Home

USA

Armenia Presses Ahead with Nuclear Power Plant Construction

By Emil Danielyan

Armenia is pressing ahead with its ambitious plans to build a new nuclear power station to replace the aging Soviet-era facility at Metsamor slated for decommissioning by 2017. The Armenian government has commissioned an Australian engineering company to manage the project. However, the key question of who will provide the funding needed for the plant's construction remains unanswered. READ MORE

Risks and Prospects

Levan Girsiashvili, Political analyst Associaction of International relations in Tbilisi

Geopolitical Games in Southern Caucasus. READ MORE

David Kramer: Obama’s Administration Can Marginalize Ukraine

By Alena Getmanchuk, “Glavred”, Washington

Last time we talked to David Kramer in November 2007. Then he was a Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs, responsible for Russia, Ukraine, Moldova, and Belarus affairs, and later an Assistant Secretary of State. READ MORE

Russia-West Partnership Hurt by Moscow's Paranoia

André Budick

Russia has an ongoing fear of being encircled and slowly pushed back by the West, making it difficult for other nations to have valuable relations with Moscow. Should the West even pursue a partnership with such a paranoid regime, even though the alternative is very unpleasant? READ MORE

Steinmeier pushes for arms cuts on Moscow visit

German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier on a visit to Moscow urged Russian leaders not to miss an opportunity for improved ties with the US and a new deal on global nuclear disarmament. READ MORE

Russian-Azerbaijani Approach: Strategic Impulse or an Immediate Game?

By Andrey Areshev

The end of the “five-days war” and Russian recognition of Abkhazia and South Ossetia independence gave a new powerful impulse for the discussion of the Caucasian region future. International summits, conferences, official visits and informal consultations go on almost non-stop. And sometimes it is pretty difficult tell progress from “diplomatic tourism”. READ MORE

The Nabucco Carrot and U.S.-Iran Engagement

By Joshua Kucera

For years, analysts have argued that the Nabucco natural gas pipeline -- a U.S.-backed effort to transport gas from the Caspian Sea to Europe via Turkey, thus bypassing Russia -- needed to accept gas from Iran if it was to be economically viable. But Iranian involvement in the project, which is intended to reduce European energy dependence on Russian gas exports, has been anathema for U.S. policymakers: Washington's efforts to thwart Iran's ambitions have so far overridden its desire to thwart Russia's. READ MORE

EU-Russia summit reveals differences rather than agreement

EU and Russian leaders failed to mend the rifts at their summit in the Siberian town of Khabarovsk. Moscow criticised the EU's new eastern partnership while Brussels urged for a more reliable energy supply.

At the press conference on the last day of talks, both sides were eager to stress the good relations and the positive atmosphere of the summit. READ MORE

Manas at the Center of Kyrgyzstan's Complex Foreign Policy

By Erica Marat

As Kyrgyz President Kurmanbek Bakiyev is seeking re-election in July, he is balancing foreign policy between promises made to Russia and maintaining relations with the United States. Any decision on foreign policy is made with the idea of retaining his power, despite his low approval rating within the country. Thus far, Bakiyev has successfully balanced Bishkek's cooperation with both Russia and the United States. READ MORE