Hungarian MOL and Wintershall of Germany have signed an agreement whereby MOL acquires ownership stakes in 14 offshore oil fields originally licensed to Wintershall in the North Sea. Signed in Budapest on December 13, the agreement is expected to be closed in early 2014 pending... MORE

On November 28, the deputy head of the Department for Multilateral Cooperation at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Kazakhstan, Anuar Tanalinov, said that his country was considering the possibility of taking part in the destruction of Syria’s chemical weapons. According to the Kazakhstani diplomat,... MORE

The situation of Syria’s Chechen community is changing rapidly. Three commanders—Emir Muslim (Muslim Margoshvili), Emir Seifullah (Ruslan Machaliashvili) and Emir Abu-Musaaba (Musa)—joined forces on October 31 (https://usudusham.com/ru/2013/11/1004/#more-1004), resulting in the establishment of a new group under the command of Emir Muslim, who had previously led... MORE

Since November 21, the mass protests in Ukraine’s capital organized by opposition parties and citizens supportive of the European Union have been continuing, with the number of protesters increasing each day. In fact, on December 8, over a million Ukrainians gathered in Independence Square (“Maidan... MORE

This week (December 10), the Russian Duma discussed the political crisis in Ukraine and passed unanimously a resolution condemning the Ukrainian opposition, which is demanding the resignation of the government of Prime Minister Mykola Azarov for refusing to sign an association and free-trade agreement with... MORE

The interim agreement, concluded on November 24 with Iran and six world powers led by the United States, will see Tehran cap its nuclear program at a reduced capacity in exchange for relaxed international sanctions. The deal has met with strong resistance from some quarters,... MORE

On December 4, Russian Minister for Regional Development Igor Slyunyaev stated that the country’s population should be resettled along the borders and in the coastal areas. This strategy, according to the minister, should resolve the problem of the underdevelopment of Russia’s remote areas—most principally, the... MORE

A proposal by a Russian church leader in Stavropol to resettle the Semirechye Cossacks, who are seeking to move from Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan, to the North Caucasus has several damaging implications. Such a policy not only threatens to exacerbate ethnic conflicts in Russia’s troubled southern... MORE

Ukrainian opposition leaders have been showing unprecedented unity since the start of the anti-government protests almost two weeks ago. Initially, it seemed as if the protests against the government’s refusal to sign an association deal with the European Union had been hijacked by the opposition... MORE

Russian President Vladimir Putin has conducted an intensive series of meetings with the domestic defense industry and adopted measures to fine officials for state defense order failures. Putin held discussions on issues and challenges around the rearmament of the military across all arms and branches... MORE