Central Asia arrived at a turning point last weekend far removed from the history of Genghis Khan riding out to conquer the world, as it sought peacekeepers from Europe. Russia, which has provided security to the region for the past century and more is stepping aside - unable or unwilling, and possibly incapable of performing that role anymore. READ MORE

The Russian leader has re-enacted the famous American goodwill tour of his predecessor a half century ago, but faces the same Cold War scheming. Will his attempts to befriend Europe have more success? READ MORE

German Chancellor Angela Merkel has met with President Nursultan Nasarbeyev of Kazakhstan to discuss trade and investment. The visit draws her five-day tour of Asia to a close. READ MORE

On 16-17 July at the informal ministerial meeting of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) in Almaty, Lithuania’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Audronius Ažubalis encouraged OSCE members to take dialogue on European and Eurasian security forward. READ MORE

The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) Minsk Group released a statement on Saturday encouraging the peaceful settlement of the Nagorny Karabakh conflict, the OSCE website said. READ MORE

Russian officials have reiterated pledges to pursue pro-active Far Eastern energy policies, backed by sizable investments. Moscow would invest up to $100 billion to develop new natural gas deposits in the next five years, Deputy Prime Minister, Igor Sechin, announced. Many of these new deposits are located in Eastern Siberia and Russia’s Far East. READ MORE

President Hamid Karzai on Tuesday reaffirmed his commitment for Afghan police and soldiers to take charge of security nationwide by 2014 and urged his international backers to distribute more of their development aid through the government. READ MORE

OSCE Foreign Ministers meeting in Almaty reached consensus on holding a summit in Astana this year and reinforcing OSCE assistance to Kyrgyzstan, said the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office, Kazakhstan's Secretary of State and Foreign Minister Kanat Saudabayev. READ MORE

The OSCE failed to agree on sending an international police force to Kyrgyzstan in the wake of June's ethnic clashes between that may have killed 2,000 people. A decision on the matter is expected next week. READ MORE

The European Union's foreign policy chief, Catherine Ashton, and Iran's top nuclear negotiator, Saeed Jalili, are currently involved in a diplomatic dance over resuming talks on Tehran's nuclear program. If the talks do indeed come to fruition, Ashton could assume the negotiating role previously played by her predecessor, Javier Solana. While Solana's diplomatic efforts ultimately did not bear fruit (.pdf), the circumstances that hampered his attempts to resolve the Iranian nuclear standoff -- namely, the lack of U.S. participation and Iranian perceptions that the country had little to gain by talking with Europe -- have since improved and could be capitalized on by Ashton. READ MORE