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Preliminary Outlines Of Kazakhstan Chairmanship At OSCE In 2010

The address of the representative of Kazakhstan Ministry of Foreign Affairs Talgat Unaibayev during Minsk Conference “Chairmanship of the Republic of Kazakhstan in OSCE: prospects, problems and challenges”. READ MORE

New Gas Pipeline From Central Asia Feeds China

By Andrew E. Kramer

With the turn of a ceremonial valve, China’s president, Hu Jintao, opened a big natural gas pipeline from central Asia to China on Monday, significantly increasing China’s access to the fuel and providing the first major alternative to exporting the region’s gas through Russia. READ MORE

Obama's Afghanistan Speech And Strategy

Foreign policy and political experts assess the president's speech. Below are responses from Frederick W. Kagan, Kimberly Kagan, Matthew Dowd, Meghan O'Sullivan, Gilles Dorronsoro, Douglas E. Schoen, Andrew J. Bacevich, Ed Rogers and Dennis Kucinich. READ MORE

OSCE Focus Moves To The East

By Leonid Gusev

Next year, in accordance with a decision made at the 15th OSCE Ministerial Council in November 2007, Kazakhstan will preside over the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE). Thus, a former Soviet republic will occupy this position for the first time. Under the circumstances, it would be natural to expect Kazakhstan to do all it can to consolidate its positions on the world arena. Its officials have already announced their intentions to include illegal immigration and drug trafficking on the OSCE agenda, problems that are particularly relevant for all CIS countries. READ MORE

Expert: EU-US Relations Ripe For Lisbon Treaty Upgrade

By Olof Gill

Ron Asmus is currently executive director of the Brussels-based Transatlantic Center. He is also responsible for strategic planning at the German Marshall Fund of the US. READ MORE

Between The EU And The CIS

By Tom Punkracz

The West still expects much from Kazakhstan. READ MORE

George Krol About US Relations With Central Asia Republics

George Krol, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs with VOA TV Uzbek Service – Navbahor Imamova. READ MORE

Westerwelle Calls For Protection Of German Opel Jobs In Clinton Meeting

German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle met with US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in Washington Thursday, with a raft of issues on the agenda. The fate of German carmaker Opel is Germany's biggest concern. READ MORE

Kyrgyzstan's Role In Regional Security

With the war in Afghanistan drawing international attention, the Kyrgyz Republic and other Central Asian countries seem to have fallen off of the American agenda. During his diplomatic visit to the United States, Kyrgyz Foreign Minister Kadyrbek Sarbaev spoke at the Carnegie Endowment about the need to revamp Kyrgyz-US relations. In particular, he stressed that many of the problems plaguing Afghanistan and Kyrgyzstan are in fact regional problems, and that multilateral negotiations and mutual concessions can help find solutions to these problems. READ MORE

Uzbekistan Challenges Regional Electricity Supplies Network

By Erica Marat

Kyrgyzstan’s growing list of troubles has recently been further complicated by yet another predicament. Tashkent has announced that Uzbekistan is likely to leave the Central Asian power supply cascade in the coming months. According to Tashkent’s official interpretation, Uzbekistan can now provide its population with enough locally generated electricity and does not need to be part of the network created during the Soviet period. This means that Kyrgyzstan’s south and parts of Tajikistan will experience severe electricity shortages due to the break in regional cycles. READ MORE