Russian President Vladimir Putin's recent visits to the Central Asian states, including Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Kazakhstan, demonstrates the country's willing to "cement" its relations with them, the U.S. expert on Central Asia Bruce Pannier believes. READ MORE

With BAE Systems and EADS locked in frantic negotiations to save their proposed £28 billion merger, the key issue for the British government comes down to one simple question: are we about to surrender control of Britain's largest defence contractor to the French and Germans? READ MORE

Ukraine is the country divided in two, here coexist sympathy to West and East, states Ukrainian political analyst Kost’ Bondarenko. According to him, Ukrainian politicians up till now have observed only two variants of the course of events  - to give Ukraine for rent to Russia or Europe. READ MORE

Under President Obama, the US has 'led from behind,' Mitt Romney said Monday. He vowed that as president he would use US power to shape world events, instead of simply reacting to them. READ MORE

Lithuanian Minister of Foreign Affairs Audronius Ažubalis and Ministers of Foreign Affairs of Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Latvia and Romania sent letters to President of Georgia Mikheil Saakashvili and to Bidzina Ivanishvili, the leader of the Georgian Dream coalition that won the parliamentary elections, expressing belief that Georgia took an important step in consolidating democracy. READ MORE

French police have continued searches in the southern city of Cannes following simultaneous anti-terrorism raids across the country on Saturday. READ MORE

A former Canadian navy officer who pleaded guilty to three espionage-related charges Wednesday was paid $3,000 a month to share classified information with Russia’s intelligence community, court heard. READ MORE

The controversial Nord Stream pipeline provides Russian gas directly to Germany, bypassing Poland and Ukraine. But despite the opening of a new second line, it is running far below capacity. READ MORE

Withdrawal of American troops from Afghanistan by the end of 2014 and related with it regrouping of military forces of the USA made the initiative of promotion of plans on new interstate configurations within the area from Central to South Asia topical in Washington. Since the middle of 2011, when the terms of troop’s withdrawal from Afghanistan were finally confirmed, the Department of State has started objective lobbying of the project “New Silk Road”. The given project claims to be conceptual in the issue of the future of the region through the prism of strategic interests of the USA. READ MORE

Kazakhstan and Russia will develop new agreement on good neighborhood and strategic partnership in 2013. Such decision was taken at a meeting of Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Kazakh counterpart Nursultan Nazarbayev in Moscow on Tuesday, Kazakh presidential press-service reported. READ MORE