"Revolution" is again a buzzword in Armenia. Armenian opposition leaders, buoyed by a series of successful anti-government uprisings across the former Soviet Union, have opened a new political season with pledges to effect regime change in their country in a similar fashion. Some of them... MORE

Kazakhstan has moved significantly nearer its ambition to gain closer and more effective relations with the NATO Alliance. Astana has decided to abandon its long-term reliance upon dated Soviet munitions and Russian replacements. Instead, it will now prioritize the manufacture of NATO-standard ammunition for its... MORE

At the April 20-21 summit of NATO foreign ministers in Vilnius, Ukraine was invited to begin an Intensified Dialogue on Membership. The Intensified Dialogue is commonly viewed as the precursor to being invited to enter the Membership Action Plan (MAP) process, a stage that is... MORE

Kyrgyzstan's acting president, Kurmanbek Bakiyev, visited Almaty on April 22. Despite the ceremonial pleasantries, Bakiyev's reception was not nearly as pompous and cordial as the one given to Kyrgyzstan's toppled president, Askar Akayev, during his first visit in 1997. Instead, Bakiyev seemed to be the... MORE

On April 17 a new voice was added to the rather crowded airwaves in Afghanistan: Shariat Zhagh, the "Voice of Shariat." For those Afghans who had all but forgotten the Taliban, it was a disturbing and chilling surprise (VOA, April 22). Literally meaning the "Voice... MORE

Ukrainian National Security and Defense Council (NSDC) Secretary Petro Poroshenko's conflict-resolution plan for Transnistria nearly derailed the GUAM summit in Chisinau (see EDM, April 25, 26, 27) and appeared to change the approach previously taken by Ukraine's Ministry of Foreign Affairs to the Transnistria issue.... MORE

While Russia wavers on a Japan-bound Pacific oil pipeline route, Tokyo is making new overtures toward Moscow. Last week, Russia and Japan pledged to work out concrete ways of cooperation in order to build the Pacific oil pipeline. According to the memorandum signed in Tokyo... MORE

Around 500 policymakers and journalists from across the globe gathered in Almaty on April 21 for the Eurasian Media Forum. Kazakhstan's state officials tout the annual event as a unique opportunity to promote cross-cultural dialogue among civilizations. State-controlled media predictably offered exceptionally positive assessments of... MORE