On December 25, 2009 UNIAN published a secret agreement “On Political Reconciliation and the Development of Ukraine” leaked by Yaroslav Kozachok, the deputy head of the presidential secretariat’s department on domestic affairs and regional development. Kozachok resigned in protest at the secret agreement between President Viktor Yushchenko and Party of Regions leader Viktor Yanukovych to appoint the former as Prime Minister in the event of Yanukovych’s election. READ MORE

“Eastern Partnership” within Pre-election Presidential Campaign in Poland. READ MORE

Russia’s threat to abolish its oil subsidies to Belarus aim not only to punish Minsk for its recent rapprochement with the European Union, but also to put the oil processing and oil transit in Belarus under the control of Russian companies. READ MORE

Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev pays a working visit to Turkmenistan. Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Kazakhstan to Turkmenistan Askhat Orazbayev told Kazinform about the development of Kazakh relations with this country. READ MORE

Russia and Belarus have failed to renew an agreement on crude oil export tariffs that expired on New Year’s Eve, raising the prospect that yet another otherwise unremarkable energy pricing dispute between Russia and a neighbor could unravel into a midwinter fuel shut-off on the Continent. READ MORE

The EU's newest member states are under-represented in the bloc's diplomatic service and among senior EU commission officials, Estonian president Toomas Ilves has said, urging the union's new leadership to alter the situation. READ MORE

Azerbaijan’s ongoing dispute with Turkey about transit terms and revenues for natural gas heading to Europe across Anatolia, as well as uncertainties about the Nabucco pipeline project, have compelled highest-level officials at Azerbaijan’s State Oil Company (SOCAR) to publically consider the option of exporting hydrocarbons eastward, potentially to China and other East Asian markets. However, as Baku would have to surmount significant hurdles to make that proposition a reality, it remains to be seen whether a reorientation of Azerbaijan’s energy posture is in the cards, or whether this is just rhetoric to spur the development of Western-oriented projects. READ MORE