In Córdoba, EU Foreign Ministers Discussed The Functioning Of The European External Action Service
At an informal meeting of European Union’s foreign ministers on 5-6 March in Córdoba (Spain), Lithuania’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Audronius Ažubalis and his counterparts discussed the shaping of the new European External Action Service, the EU’s relations with large emerging economies, as well as the situation in the Middle East. READ MORE
Kazakhstan: Astana Finding That Running The OSCE Is A Constant Challenge
The responsibility of running the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe may be having a moderating effect on Kazakhstan, Vladimir Shkolnikov, an expert on the workings of the Vienna-based multilateral organization tells EurasiaNet. For one, officials in Astana are finding that it is not so easy to impose their own political preferences on a group that comprises 56 member states, and which requires consensus to get anything done. READ MORE
Wrong Time for Armenian Genocide Bill
Demonstrating a predictable lack of strategic foresight, the U.S. Congress plans to renew its obsession with the Armenian genocide tomorrow, when the House Committee on Foreign Affairs will hold its mark-up session for the Armenian Genocide resolution. In 2007, the resolution -- which "[calls] upon the president to ensure that the foreign policy of the United States reflects appropriate understanding and sensitivity concerning . . . the Armenian Genocide" -- passed out of committee but never reached a vote on the House floor, following a strong pushback effort from the Bush administration. The supporters of this year's iteration hope the Obama White House will prove less resistant to its foreign policy being held hostage to Congress's parochial interests. READ MORE
Yanukovych’s Election Opens Up Crimean Separatist Threat
Newly-elected President of Ukraine Viktor Yanukovych is inaugurated in Kiev. READ MORE
Yanukovych visits Moscow, pledges better relations
Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych has visited Moscow for his second foreign visit since being sworn in. Long considered a pro-Kremlin politician, he said he wanted to open "a new page" in relations with Moscow. READ MORE
Now Burjanadze is talking to Moscow
Nino Burjanadze, leader of the Democratic Movement-United Georgia, left on a visit to Moscow on March 3. She is the second opposition politician to visit Moscow, following in the footsteps of leader of the Movement for Fair Georgia Zurab Noghaideli, and the visit has already caused controversy. READ MORE
The Mirror of The Real Continental Cooperation
About the suggestions of the USA and Russia on the problems of conflict prevention and regulation within OSCE area. READ MORE
Azerbaijan Seeks Alternative Gas Export Routes: Sending a Signal to Ankara
“We are interested in exporting our resources through different routes,” Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev stated during his visit to Bulgaria on November 13. On the same day, he paid a short working visit to Sofia to meet his counterpart Georgi Parvanov and to sign an inter-governmental agreement on the transit of Azeri gas to Europe though the Black Sea. This was the third agreement signed with a foreign country during the past month. Previous agreements were signed with Russia and Iran. Analysts believe that these latest developments hint at Baku’s plans to diversify its export options and reduce its dependence on the so-called “Turkish route”. READ MORE
Bridge on the Dnieper
Ukraine is in the news again, this time for its panicked response to a flu epidemic that has claimed over three hundred lives. In many countries, this would simply be a matter of public health, but in Ukraine, where politics is polarized by culture and region, an epidemic is another excuse for partisan wrangling. President Viktor Yushchenko is engaged in an escalating verbal battle with Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko, a onetime ally now angling for his job. A presidential election is scheduled for January 17. READ MORE
Belgian PM named as EU president
EU leaders have chosen the Belgian Prime Minister, Herman van Rompuy, to be the first permanent European Council President. READ MORE
