On October 26 and 27, Tbilisi hosted the fourth annual Silk Road Forum. The forum brought together about 2,000 guests from 60 countries to discuss global economic challenges and prospects for cooperation (Report.az,  October 26). International interest in the event skyrocketed after Russia’s full-scale invasion... MORE

Few prospects worry Moscow more than a potential reduction of tensions between the United States and China. Such a development, even if half-hearted and temporary, would threaten a curtailment of Beijing’s support for Russia in the international arena—at least from Moscow’s perspective. The Asia-Pacific Economic... MORE

Mongolia is currently updating the country’s national security concept, and managing relations with Russia and China remains foundational (Ikon, September 27). At the end of October, Mongolian President Khurelsukh Ukhnaa, Russian President Vladimir Putin, and Chinese Communist Party General Secretary Xi Jinping met on the... MORE

On November 3, Belarusian President Alyaksandr Lukashenka paid a visit to Astravets, the site of Belarus’s nuclear power plant located 15 kilometers (about 9 miles) from the Lithuanian border (President.gov.by, November 3). The visit was arranged in concert with Russian energy corporation Rosatom completing the... MORE

On October 26 and 27, the international conference, “Eurasian Security: Reality and Prospects in a Transforming World,” was held in Minsk. The event took place under the auspices of Belarus’s current chairmanship of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO). About 300 representatives from 30 countries... MORE

In September, Moscow announced its plans to dramatically increase defense spending by the end of the year, with some estimating a 70-percent increase for that budget (see EDM, October 5). Russia’s national defense budget has reportedly been growing quickly ever since, but this has not... MORE

Bulgaria has finally taken decisive measures to cease its dependence on Russian energy and undercut Moscow’s positions in the Balkan and Central European energy markets. On September 28, the Bulgarian National Assembly voted to introduce a new excise tax on the import and transit of... MORE

Beijing is increasing its political influence in Siberia and the Russian Far East to better support its expanding economic activities. These efforts are directed at the political and business elites who are the major stakeholders in deciding which firms can operate in their respective regions... MORE

Moscow’s war against Ukraine has resulted in serious military and economic losses for the Russian Federation. The Kremlin has tried to mitigate the effect of stringent Western sanctions through a combination of non-compliance with the oil price ceiling, evading sanctions via third parties, and high... MORE

The recent decision by Hong Kong to join China in banning Japanese seafood took many observers by surprise (Reuters, August 23). At first glance, the ban seemed an overblown reaction to Japan's handling of nuclear wastewater, which many international bodies have deemed safe and compliant... MORE