Future Transdniester in Ukraine?
In spite of the fact that any worsening of situation neither in Moldova proper nor in its mutinous province Transdniester did occur recently, the region again has attracted heightened attention. It happened due to changing authorities in Kiev. READ MORE
Global Insights: Proposed NATO Reforms Worry Moscow
Last week, the group of experts assisting with the drafting of NATO's new Strategic Concept released their final report, entitled "NATO 2020: Assured Security, Dynamic Engagement." In anticipation of the planned Strategic Concept, which is scheduled for approval at this November's NATO heads-of-state summit in Lisbon, the experts' report recommends how the alliance should define its purpose, nature, and fundamental security tasks in the contemporary and future security environment. Since last fall, the 12-member group, led by former U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, has convened a series of public and private meetings in various countries to discuss international security challenges, including several last week in Washington. READ MORE
The “Reefs” of Russian-Ukrainian Rapprochement
Russia and Ukraine are on their way to a system dialogue. President Viktor Yanukovich has already sounded the suggestion to finalize the provisions of the Great Treaty of 1997. Will the states develop a new format of interaction? READ MORE
Saakashvili’s dream is to have easy access to Europe
Georgian president Mikheil Saakashvili believes that Europe must not be a tough target for his country as he said at the debates in Tbilisi's House Of Europe opened specifically for such discussions. Logomachies, as creators of the institution believe, will accelerate Georgia's accession to Europe. Experts in Tbilisi and Moscow comment on real progress of Georgia's integration into Europe. READ MORE
NATO's new strategic concept
NATO comes out with a new strategic concept once every ten years, like a child that outgrows its old clothes and needs new ones. The great paradox of these regular changes is that NATO's original "zone of hostility" has been shrinking geographically over the past 20 years while its zone of activity has continued to expand. In fact, all of NATO's past concepts simply provided a formal rationale for what it had been doing for a few years anyway, even if this extended beyond NATO's official competence. READ MORE
The EU and natural gas: The new security agenda
Energy supply should dominate the EU's overall security objectives for the immediate future, given its dependence on Russia. READ MORE
Sergei Ivanov Seeks Deals in Washington
 with U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates.jpg)
The Russian authorities are seeking a major détente with the West. A draft of a revised foreign policy doctrine was leaked and extracts published by Russky Newsweek in Moscow this month. The document was prepared by the foreign ministry and envisages closer political cooperation with the US and the West in exchange for much needed Western capital and technologies to kick-start Russian modernization in all fields, including defense. The document was prepared by the foreign ministry in February and provisionally approved by President, Dmitry Medvedev. READ MORE
The Implications of UN-CSTO Cooperation
Kyrgyzstan’s recent upheaval and the war in Afghanistan have obscured the fact that other important developments are occurring in Central Asia. For example, Nikolai Bordyuzha, the secretary-general of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), announced in March that the Russia-dominated security group and the United Nations would henceforth cooperate in countering terrorism, transnational crime (including illegal arms trafficking), and in settling conflicts. READ MORE
Turkey Unleashes New Energy Strategy Plan
The Turkish energy ministry announced the strategic energy plan for 2010-2014, which seeks to accomplish several objectives: boosting supply security and Turkey’s influence in regional and global energy markets, protecting the environment, making greater use of domestic resources and restructuring the legal-institutional infrastructure of the national energy market. READ MORE
Russia opens a new pipeline of diplomacy
Russian diplomacy has been on a roll in recent months, the revival of ties with Ukraine being the most dramatic manifestation. But a string of successes, major and minor, sung and unsung, has been notched up below that high point - in Poland, Azerbaijan, Uzbekistan, Norway and Syria. READ MORE
