"The referendum was held (a year ago) on the construction of a nuclear power plant and a specific project, with estimates provided as to how much that facility should cost to Lithuania. You've probably heard that its cost is already markedly lower than that estimated by the previous government. But I think that another referendum will be needed and we'll have to ask people for their opinion," he said on Žinių Radijas. READ MORE

Everyone knows how it feels to deal with a suitcase without a handle: you can’t carry it and you can’t drop it. In a way, this conveys the attitude toward Transnistria of most actors interested in settling this long-standing conflict, including the two sides (Chisinau and Tiraspol), mediators (Russia, Ukraine and the OSCE) and observers (the U.S. and the EU). Contemporary international politics presumes that “frozen” and similar ethno-territorial conflicts can be settled without delay. Everyone involved is supposed to pretend that this is a priority. But this abstraction has little to do with reality. The first and overriding concern of the leaders of the dominant political forces and parties to the conflict is to maintain the stability of their own positions of power and their current governments. External actors are pursuing their own geo-political and geo-economic interests, both genuine and fake. Since both Transnistria and Moldova, due to their small size and socio-economic underdevelopment, are of little value to these actors, only rivalry between the outsider players incentivizes conflict resolution.  READ MORE

For the last six months of the Afghanistan war, U.S. military personnel and cargo headed into and out of Afghanistan by air will transit through Romania rather than Kyrgyzstan, the Pentagon announced late Friday. READ MORE

Detection and suppression of clandestine billionaires gray eminences of the criminal world , offers hope that the EU will no longer serve as a safe haven for dubious capital. One recent example of a successful response to criminal oligarchy - the capture of the fugitive banker Mukhtar Ablyazov to rob his own bank in Kazakhstan and its subsidiaries in Russia and Ukraine. And appropriated by various estimates from 5 to 6 billion. READ MORE

Exclusive interview   of the managing director Russia's G20 Expert Council   dr. Sergey Drobyshevskiy. READ MORE

In the run up to the 13th Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit last month, Chinese President Xi Jinping visited four Central Asian countries to discuss bilateral cooperation initiatives. The political and financial value of the agreements he reached reflect China’s growing influence in the region, primarily at Russia’s expense. READ MORE

On the eve of the presidential elections in Georgia, the situation in the country remains, in general, relatively predictable and very stable. You can already say with confidence that no matter who becomes president of Georgia after scheduled for October 27, 2013 presidential elections in the country, particularly the sensation will not. READ MORE

Mr. Dybvad, Karsten

Ladies and gentlemen,

Thank you for that kind welcome. And let me thank the Confederation of Danish Industry for organising this conference. It’s a pleasure to be with you to talk about a topic that is close to my heart: The transatlantic relationship. READ MORE

The worst, the better – this is what, probably, can be said when analyzing the hysteria which has been raised for the last several weeks in European, and especially, American newspapers regarding hardening of the Russian line towards the states willing to join the European Union. The more clearly Moscow imagines russophobic attitudes of a significant segment of Western elites, the more rational, cold and efficient shall be Russian foreign policy within post-Soviet space. READ MORE

Prime Minister Mykola Azarov has stated that Ukraine, Russia and Kazakhstan could create a grain pool within six months. READ MORE