During the Baltic presidents' meeting with U.S. President Barack Obama in Washington on Friday, the Baltic presidents were affirmed that the United States and the Baltic countries were equal partners in strategic cooperation, as the Latvian President's Press Office informed LETA. READ MORE

A new stage of relations READ MORE

In the fifth republic of media attention is still focused on the fugitive oligarch Mukhtar Ablyazov from Asia, accused in several high-profile crimes. READ MORE

At the Nordic Baltic Eight (NB8) Foreign Ministers’ meeting in Visby today, the Nordic and Baltic Foreign Ministers expressed support for the Eastern Partnership countries and concern over the Syrian crisis. READ MORE

You may have missed it, but on Aug. 14 Russia fired an economic shot across the bow of Ukraine. On that day, Russia’s customs office ordered intensive checks on all Ukrainian goods entering Russia, effectively imposing a de facto ban. This could have ended up costing Ukraine as much as $2.5 billion in lost trade by the end of the year. READ MORE

The U.S. should seriously consider how to build a new relationship with Russia. After the episode with former National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden and the postponement of the bilateral summit, Washington should take a sober look at the facts. Was the Snowden episode unique and did it change the overall logic of recent U.S.-Russian relations? Has the "reset" succeeded in ridding those relations of Cold War-era stereotypes and approaches? READ MORE

Exclusive interview of the Minister of National Defence Republic of Lithuania Mr. Juozas Olekas. READ MORE

China is on the rise. Its GDP will soon exceed that of the United States, and it aspires to be acknowledged as a great world power. It is flexing its military muscle in ways that challenge the effective hegemony America has exercised in the Western Pacific region since the end of the Second World War. READ MORE

The United States of America and Uzbekistan are equally interested in strengthening security in Central Asia and furthering the prosperity of the region, the U.S. Ambassador to Uzbekistan George Krol told the country's media outlets on Wednesday. READ MORE

Among the six countries in the European Union’s Eastern Partnership program, Azerbaijan under its President Ilham Aliyev seems uniquely impervious to Russian forms of leverage and, consequently, unique in receiving respectful treatment from the Kremlin. These two factors are closely connected in Russian President Vladimir Putin’s view of international relations, derived from his own social milieu. Like a neighborhood bully, Putin respects strength while intimidating those more vulnerable. READ MORE