There are Common Issues of Interests and Lines of Russia and West within South Caucasus READ MORE

Although the air outside is hot and dry—part of a heat wave scorching Russia and neighboring Ukraine—it is cool, dark, and slightly damp in the sandstone caverns beneath Milestii Mici, Moldova’s largest winery. Along seemingly endless underground boulevards, Soviet-era lighting and updated signs point the way to underground galleries housing millions of liters of meticulously produced and preserved wine in bottles and oak barrels—just part of the winery’s two-million-bottle collection, acknowledged by Guinness as the world’s largest. READ MORE

Polish history is closely intertwined with the history of Russia. Peaceful periods between the two countries were interspersed by frequent armed conflicts. READ MORE

At the beginning of July, Russia, Kazakhstan and Belarus signed a number of protocols establishing a customs union between the three countries. The union, scheduled to be fully operational in January 2012, will create a single common market of about 170 million people and represents the latest of several attempts by Moscow to create an effective trade bloc with its newly independent neighbors since the break-up of the Soviet Union. In addition to the economic ties maintained through the establishment of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), Russia first committed to a union with Belarus in 1994. READ MORE

In Order to Prevent Revolutions in the States of the Organization READ MORE

Russian energy giant Gazprom wants Lithuania to hold talks on plans to unbundle the gas sector, as doing so would hurt its investment in the country, the company said in a letter seen by Reuters on Wednesday (25 August), which also threatens court action. Lithuania reacted strongly to the pressure. READ MORE

On 27 August at the meeting of foreign ministers of Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Sweden, Finland, Denmark, Norway and Iceland (NB8) in Riga, head of Lithuania’s diplomacy called on the Nordic and Baltic States for greater integration. READ MORE

The UN’s anti-racism committee is to call on the European Union to act to improve the conditions of the Roma, in the light of France’s controversial collective deportation programme. The committee, meeting in Geneva, urged President Nicolas Sarkozy’s government to “avoid in particular collective repatriation”. READ MORE

It is widely known that energy sources such as oil and gas are considered as the main strategic resources. Countries possessing them are able to exert significant influence on the global economy and international politics. Meanwhile, it is clear that a key role in the Central Asian region will belong to water resource and their ownership in the near future. READ MORE

Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu, stated on Friday that approval of the constitutional reform package to be voted on at a referendum on Sept. 12 will bring significant confidence to Turkey on the world stage as it will confirm the European Union candidate country's commitment to universal democratic values. “It will be a very huge source of power,” Davutoğlu replied when asked what a positive outcome from the upcoming referendum on the reform package would mean in regards to Turkey's role on the global stage. READ MORE