NATO Takes Aim At Energy
When during the meetings in Strasbourg and Kiel (in April 2009) the leaders of NATO decided to start discussions on a new strategic concept of NATO, nobody expected easy agreements. Nevertheless all the countries of the Alliance agreed that the key goal of NATO should be the establishment of the secure political environment. To this end the Alliance shall elaborate effective measures for the elimination of threats. READ MORE
Dalia Grybauskaitė And Her Baltic And Polish Counterparts To Discuss Ways To Promote Regional Partnership, In Riga
On Friday, September 10, President of the Republic of Lithuania Dalia Grybauskaitė goes for a one-day working visit to Riga to attend a meeting of the Presidents of Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia and to make an address at an annual security conference in the capital of Latvia. This time, the traditional meeting of the heads of the three Baltic States will also be attended by the new President of Poland, Bronislaw Komorowski. READ MORE
Collective Defense in Central Asia Contradicted by Rising National Spending
Despite the impact of the global economic crisis on all of the economies within the former Soviet Union, averaging a 7 percent decline in GDP in 2009, defense spending has increased in each state with the exception of Belarus (which remained unchanged in 2009 year-on-year at 1.5 percent of GDP). Defense spending, according to an extensive analysis in Nezavisimaya Gazeta, witnessed the sharpest increase in Georgia (4.56 percent of GDP), Armenia (4.07 percent) and Azerbaijan (3.95 percent). In the case of Armenia, this level of defense expenditure proved surprising in the context of its 15 percent decline in GDP in 2009. READ MORE
Biden's Trip Confirms Eastern European Defense Is Still On The US Agenda
Despite the scrapping of US eastern European missile defense plans, Vice President Biden's trip to eastern Europe presents fresh alternatives and confirms its security concerns are still a US priority. READ MORE
