Russian gas battles EU free trade for future of Moldova
Swedish foreign minister Carl Bildt has told EUobserver that the prospect of an EU free trade pact is better for the future of Moldova than cheap Russian gas as neighbouring powers seek to build influence in post-election Moldova. READ MORE
Moscow Moves To Counter NATO
Many people wouldn't know that former United States president Ronald Reagan's signature phrase "trust, but verify" is actually the translation of a Russian proverb - doveryai, no proveryai. Two decades into the post-Cold War era, Moscow wants to reclaim the self-contradictory phrase from the American repertoire and apply it to Russia's "reset" of ties with the United States. READ MORE
Russian Oil Flows To Central Europe 'To Dry Up'
Russia's growing oil exports to Asia and the Baltic have unsettled European traders and refiners, who fear shortages on the Black Sea and in Central Europe should Russian output stall or decline. READ MORE
Turkish policy-makers and international experts discuss NATO’s Lisbon Summit in Antalya
On 3-4 December, around 250 experts gathered in Antalya, Turkey, at a major international security conference entitled “The New Strategic Concept and NATO towards Year 2020”. Participants included high level officials, international security experts, opinion formers and diplomats from Turkey and other NATO member and partner countries, as well as representatives from the media and Atlantic Treaty Associations. READ MORE
LITHUANIAN AND LATVIAN FOREIGN MINISTERS DISCUSS ENERGY SECURITY AND PROMOTION OF THE NORDIC-BALTIC COOPERATION
On 8 December in Vilnius, Lithuanian Minister of Foreign Affairs Audronius Ažubalis and Latvian Minister of Foreign Affairs Girts Valdis Kristovskis discussed bilateral relations, common issues of energy security policy and promotion of the Nordic-Baltic cooperation. READ MORE
Russia Loses Power Status
A few years ago it was common to refer to Russia as an "energy superpower". High global energy prices prior to the global financial crisis and Russia's control over Central Asian oil and gas exports underscored the seemingly irrefutable proposition of Moscow's influence. READ MORE
Old Foes See Reasons to Get Along
President Dmitri A. Medvedev ofRussia awarded the Order of Friendship this week to Andrzej Wajda, the celebrated Polish film director, an event few Poles or Russians could have imagined taking place. READ MORE
America’s War with Itself in Central Asia
In its decade-long slog to secure Afghanistan, the United States has juggled contradictory foreign policies in Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan, the fragile Central Asian states with key supporting roles in the war. There’s the policy of engaging the two post-Soviet states for their own sake, promoting good governance, human rights, and business ties – the usual grab-bag of US diplomacy. Then there’s the policy of using them as logistical hubs in the Afghanistan war. READ MORE
Analysis-Investors Circle Turkmenistan For Energy Openings
Western energy firms are poised to strike deals in Turkmenistan as the Central Asian state opens up its lucrative oil and gas reserves after years of isolation. READ MORE
