Ahead of the December 26 repeat presidential runoff, which will again pit opposition leader Viktor Yushchenko against Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych, debate has resumed over Yushchenko's mysterious illness. On December 11, the Vienna-based Rudolfinerhaus clinic announced that Yushchenko had definitely been poisoned by dioxin, a... MORE

With two weeks remaining from the OSCE's 2004 budgetary authorization, Moscow threatens to block adoption of the 2005 budget unless the organization introduces Russian-proposed "reforms." Those proposals seek to: boost the OSCE's role in the military-political and security sphere, where Russia can and does manipulate... MORE

Display of Russian military muscle, Moldovan appeals for support, European Union incoherence, and OSCE insistence on staying in play through collaboration with Russia were the highlights of the discussions on Moldova at the OSCE's year-end meeting in Sofia on December 6-7. As in Georgia's case,... MORE

One of the biggest ironies of Ukraine's democratic "Orange Revolution" is that it will cause difficulties in the European Union, an organization that claims to embody "European values." Had former Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych won the presidential election, it would have resolved the EU's dilemma:... MORE

At the OSCE's year-end meeting in Sofia on December 6-7, Russia ruled out any regional statement on Georgia or Moldova, and vetoed the political declaration's text that read: "Some of the commitments made at the 1999 Istanbul Summit regarding Georgia and Moldova have not yet... MORE

U.S. President George W. Bush has thanked Lithuanian President Valdas Adamkus and Polish President Alexander Kwasniewski for their assistance in negotiating a compromise to resolve Ukraine's ongoing political crisis (Lithuanian Radio, December 9). Poland and Lithuania dragged a reluctant EU into holding three round-table negotiations... MORE

The OSCE is probably the only international institution in which Russia has the statutory power to veto a country's advance toward democracy. At the OSCE's year-end meeting in Sofia on December 6-7, Russia vetoed part of the political declaration relating to Ukraine, claiming that it... MORE

More than 38,000 candidates are expected to contest 22,000 seats in Azerbaijan's December 17 municipal elections. Once again, the opposition has decided to boycott the vote. The independent daily Zerkalo reported that several opposition parties, including the Popular Front, Musavat and its allied parties in... MORE

In the aftermath of the scandalous second round of the Ukrainian presidential election on November 21, the pro-Kuchma parliamentary majority, established originally to back up Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych's "coalition government," is continuing to unravel. The disintegration is part and parcel of the gradual defection... MORE

With the resignation of his chief of staff, Ural Latypau (Latypov), and his subsequent appointment of Viktar Sheiman, President Alexander Lukashenka brought back to high office a trusted lieutenant who is also thoroughly discredited outside the country. The motives behind the new appointment have been... MORE