What Putin Means for Washington
Washington had four years with the young, agreeable Dmitri Medvedev as its principal Russian interlocutor. But last week’s election confirmed that soon U.S. diplomats will once again be dealing directly with Vladimir Putin. What does Putin’s return mean for Russian foreign policy, and how should Washington adjust its own approach now that Putin, rather than Medvedev, will be sitting across the table? READ MORE
Enhancement of Baku-Tbilisi-Ankara Axis Rapidly Minimizes the Influence of Russian in Transcaucasia
Another splash of Anti-Russian propaganda of Georgian President during the visit to Baku on March 7th is mainly related to the attempt to revive, lead the foreign political concepts of Georgia out of the crisis which has lasted since August 2008. This during the talk with the reporter of IA REGNUM was stated by the expert on regional issues David Arutiunov, commenting on the declaration of Saakashvili that Russia has no future as it is still building the past. READ MORE
Fragile Turkey’s claim to become the leader of a fragile region
In Turkey, where the military was one of the main factors of national stability since the times of Kemal Ataturk, the arrest of a former commander of Armed Forces Ilker Bashbut has been extended. In the Ergenekon case where more than one hundred suspects have been taken into custody, he was accused on allegations of plotting a coup against the R.T.Erdogan government. READ MORE
Putin's Return to Kremlin Could Boost Eurasian Union Project
A meeting of the prime ministers of CIS member states at the Constantine Palace in St. Petersburg in October, where Putin triumphantly announced an agreement to form a free-trade zone after years of fruitless negotiations. READ MORE
See you in Sukhumi
Viewed from the side it would seem that the issue of Abkhazia and South Ossetia is now closed for business, and what happened cannot be undone. Georgians however did not abandon hope. In the New Year message, President Saakashvili proposed to his fellow countrymen to greet with a greeting ”See you in Sukhumi,” following the model of ancient Israeli, greeting with the New Year greeting, ”See you in Jerusalem.” READ MORE
Eastern Partnership Policy
The Eastern Partnership Policy was officially launched in 2009 following the initiative of the Swedish and Polish foreign ministers Carl Bildt and Radoslaw Sikorski, and was supposed to become the main factor shaping the relationship between the EU and its Eastern neighbors, and contribute to the establishment of a sound EU neighborhood space. However, the 2010 disorders in Belarus, political events in Ukraine and misunderstandings between the EU and Eastern neighbors not only displayed the unbalanced approach of the EU toward Eastern Partnership Policy but also different interpretation of the concept of partnership in both sides. Inconsiderable EU’s economic potential, ineffective democracy in ensuring human rights and fundamental freedoms, and the problem of the cost/benefit ratio of Eastern Partnership Policy – all the above issues have raised serious doubts on whether this policy could be considered a true partnership. READ MORE
Saakashvili Meets Aliyev in Baku
President Saakashvili, who pays a two-day official visit to Baku, met his Azerbaijani counterpart Ilham Aliyev on March 6. READ MORE
The Coming Mediterranean Energy War
A significant gas find offshore has propelled hopes for brighter future in the Mediterranean. For the Republic of Cyprus, it came as a blessing amid the deteriorating Eurozone crisis. The rating agencies had downgraded the Greek-populated southern part of the island four times in 2011 to its current Standard & Poor's rating of BB- because of unhealthy links with the defaulting Greek financial system. READ MORE
Russian-Azeri Talks on Gabala Radar 'Make Progress'
Russia and Azerbaijan have made “some progress” in settling their dispute over Moscow’s lease of the Gabala missile defense radar, Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said on Tuesday. READ MORE
