In early September, President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev accepted the credentials of the new US ambassador Richard Morningstar. Thus, the period of instability in the work of the US embassy in Baku was finished. After the mission of Ann Dercy came to an end in July 2009, the position of the American ambassador was free for more than a year. Later the president of the US Barack Obama appointed to the position an experienced diplomat, the former co-chairman of the OSCE Minsk Group Mathew Brayza by-passing the Senate. However, due to an active resistance of the Armenian lobby in the Senate Brayza’s career ended sooner than it should: he managed to work only for a year, after which his functions were not prolonged. READ MORE

The General Secretary of the German Social Democrats, Andrea Nahles, was at the Democratic National Convention. She’s rooting for Obama and warns that a President Romney could drive Europe and the US apart. READ MORE

Fencing off the EU from neighboring countries such as Ukraine and Turkey would lead to a loss for Europe, 66th U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice (2005-2009) has said. READ MORE

Russian President Vladimir Putin addressed his most controversial policies in a whirlwind interview with the RT television news network on Thursday, defending what his critics say is his crackdown on dissent, repeating the Kremlin’s warnings against foreign intervention in Syria, and engaging foreign rivals over contested issues. READ MORE

In his first official bilateral visit to Kazakhstan since April 2008, President Islam Karimov and other senior Uzbekistani officials discussed a range of important bilateral, regional and international issues with their Kazakhstani counterparts in Astana on September 6–7, 2012. These topics included boosting two-way economic ties, discouraging other Central Asian countries from taking actions that threatened their water supplies, and discussing how to manage the ongoing civil war in Afghanistan. READ MORE

Progress is not possible without trust within countries of Asian region — Nazarbaev. READ MORE

Voters in the Netherlands have backed two pro-European centrist parties, while the anti-immigrant Geert Wilders’ Eurosceptic party took heavy losses. READ MORE

President Dalia Grybauskaitė, currently on a reciprocal official visit in Romania, met with the Romanian President of the Senate Crin Antonescu and Prime Minister Victor Ponta to discuss the bilateral relations, the negotiations on EU’s new financial framework, the economic situation in Europe, the energy security issues and cooperation within NATO. READ MORE

Washington and Beijing have given the start to the armament race, which most probably, shall turn into confrontation of the Cold War times between the USA and the USSR. Literally for last several weeks it has become evident: the both parties adopt decisions which inevitably take them to the course of a long-standing confrontation not only in diplomatic but also in military sphere. By this within confrontation the rivals are ready again to make a stake at the power of nuclear weapon, which is fraught with global consequences. READ MORE

Dushanbe and Moscow have reached an agreement on the terms and conditions of a further stay of the 201st Russian military base in Tajikistan, sources close to the negotiations told CA-News. READ MORE