The results of the OSCE Assessment Mission's studies will benefit Azerbaijan by bringing international attention to the Armenian occupation of Azerbaijani territories and the situation in the separatist region, experts said. READ MORE

On September 9-25, Kazakhstan hosted the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Peace Mission 2010 military exercise, at the Matybulak training range in Zhambyl region, designed to showcase the organization’s capabilities against extremism, separatism and terrorism. READ MORE

Things are looking up for Russia. In late August, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin finally opened a new pipeline exporting East Siberian oil to China. Dubbed the Eastern Siberia-Pacific Ocean pipeline, or ESPO, the plan is to pump 1.6 million barrels per day toward the Pacific Ocean over the next few years. The rationale is clear. Diversifying supplies to Asia offers Russia the Holy Grail that all energy producers want — leverage over competing consumers in the East and West. READ MORE

There are neighborhoods in Kyiv one might easily mistake for Paris, London, or New York: intricately decorated Victorian apartment buildings and townhouses mingle with sidewalk cafes, small parks and monuments, mid-century office blocks, and glass-fronted modern office towers.  And stretching skyward from the crests of Kyiv’s famous seven hills are its unmistakably Slavic monuments—the onion domes and golden crosses of St. Michael’s and St. Sophia’s cathedrals, and the Caves Monastery. READ MORE

Russia, a major global arms dealer, decided Wednesday to nix a controversial arms sale that would have given Iran missiles. READ MORE

Dean Acheson, US President Harry Truman’s Secretary of State, liked to quote a friend who said that being in government made him scared, but that being out of it made him worried. To those of us not privy to the hidden complexities of NATO’s military intervention in Afghanistan, the situation there – and across Central Asia -- is extremely worrisome. READ MORE

Russia will not deliver S-300 air defense missiles to Iran as planned because such transfers are prohibited under UN sanctions, the chief of the Russian general staff said Wednesday. READ MORE

At a meeting of the European Union‘s and Russia‘s foreign ministers on 22 September in New York, Lithuania‘s Minister of Foreign Affairs Audronius Ažubalis said that Russia‘s attitude towards it’s neighbours had be modernized. Implementation of the EU-Russia Partnership for Modernization was one of the topics of this meeting. READ MORE

Beset by global sanctions, Iran's leaders go local. READ MORE

During his visit to New York, Lithuania’s Foreign Minister Audronius Ažubalis urged Kyrgyzstan to enable the police advisory team of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) to start its duties in Kyrgyzstan already this year. READ MORE