Over the 22 years of independence Kazakhstan established itself as a sovereign state that confidently became a part of the global community. It established equitable relations with many countries of the world. READ MORE

There is no place like home especially in winter, that is when you have a home with appropriate conveniences to return to. This unfortunately is a dream for many Kyrgyz people. READ MORE

On November 29, Azerbaijan and the European Union signed a visa-facilitation agreement in Vilnius, Lithuania, within the framework of the Eastern Partnership summit. The agreement was signed by the foreign minister of Azerbaijan, Elmar Mammadyarov, by Linas Linkevicius, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Lithuania in his capacity (July 1–December 31, 2013) as President of the Council of the European Union, and by Stefan Fule, the EU’s commissioner with responsibility for enlargement and the European Neighborhood Policy (Contact.az, November 29). The agreement will help Azerbaijani citizens to obtain an EU visa more easily and more cheaply.  READ MORE

In a wide-ranging interview with TIME in Tehran , Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammed Javad Zarif spoke to writer and Iran expert Robin Wright about how the Geneva nuclear deal came together, how the government has to appeal to Iran’s own parliament not to undermine the interim pact, and how any new sanctions passed by the United  States Congress would kill the deal. READ MORE

There seems to be pessimism in the air regarding the economic prospects of the West and by extension the world. In its recent report, the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) revised downward its estimates of growth for many countries. It lowered the overall growth rate forecast of the Euro Zone for 2013 and 2014 each by 0.5 per cent. For the entire OECD, the forecast has been lowered by 0.6 per cent for 2013 and 0.2 per cent for 2014. READ MORE

Six EU countries are in "a mess" over the bilateral deals they signed with Russia on the South Stream gas pipeline, with Bulgaria the most desperate to get EU help, European Commission officials told. READ MORE

There is still no clarity on the construction of the new Visaginas nuclear power plant in Lithuania .. Position of the incumbent Prime Minister Algirdas Butkevicius and remains uncertain, despite all the statements about the strategic importance of this object. Lithuania until the end unable to agree with the other Baltic countries - Estonia and Latvia , about their participation in this project . READ MORE

An OSCE meeting took place in Kyiv as Ukrainians held pro-European protests. But, the group has lost its importance, says international law expert Manfred Nowak because the West and Russia are drifting apart. READ MORE

Russia wins in foreign policy but this is not enough to preserve the status of one of the great powers READ MORE

Moscow is calling on the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) to take a closer look at the problem of national minorities, including the problem of non-citizenship in the European Union, the Voice of Russia correspondent Ksenya Melnikova quotes Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov as saying. READ MORE