Launched in 2012 at the initiative of the Secretary General Lamberto Zannier, the OSCE Security Days is the forum for dialogue on the current and future role of the OSCE as a security organization. Another Security Days event was dedicated to very important topic of current and new approaches to conflict resolution in the OSCE area. There are still number of mutually hurting frozen conflicts in the OSCE area which remain unresolved. Certainly, OSCE should further focus on conflict prevention, conflict management and conflict resolution issues. Protracted conflicts in Moldova, Georgia and Nagorno-Karabakh have deep negative impact not only to parties involved but also for wider international community and , therefore, these conflicts should remain high on international security agenda. READ MORE

On October 8th the Prime Minister of Kirgizia Zhantoro Satybaldiyev reported that the issue of Kyrgyzgaz OJS sale is resolved, it’s left only to pass ratification of the agreement in the Parliaments of Kirgizia and Russia -  the Supreme Council (SC) and State Duma (SD). READ MORE

300 Lithuanian troops will take part in the so-called Chapter 5 exercises in Poland and the Baltic States, designed to test preparedness of the NATO Response Force to respond to an international crisis. READ MORE

The top Georgian diplomat in Ankara Irakli Koplatadze  has said that the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway offers the cheapest and shortest way for the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in Afghanistan to return home. READ MORE

Kairat Kelimbetov, a deputy prime minister who led the nationalization of failing Kazakh lenders in 2009 as the chief of the country’s sovereign wealth fund, will replace Grigori Marchenko as central bank governor. READ MORE

The Arctic region is turning into an area of protracted geopolitical rivalry. This rivalry will not necessarily be expressed in any military confrontation, but rather will take the form of economic, technological and political competition. In this context, the states involved will be ever less prepared to opt for compromise in upholding their national interests within international organizations. NATO’s increasing activity in the Arctic will lead to transfiguration in relations in the area of international security, with new challenges and opportunities emerging for Russia. READ MORE

Despite the EU’s difficulties to get its voice heard on the Syria crisis, Pierre Vimont argues that the 28-country bloc should not underestimate its soft power footprint: “I don’t pretend that we’re doing as much as we’d like, but we’re as active as possible, at least in our neighbourhood.” READ MORE

Russia suspended imports of dairy products from neighboring Lithuania today. The move comes just a few weeks before the EU, whose rotating presidency Lithuania currently holds, convenes with former Soviet republics in Kiev to sign a number of association agreements that the Kremlin strongly objects to.  READ MORE

This is a three-part series on China's evolving strategic interests in Central Asia and in its own far northwest, the Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region. Part 1 looks at Xinjiang's history as a "buffer region" protecting China's core and linking it to Eurasia. This installment also examines recent efforts by Beijing to adapt the region's legacies to new uses READ MORE

Russian intransigence has helped Ukraine’s integration into Europe READ MORE