German Chancellor Angela Merkel's August 14 meeting with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev in Sochi illustrated how this business-centered "strategic partnership" can distort or weaken German foreign policy. In that meeting the Chancellor failed to mention (or perhaps to deem worth mentioning) three major Russian actions... MORE

During the violent ethnic clashes between the Turkic Uyghurs and Han Chinese, in China's northwestern province of Xinjiang on July 5-6, Sino-Turkish relations soured as a result of Turkish public opinion and Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan harshly criticizing the Chinese government's handling of the... MORE

While the European Union frets over Russian efforts to impose its energy diktat by building gas and oil pipelines on the bottom of the Black Sea, new conflicts are emerging - not over transit routes, but over rich hydrocarbon resources beneath its ancient waters.The ongoing... MORE

In a series of interviews this month, the Commander-in-Chief (C-in-C) of the Russian Air Force (VVS) Colonel-General Aleksandr Zelin outlined reform plans to enhance air power. Throughout his public statements, Zelin linked the main driving force to reform and modernize the VVS, including developing a... MORE

On August 17 unknown assailants drove a minivan loaded with explosives into the courtyard of the district police headquarters in Nazran, the principal city in Ingushetia, where it was detonated. Twenty-one policemen died in the attack and over one hundred people were wounded (ITAR-TASS, August... MORE

The Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani, paid a two day visit to Turkey on August 17-18, as the guest of Turkish President Abdullah Gul. They both signed several agreements aimed at improving bilateral relations, including promoting closer cooperation on energy issues.On August... MORE

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev received German Chancellor Angela Merkel on August 14 at his Sochi residence. This meeting accelerated the implementation of qualitatively new economic projects in key industrial sectors, agreed barely one month earlier in Munich by the two leaders in the framework of... MORE

In Sochi, Merkel reaffirmed with greater emphasis the German government's decision to hand over the Opel plants to a Russian-dominated consortium, despite an alternative U.S.-backed offer. The government in Berlin had taken a preliminary decision in Russia's favor in late May, although the U.S. government... MORE

German Chancellor Angela Merkel visited Russian President Dmitry Medvedev in Sochi on August 14 -their third bilateral meeting thus far this year- in an atmosphere of conviviality staged primarily for German television channels. The German electoral campaign and three major enterprise bankruptcies spurred Merkel's decision... MORE

An Ankara-based think-tank, Uluslararasi Stratejik Arastirmalar Kurumu (USAK), announced the findings of its 2009 public opinion poll on Turkish perceptions of foreign policy (www.usak.org.tr, August 14). The survey shows that the Turkish people prioritize national interests over global causes, and a visible increase in their... MORE