The U.S. has started to formulate and implement more comprehensive policies for Central Asia. The deepening involvement in the war in Afghanistan is the principal, but not sole cause for this policy initiative. Russia’s attempts to impose its hegemony upon Central Asia and oblige the U.S. to recognize it have triggered a reaction in Washington. Likewise, China’s completion of the pipeline to Turkmenistan and major investment projects in Central Asia forced the U.S. to devise new ways to enhance its energy and economic profile there as well. As a result, in early 2010, we now see the elements of a new and stronger policy initiative towards Central Asia. READ MORE

The 2010 Ukrainian elections have been consigned to history books.  The election season and the winter passed without a major Ukrainian natural gas crisis, and a major gas cutoff, such as occurred in 2009, was avoided.  However, the ingredients for future crises remain. Energy reforms, in particular those in line with European Union recommendations, have yet to be enacted. READ MORE

Turkish Cypriots elected a hardliner for president on Sunday, in a result that could have a major impact on efforts towards reuniting the island and on Turkey's bid to join the European Union. READ MORE

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev received the delegation headed by EU Commissioner for Energy Günther Oettinger. READ MORE

Twenty years after the transition to post-communist rule, Hungarian voters at the 11th of April radically changed the country's political landscape, sending the ruling socialists into opposition and laying the ground for the centre-right to win an absolute majority in parliament in the second round of national elections. READ MORE

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev spoke to a capacity crowd at Brookings on April 13, addressing U.S.-Russian relations and Moscow’s perspective on a host of international questions. The style of his presentation was as interesting as the points he made. READ MORE

Russian Prime Minister, Vladimir Putin, was the first foreign political official to recognize the legitimacy of Kyrgyzstan’s provisional government. In stark contrast to the US State Department’s awkward statements about Washington’s intention to continue to cooperate with the Kurmanbek Bakiyev government that has not yet resigned, Putin scored credit among most Kyrgyz who were shocked by the recent violence in Bishkek. Putin’s recognition provided crucial support for the bravery and efforts of all those who stood against Bakiyev’s regime and dared to challenge the armed police. READ MORE

The international nuclear community seems to need something like a miracle to get serious about developing new standards to ensure compliance with international nuclear obligations. Further proof of this fact was provided by Barack Obama's Nuclear Security Summit held in Washington on April 12-13. READ MORE

Russia and Poland have to build their futures together READ MORE

Russia's ratification of European Court of Human Rights reform and debates about its strategic security relationship with NATO suggest that there could be a new turn in Moscow's relations with Europe and the transatlantic community, writes Michael Emerson, senior research fellow at the Centre for European Policy Studies (CEPS). READ MORE