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Ukraine – Russia – Europe: the Triangle of Problems

By Oleg Gorbunov

Recently the tone of Russian-Ukrainian cooperation has begun decreasing meanwhile the optimism of Ukrainian politicians towards the rapprochement with Europe increased. It’s time to analyze these trends and to understand what exactly goes wrong. READ MORE

Caspian States’ Leaders Seal Security Deal

Stalled status accord may be signed in 2011 READ MORE

A Russia-NATO Alignment

By Michael Hikari Cecire

If the prognostications of many foreign policy pundits are to be believed, the NATO summit in Lisbon, set to open a week from today, could be a watershed moment for the Atlantic alliance, something which will set the West on a path of monumental geopolitical realignment. READ MORE

Nuclear Deal With Iran All for Show

By Emma L. Belcher, Stanton Nuclear Security Fellow

The Obama administration is preparing the ground for tougher sanctions on Iran by pushing to revive last year's ill-fated fuel swap deal. The renewed proposal to swap Iran's low enriched uranium for research reactor fuel is not a serious attempt at engagement, as the Unites States knows it will likely fail. Instead, it is intended to depict the United States as a reasonable negotiating partner, and Iran as a duplicitous state bent on obtaining the bomb at all costs. This could increase support for harsher international sanctions that are more strictly implemented. READ MORE

Russian Offer On Tapi Comes With Too Many Restrictions

By Martin Sieff

Despite a near reversal by Russia on its opposition to the Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI) pipeline, Turkmenistan has decided not to cut them in on the project. READ MORE

The New Maritime Arctic

By Caitlyn Antrim

Russian geopolitics of the 21st century will be different from the days of empire and conflict of the nineteenth and twentieth. The increased accessibility of the Arctic, with its energy and mineral resources, new fisheries, shortened sea routes and shipping along the rivers between the Arctic coast and the Eurasian heartland, is both enabling and propelling Russia to become a major maritime state. READ MORE

Russia Targeting Oil Assets in Poland and Lithuania

By Vladimir Socor

On October 30, Poland announced its intention to privatize the state-owned majority stake in the country’s second-largest oil industry concern, Lotos Group. The Polish government is inviting interested parties to pre-tender talks on the Lotos Group. READ MORE

Is The Door To NATO Really Open For Georgia?

By Aivaras Bagdonas, VU TSPMI doktorantas

During the visit to Tbilisi on 30 September – 1 October, NATO Secretary General A.F.Rasmussen said that the door of the Alliance remains open to Georgia and that the decision made during the Bucharest NATO Summit in 2008 is still in force. However, this statement could hardly be considered as an introduction to fast Georgia‘s integration into Alliance. It could first of all be based on several examples reflecting the dialogue between Georgia and NATO (or, to be more exact, the state of relations close to stagnation) during the recent years. READ MORE

Westerwelle Repeats Call For Withdrawal Of NATO Nuclear Weapons

By Gregg Benzow

German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle, speaking during a parliamentary debate, has again called on the country’s NATO allies to remove their stockpiles of nuclear weapons from German soil. READ MORE

Uncle Sam, Energy And Peace In Asia

By M K Bhadrakumar

In the Orient, offspring don't rebuke parents, even if the latter are at fault - especially in the post-Soviet space where Marxian formalism continues to prevail as political culture. The sort of stern public rebuke bordering on short shrift that Ashgabat administered to Moscow is extraordinary. READ MORE