Russian President Dmitry Medvedev expressed doubts about the future of Europe’s common currency and said the Gulf of Mexico oil spill could threaten the survival of BP PLC. READ MORE

It had to be one of the weirdest displays the Russian president had ever seen. Laid out on a table were a mound of walnuts, a chess set, an old tire and an anatomically correct dummy — all stuffed with little baggies of imitation heroin. Titled "The Deadly Harvest," the exhibit was meant to show the clever ways smugglers have of getting Afghan heroin into Russia, which has become the world's largest consumer of opiates from Afghanistan since the U.S. began its war there in 2001. READ MORE

Ahead of Dmitry Medvedev's visit to Washington this week, a "leaked" Russian foreign policy document is causing some Russia watchers to wonder whether the Russian president is shifting his country toward a more positive, pro-Western stance. A careful read of the 18,000-word document does not support such wishful thinking. READ MORE

Poland's first round of presidential elections on Sunday resulted in the center-right candidate Bronislaw Komorowski beating the far-right's Jaroslaw Kaczynski by a slim margin. READ MORE

Amid corruption scandals and ongoing instability it is easy to write off Kyrgyzstan as a state destined to fail due to its dishonest political leaders and impoverished economy. However, despite the fact that the provisional government has not filled all its ministerial seats and faces numerous domestic challenges, there is a strong sense of normality in Kyrgyzstan’s daily life. As local NGO groups like to describe it: “despite troubled government, life continues in Bishkek.” Indeed, in the past two months Kyrgyzstan has changed from being a country where dynastic succession of state power was most likely to a place with free media and active civic engagement. READ MORE

President of the Republic of Lithuania Dalia Grybauskaitė calls the decisions adopted by the European Council strategic and important for Lithuania and for the whole European Union. The Heads of States gathered in Brussels agreed that all Member States will perform stress tests on their banking systems in the effort to stabilise financial markets. According to President Dalia Grybauskaitė, testing in Lithuania will be performed by the central bank and the Ministry of Finance. READ MORE

The European Union and the United States apparently find it easier to take on the Iranian nuclear problem than the global financial crisis. On June 17, EU government chiefs agreed to new sanctions against Iran at a Brussels summit. U.S. President Barack Obama was no doubt pleased to hear the news, even though the U.S. and the EU had most likely coordinated the sanctions in advance. READ MORE

Prime Minister of Poland Donald Tusk intends to change a gas agreement with Russia, if it turns out that the part of needs could be covered by the gas produced from shale. This was stated by Prime Minister during the interview for Radiо Zet. According to his words, the agreement with Russia has not yet been ratified, so is it possible to make changes. However, the comments of Prime Minister can’t be accomplished, as it is impossible to estimate shale fields without extra tests. First results of drilling, starting in June, will be known only in a few months. And final results will be received only in two-three years. READ MORE

The OSCE and the Council of Europe should strengthen co-operation and avoid overlap to promote security on the basis of democracy, rule of law and respect for human rights, the Chairman of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe Minister Antonio Miloshoski, told the OSCE Permanent Council READ MORE

F. Stephen Larrabee, an expert on Turkey at the RAND Corporation, says the days when Turkey was a "junior partner" of the United States are over. READ MORE