With EU leaders putting €600 million in the pot for the Eastern Partnership, the European Commission is mulling over how to assign personnel to run the new project.

"The means are there for this to start up, that's the most important thing," Czech EU presidency foreign minister Karl Schwarzenberg said in Brussels on Friday (20 March), after EU leaders approved the policy at a meeting dominated by multi-billion euro plans on the economy. READ MORE

On the outskirts of Azerbaijan's BP Shah Deniz gas terminal, security guards are on duty around the clock. They patrol the 15km (9 mile) fence as a damp drizzle falls across the warren of gas pipes and oil platforms behind it. Green and yellow flags flap violently in the wind. READ MORE

Shifting gears from an ostensible equidistance between pipeline projects, German Chancellor Angela Merkel has come out against proposals to use European Union funds to kick-start the Nabucco pipeline project for bringing Caspian gas to Europe. READ MORE

The Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the European Parliament Jacek Saryusz-Wolski expressed his view on possible participation of Belarus within the EU program of Eastern Partnership.   READ MORE

German Chancellor Angela Merkel said she was optimistic world leaders would reach an agreement at next month's G20 summit in London, despite signs of rifts between Europe and the United States.

Speaking after talks in London with British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, Merkel said she was confident a compromise would be reached by world leaders at G20 meeting scheduled for April 2. READ MORE

For the first time within an electoral period international intermediaries – co-chairs of the Minsk OSCE Group on Nagorno-Karabakh settlement (Russia, the USA, France) have gained the opportunity to proceed consulting the parties in and outside the region, as stated in the review. During the meetings held the international intermediaries intended to extend direct contacts of the Parties to reach an agreement on the basic principles of the conflict settlement. Armenian-Azerbaijani meetings at the summit level were held twice (on June 6th in Saint-Petersburg and on November 2nd in Moscow). READ MORE

Lately, the phrase “Way to Europe” has been used more often with the reference to the programs of long-term development of post-Soviet countries. Thus, recently Kazakhstan Government has published a program with the kind of title. And however, there is no clear definition of this term. Frequently its interpretations are absolutely different. The term itself carries diverse semantics. It comprises a total spectrum of the views of further development of all post-Soviet states. The understanding of the meaning varies from strategic plans of the EU joining and leading of Euro-oriented foreign policy, up to plain improvement of quality and standards of living. The only thing that unites all interpretations: the “Way to Europe” – is not a program of mass migration. READ MORE

In the context of the legislative elections in the Republic of Moldova on 5th of April, the European Commission has allocated funds amounting to €3 million for projects to promote and monitor compliance with international standards during the electoral process. The holding of free and fair elections is one of the key commitments of the Republic of Moldova under its European Neighbourhood Policy Action Plan with the European Union. READ MORE

Speech at the 7th Doha Natural Gas Conference
Doha, 11 March 2009 READ MORE

Kazakhstan delegation headed by Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Nurlan Danenov took part in the X session of the UN Human Rights Council opened in Geneva, Kazinform refers to the press service of the Kazakh Foreign Affairs Ministry Development, security and human rights are closely connected with each other, therefore it is crucial to prevent social instability and worsening the observance of human rightst protection in the world due to global financial crisis, the Kazakh Vice Minister noted in his speech. READ MORE