Ukraine's foreign minister said Thursday that one of Russia's most ambitious energy projects, the planned South Stream gas pipeline across the Black Sea to Europe, would be "wasteful, unnecessary and totally against the logic of modern economy." READ MORE

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has urged world leaders to lift millions of people out of poverty despite of the global economic downturn. But experts doubt the goals can be met by the 2015 deadline. READ MORE

It is not a secret that in various periods there existed various opinions regarding the effectiveness of the OSCE, and in the recent past its work aroused a lot of sharp remarks. Many experts said it was conditioned by several factors such as ambiguous status of the OSCE member states in the process of geopolitical transformation of the world. Critical moments caused by the conflict of geopolitical interests are still questionable; these problems have been piled up for years. READ MORE

For several centuries, everyone in Russia – from great minds to cooks – has been discussing the same issue: should Russia look to Europe or Asia? The world’s geopolitical structure has changed in this time, and yet we still have not resolved this issue. Xing Guangcheng, an expert on Russia and a professor at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, who will be attending the upcoming seventh meeting of the Valdai International Discussion Club, shared his views on this question. READ MORE

The 10th Summit of Heads of State of Turkish Speaking Countries in Istanbul ended after signing of a declaration. READ MORE

The international security problems are becoming more relevant due to inevitable exacerbation of issue of the global shortage of fresh water. People are concerned about the possibility of serious international conflicts over water scarcity. It is impossible to completely deny such a possibility. Disputes over water of cross-border rivers are not uncommon, which creates a ground for local collisions. READ MORE

A one-day summit held 16 September will be remembered for a dramatic clash between Nicolas Sarkozy and José Manuel Barroso over the expulsions of Roma by France. In an institutional crisis that is still ongoing, the French president spoke of an "insult" to his nation, while the European Commission tried to show a new, more courageous face. READ MORE

With Berlin scheduled to unveil a new energy concept, power companies have been lobbying for the extended use of their nuclear plants, if only for 10 to 15 more years. They could recoup their investments and then some. READ MORE

Despite Washington's intention to coordinate its actions in Central Asia with Moscow, the U.S. does not intend to give up its influence in the region, experts say. READ MORE

During a meeting on September 13-14 in Baku, Presidents Ilham Aliyev of Azerbaijan, Mikheil Saakashvili of Georgia, and Traian Basescu of Romania, as well as Prime Minister Viktor Orban of Hungary, announced the launching of a liquefied natural gas (LNG) project. Designated as the Azerbaijan-Georgia-Romania Interconnector (AGRI), and linking up with Hungary, this is the first-ever LNG project in the Black Sea. READ MORE