Political risks to Caspian gas transportation have emerged westward of the Caucasus in Turkey, where such risks were least expected. Azerbaijan has become the first gas-exporting country to experience those risks, stemming from Turkey’s position as a transit monopolist. Turkey’s AKP government is practically blocking... MORE

On June 12, the liberal left Taraf daily published an unclassified document outlining an alleged action plan for the military to combat the “reactionary activities” against secularism. Allegedly the “Action Plan against Reactionaries (Irtica),” was prepared by senior staff Colonel Dursun Cicek and defined the... MORE

Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Petro Poroshenko visited Moscow on October 23. Appointed earlier this month, Poroshenko views rapprochement with Russia as one of his main goals, and he made a point of saying what Moscow wanted to hear during his meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei... MORE

A suspected rebel in Chechnya yesterday (October 27) detonated a grenade, killing himself and a policeman, in one of several violent incidents involving insurgents and security forces in the North Caucasus over the last several days.Chechen Interior Minister Ruslan Alkhanov said that the incident took... MORE

Moscow and Beijing claim that their long-awaited gas supply deal is proof of what they describe as their bilateral strategic partnership, but the Russian and Chinese state-controlled energy giants apparently remain divided on the sensitive issue of gas prices. On October 13, the Russian gas... MORE

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev’s October 20 visit to Belgrade (EDM October 27) helped accelerate Serbia’s orientation toward Russia’s economic orbit. The Serbian government is handing additional energy assets over to Russian companies and is eagerly seeking Russian involvement in infrastructure projects and joint enterprises in... MORE

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan paid an official visit to Pakistan on October 25-26 in a bid to boost bilateral relations. He was accompanied by Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu, and other ministers. Erdogan met with his Pakistani counterpart Yousuf Raza Gilani. They signed a... MORE

The name of the Swiss diplomat Heidi Tagliavini may soon be used as a flagship for a new protest movement in Georgia. The implacable Georgian opposition, who previously ran three-month long protest rallies which commenced in April, have reiterated their calls for pre-term elections in... MORE

On October 8 Nikolai Patrushev, the Secretary of the Russian Security Council and the former Director of the Federal Security Service (FSB), signaled planned changes to the country’s nuclear doctrine. He explained in Novosibirsk that this will be reflected in the new military doctrine titled:... MORE

A Russian military foothold in Serbia is potentially the most significant result of President Dmitry Medvedev’s October 20 visit to the country. This intention has greater chances of materializing, compared with the Serbian section of Gazprom’s South Stream project, an agreement on which was also... MORE