with more distant neighboring nations? […].  Why are we incapable, despite the publicly declared unity, to coordinate and come forward with a common position which could be useful for us as well as for a wider region?” READ MORE

U.S. policy toward the Central Asian states has aimed at facilitating their cooperation with U.S. and NATO stabilization efforts in Afghanistan and their efforts to combat terrorism, proliferation, and trafficking in arms, drugs, and persons. Other U.S. objectives have included promoting free markets, democratization, human rights, energy development, and the forging of East-West and Central Asia-South Asia trade links. Such policies aim to help the states become what various U.S. administrations have considered to be responsible members of the international community rather than to degenerate into xenophobic, extremist, and anti-Western regimes that contribute to wider regional conflict and instability. READ MORE

The North Atlantic Alliance had engaged regional governments on defense matters since the mid-1990s, when former Soviet Central Asian republics have joined NATO’s Euro-Atlantic Partnership Council (EAPC) and its related Partnership for Peace (PfP) program. READ MORE

Lithuanian–Polish relations, though far from being perfect in the political sense, are on a very good level in economic terms. This awkward situation is not only a hard task for policy makers, but may also influence future generations and their vision regarding the cooperation between Poland and Lithuania. The bilateral relations of Poland and Lithuania, therefore, have become hostage to the complicated history of both nations and their respective complex inner political situations. READ MORE

Seeking the right balance between Allies is the key to the continued success of NATO for 2020 and beyond. This can only be achieved by focusing on shared purpose, responsibility and leadership between European and North American Allies. READ MORE

After a 20-year stagnation, relations between Azerbaijan and Kyrgyzstan are reaching a qualitatively new level. This fact was noted after the talks between the presidents of Azerbaijan and Kyrgyzstan in Baku. READ MORE

Syrian opposition demands more supportReport links Syrian rebels with human rights abusesSyrian First Lady Asma al-Assad: The good wifeSyrian forces commit 'systematic torture': reportOn a deadly mission: Journalists in SyriaThe reel revolutionSyrian crisis could spill over into LebanonSyrian deserters lead charge to overthrow AssadRefugees torn over return to violent Syria Russia’s shifting stance towards Syria is essential to end the conflict, former NATO Secretary-General Jaap De Hoop Scheffer tells DW. He also urges Russian President-elect Putin to attend the upcoming NATO summit. READ MORE

Several Eurasian leaders were among the 54 heads of state, deputy prime ministers, or foreign ministers who attended the March 26-27 Nuclear Security Summit in Seoul, South Korea. The main objective of the summit was to prevent non-state actors such as terrorists or criminals from acquiring dangerous nuclear materials, a constant worry in the post-Soviet space due to the legacy of the USSR’s massive nuclear weapons program. READ MORE