Speculation has recently mounted that Bishkek will agree to a request from Moscow to open a new Russian military base in southern Kyrgyzstan. On July 21 the Kyrgyz ambassador to Kazakhstan, Dzhanysh Rustenbekov, said the decision might be taken at the informal Collective Security Treaty... MORE

U.S. Vice-President Joe Biden held out prospects for a revitalized and expanded relationship with Ukraine during his July 20-22 visit to Kyiv (and Georgia on the next leg). A prompt follow-up to President Barack Obama's July 6-7 Moscow visit, the vice-president's trip was designed to... MORE

Almost a month and a half after the assassination of Dagestan's Interior Minister Police General Adilgerei Magomedtagirov on June 5, the federal government finally chose his replacement. The new minister is Federal Security Service (FSB) Colonel Ali Magomedov, a close associate of Dagestan's President Mukhu... MORE

On July 26 President Dmitry Medvedev focused on foreign policy in his carefully staged interview for the NTV channel and duly praised his own successes in improving Russia's image as a "strong and modern country, pragmatic and restrained." He asserted that Russia "plays a decisive... MORE

Commenting on the recent controversial contacts between American diplomats and Iraqi Sunni insurgents in Turkey, Turkish government sources have confirmed that Ankara facilitated high-level talks, and maintains that the government in Baghdad was kept informed of these developments (Taraf, July 26). This highlights the Justice... MORE

The visit by U.S. Vice-President Joe Biden to Kyiv on July 21-22 was a strenuous test of his diplomatic skills. He needed to avoid the political land mines separating Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko and his nemesis, Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko as well as present a... MORE

Russian state-run gas giant Gazprom has cut its investment program in response to the difficulties it faces in the current economic downturn. These cost-saving measures contrasted sharply with Gazprom's pledge last year to become the world's largest company. Such efforts were supported by the Russian... MORE

Violence in Ingushetia continues unabated. The wreckage of a blown-up VAZ-2107 automobile with the remains of four unidentified people was discovered ten kilometers outside the city of Karabulak on July 26. A Karabulak police source said the owner of the car was a suspected rebel.... MORE

Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan on his way to Syria revealed that the Justice and Development Party (AKP) government has launched a comprehensive plan to address the Kurdish question. Erdogan said, "We have launched an initiative, whether you call it the Kurdish problem or the... MORE

On July 23 the presidential election marked a new low point in Kyrgyzstan's democratic record. Incumbent president Kurmanbek Bakiyev earned 85 percent of the vote and immediately sought to suppress any opposition protests challenging the election result. Members of the opposition Social Democratic Party (SDP)... MORE