The Caspian nations have reiterated earlier promises to seek a consensus-based settlement, but they apparently failed to resolve their differences. As a result, the Caspian summit previously scheduled in Moscow, tentatively in November this year, appeared to remain elusive.During a meeting in Astana on November... MORE

The last remaining hurdle to Russia’s entry into the World Trade Organization (WTO) now appears to have been cleared, as Russia’s chief WTO negotiator, Maxim Medvedekov, announced on November 3 that Moscow has accepted a last-minute membership compromise. Thus, Russia has taken another significant step... MORE

A mysterious blast on a vital Uzbekistan rail route on November 17 has been followed by a stranger Uzbek disinterest in repairing the damage or sharing details of the investigation into the incident. The Tashkent government formed a commission to investigate the bombing of the... MORE

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) mission that arrived in Ukraine on October 25 left the country on November 3, one day ahead of schedule, without agreement on the next loan tranche. The IMF local representative, Max Alier, announced on November 4 that the IMF would... MORE

In the first weeks of November 2011, a series of independent events in the diplomatic, economic and security domains highlight how the new Peruvian government of Ollanta Humala is using the previous governments' initiatives to become a key partner for China in Latin America, deepen... MORE

For the EU, and in particular the Eurozone, the last three months have been a never-ending trial by fire. Emergency summits have taken place almost weekly across the usual key parts of the EU power terrain—Brussels, Paris, Berlin and Rome. This turmoil managed to cause... MORE

Kyrgyzstan’s recent peaceful presidential elections did not feature China as a campaign issue. For the most part, they focused on domestic issues and where foreign policy seeped in, it was mostly in the positive light that most Kyrgyz see Russia and separately its regional customs... MORE

Last week, Russia’s Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov, in charge of relations with the US, arms control, ballistic missile defense (BMD) and proliferation, told Jamestown that US-Russian relations are not bad. Ryabkov expressed satisfaction that President Barack Obama fulfilled his promise to help Moscow overcome... MORE

As relations between Dushanbe and Tashkent have become increasingly strained due to multiple factors, including water resources and energy supplies, Tajikistan is trying to end its reliance on Uzbekistan’s highways and railroads. Tashkent has closed most of the Soviet-era highways linking the countries, and Tajikistan’s... MORE

Kazakhstan has been ranked among the top 50 world economies in the Doing Business 2012 report, compiled by the World Bank and its private-sector lender the International Finance Corp (i-news.kz, October 20). The ranking places Kazakhstan 47th among 183 countries in a study assessing business... MORE