For the last two decades, Turkmenistan has adhered to a foreign policy of strict neutrality. But the drawdown, in neighboring Afghanistan, of the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) mission has coincided with the appearance of Islamic State (IS) militants in that war-torn country. The two... MORE

*To read Part One, please click here. Most of the “old” Europe—pre-1999 members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and the European Union—does not acknowledge the wider implications of Russia’s war in Ukraine (let alone the fact that it is a war). That group... MORE

Russia’s war against Ukraine has exposed the deepening cracks in Europe’s understanding of itself as the West’s core, and in its positioning vis-à-vis an openly adverse Russia. Fragmentation processes were ongoing in Europe prior to this war, both above and (with longer-term effects) below the... MORE

During a meeting with the Belarusian police directorate, President Alyaksandr Lukashenka once again declared that no disturbance of public order will be tolerated in the country. He also suggested that Belarus must be able to push back against a potential export of radical nationalism. Moreover,... MORE

This week, the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced it will no longer attend the meetings of the Joint Consultative Group (JCG) of the Conventional Forces in Europe (CFE) treaty of 1990. The Russian arms control representative in Vienna, Alexander Mazur, told reporters: “The withdrawal... MORE

Following the recent (March 4) visit to Ankara by his counterpart from Turkmenistan, Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced a trilateral mechanism on energy issues between Turkey, Turkmenistan and Azerbaijan. He specifically noted that the three countries share a vision of transferring Turkmenistani... MORE

Since Moscow initiated military operations in Ukraine in February 2014, China has seemingly adopted an ambiguous stance as Russia’s annexation of Crimea and destabilization of southeastern Ukraine evoked international condemnation. During the past year, Beijing and Moscow strengthened their strategic partnership by deepening economic ties... MORE

In the run up to the signing of the agreement between Russia and South Ossetia “On Alliance and Integration,” which should take place soon (Interpressnews.ge, March 7), the president of South Ossetia, Leonid Tibilov, lashed out at those residents of the breakaway Georgian autonomy who... MORE

Chinese President Xi Jinping’s New Silk Road stretches over 8,000 miles from China to Europe, traversing the Eurasian land mass and even touching Africa, but notably excludes one continent on the other side of the world—Latin America. President Xi’s landmark initiative, also known as “one... MORE

The meteoric rise of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, which has since styled itself the Islamic State in an affirmation of its broader aspirations of dominion over a self-declared caliphate beyond the territories where it exercises control, has aggravated the Middle East’s already... MORE