Poland said Wednesday it would spend 33.6 billion euros ($43.3 billion) to set up its own missile shield, days after the U.S. announced it was ready to abandon the final phase of the European missile defense system. READ MORE

The Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Kazakhstan Yerlan Idrisov held talks with the Foreign Minister of Sweden Carl Bildt during an official visit to Stockholm, the Kazakh Foreign Ministry said. READ MORE

Well-known US foreign policy strategist Bruce Jackson says it's very dangerous to make neighbors choose between Brussels and Moscow ahead of the forthcoming EU Eastern Partnership summit in Vilnius. READ MORE

U.S. President Barack Obama is making his first visit to Israel. The visit comes in the wake of his re-election and inauguration to a second term and the formation of a new Israeli government under Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Normally, summits between Israel and the United States are filled with foreign policy issues on both sides, and there will be many discussed at this meeting, including Iran, Syria and Egypt. But this summit takes place in an interesting climate, because both the Americans and Israelis are less interested in foreign and security matters than they are in their respective domestic issues. READ MORE

Who has invented the tax on Cyprus bank accounts, which the Parliament of the island country doesn’t want to approve? The European Central Bank is trying to lay the blame on the President of Cyprus, and he, in his turn, blames the governments of the Eurozone countries. Meanwhile the issue, as well as the accounts in Cyprus banks have hung up for indefinite period, as they have not yet been able to “break” the MPs. Moscow also tries to take part in the resolution of this problem, which was appointed beyond its will as a “title sponsor” of Cyprus stabilization. READ MORE

In recent years, Kazakhstan has rocked the whole cycle of high-profile corruption scandals. Often they are involved are those who today is known as an outspoken opponent of the current government. Most of the time to avoid court (because of the timely escape from the country), now consider themselves zealous fighters for democracy in Kazakhstan. Among them are sentenced to significant time for fraud, corruption, murder, the powerful former officials, businessmen and politicians of all stripes. READ MORE

Much in Russian foreign policy today is based on a consensus that crystallized in the early 1990s. Emerging from the rubble of the Soviet collapse, this consensus ranges across the political spectrum -- from pro-Western liberals to leftists and nationalists. It rests on three geostrategic imperatives: that Russia must remain a nuclear superpower, a great power in all facets of international activity, and the hegemon -- the political, military, and economic leader -- of its region. This consensus marks a line in the sand, beyond which Russia cannot retreat without losing its sense of pride or even national identity. It has proven remarkably resilient, surviving post-revolutionary turbulence and the change of political regimes from Boris Yeltsin to Vladimir Putin. READ MORE

A group of senior security experts, think tankers and policy makers from the Asia-Pacific region took part in a four-day study tour from 4 to 7 March 2013, aimed at promoting dialogue and exploring opportunities for further cooperation with NATO. READ MORE

Development aid contributes to economic success in both developing countries and in Europe, Development Commissioner Andris Piebalgs tells in an exclusive interview. READ MORE

Kazakh Minister of Foreign Affairs Yerlan Idrisov will visit a number of European countries in the second half of March, Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhanbolat Usenov said at a briefing in Astana on Friday. READ MORE