International attention focused on Astana on December 1-2, where the leaders of the 56 member-countries gathered for the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) summit, billed by the Kazakh government as an “epoch-making event.” Kazakhstan ended its chairmanship of the organization in a... MORE

The decision by FIFA to grant Russia the right to host the 2018 Football World Cup was met with enthusiasm within the country and with sobering comments around the world (EDM, December 6). Prime Minister, Vladimir Putin, a driving force behind Russia’s effort to host... MORE

On December 11 in Ashgabat, the top officials of four participant countries signed agreements on a Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI) gas pipeline project, favored on and off (currently on again) by the US government. Presidents Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov of Turkmenistan, Afghanistan’s Hamid Karzai, and Pakistan’s Asif Ali Zardari,... MORE

When the Helsinki Final Act was adopted in 1975 to reduce tensions between East and West during the Cold War, few believed in its potential to transform the international security architecture by way of advancing border stability and human rights. Yet, the Helsinki Final Act... MORE

On December 10, the official responsible for the military draft in North Ossetia, Colonel Yuri Morozov, stated that the 2010 fall campaign to conscript youth for service in the Russian army was in danger of failing. According to Morozov, only 200 out of the 2,300... MORE

Russian President, Dmitry Medvedev, has completed an unprecedented foreign policy marathon that started on October 19, with the a trilateral meeting in Deauville with French President, Nicolas Sarkozy, and German Chancellor, Angela Merkel, followed by the summits of the G20, Organization for Security and Cooperation... MORE

For several months Kyrgyzstan has existed without a fully-fledged government and functioning parliament. Most voters had hoped to see the government finally formed after three out of five parties represented in the parliament agreed to join the ruling coalition.It took weeks of negotiations before the... MORE

Turkey’s recent humanitarian aid to Israel renewed the debate on how to normalize Turkish-Israeli relations, which have been in limbo since the flotilla incident in May 2010. Turkey has argued that Israel should acknowledge full responsibility for its raid on the humanitarian aid flotilla, which... MORE

Framework agreements on a Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India pipeline (TAPI) are scheduled for signing by high-level officials of the four countries on December 11 in Ashgabat (Turkmen Television, Press Trust of India, December 8, 9). Its economics and its political symbolism aside, TAPI’s implementation is hardly conceivable on... MORE

Russian Deputy Prosecutor-General, Ivan Sydoruk, said on December 8 that the number of terrorist acts committed in the North Caucasus Federal District rose 100 percent in comparison to last year. According to Sydoruk, 14 terrorist acts have been carried out in the district this year.... MORE