Past Year of Priorities in the European Union
In 2011 Chairmanship in the European Union for the first time was trapped in the arms of two East European states. For the first time Hungary and Poland did it and it has become a significant event for each of the country. READ MORE
The European Crisis in 2012
For much of the fourth quarter of 2011, it appeared the eurozone was doomed. Debt was piling up for several key states, and those with the ability to assist lacked the political will to do so. But the European Central Bank (ECB) stepped in in December with measures that have postponed -- not solved -- the European crisis. READ MORE
Uncertain World: The war of nerves around Iran
The January/February 2012 issue of the magazine Foreign Affairs features an article with the shocking title: Time to Attack Iran: Why a Strike Is the Least Bad Option. It is indicative of the current mood and may set the tone for the rest of the year. READ MORE
Traditional Meeting Of Security Experts In Trakai Discussed The Ways Of Strengthening The Integration Of Nordic-Baltic Region
Nordic-Baltic cooperation was the focus of this year’s traditional informal Snow Meeting of experts in international and security politics from Europe and North America in Trakai on June 11-12. The discussions were opened by Lithuanian Minister of Foreign Affairs Audronius Ažubalis, who highlighted the strengthening of economic ties and shared cultural identity regionally. READ MORE
Will a remote Kazakhstan become closer?
The economy of Kazakhstan is the largest economy in Central Asia (CA). Soon the country will celebrate the 20th anniversary of its Independence (16 December 1991). What happened in the country during these years and what does Lithuania and Kazakhstan have in common? READ MORE
Turkey’s Balancing Act
Turkey has over the past few weeks become the spearhead of a joint Western-Arab-Turkish policy aimed at forcing President Bashar al-Assad to cede power in Syria. This is quite a turnaround in Turkish policy, because over the past two years the government of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan had gone out of its way to cultivate good relations with neighboring Syria, with whom it shares a long land border. READ MORE
Direct Road to Europe: Azerbaijan’s Trans-Anatolia Gas Pipeline
On December 26 in Ankara, the Energy Ministers of Azerbaijan and Turkey signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to build a Trans-Anatolia Gas Pipeline to Europe. Crucially, Azerbaijan would be the main owner of this line in Turkish territory. Azerbaijan regards this gas project’s significance as equal to that of the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline for Azerbaijan’s national development. The Europe-bound gas pipeline, if built, would mark Azerbaijan’s emergence as a significant gas exporter in its own right, adding to the country’s oil-exporter role. READ MORE
Baltic Dimension of Cooperation
In a narrow understanding the notion Baltic countries covers the states possessing direct access to the Baltic Sea, options for direct sea communications between each other without crossing borders of other states. And these are nine countries: Germany, Denmark, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Finland, Sweden, Estonia. READ MORE
Piotr Topychkanov: “The Threat of Gaining Nuclear Weapon by Saudi Arabia is Pretty Real, and Pakistan May Assist”
The declaration of the Prince of Saudi Arabia Turki Al Faisal about that Riyadh is able to start development of nuclear weapon pretty corresponds with the potential of this country. The case is that in due time Saudi Arabia provided financial aid within gaining of nuclear bomb by Pakistan. And, probably, with the contribution of Saudi Arabia a market for nuclear technologies and probably materials sale established around Pakistan. That is why considering close cooperation of the two states in this sphere, it wouldn’t be hard for Saudi Arabia to create nuclear bomb in short terms. The same is about carriers. READ MORE
