A seemingly perpetual tension between Western universalism on human rights and down-to-earth geopolitics has no single resolution. With regard to Belarus, human rights remain preeminent albeit with the exception of the 2007–2010 period, during which a rapprochement between Brussels and Minsk was underway. But in... MORE

On September 30, Russian President Vladimir Putin sent a congratulatory message to Abkhazia’s authorities on the 20th anniversary of “the republic’s independence.” The anniversary marks the Abkhazian proclamation of independence in 1993, as Sukhumi fell to Russian military forces. “This holiday is a symbol of... MORE

Mongolian Prime Minister Norov Altankhuyag’s September 11–14, 2013 trip to Japan, his first overseas visit since becoming head of government in 2012, underscored the new vibrancy in Mongolian-Japanese relations. This visit reciprocated the very successful one of Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to Ulaanbaatar in... MORE

On September 25, the deputy chairman of Kazakhstan’s national space agency Kazkosmos, Erkin Shaimagambetov, officially announced his administration’s decision to allow Russia to carry out a new launch of its Proton rocket from the Baikonur Cosmodrome on September 30. The following day, Kazakhstan’s Environment Protection... MORE

The government of Azerbaijan wants the United States to exert greater influence in the South Caucasus, but is actually seeing less of it under the administration of President Barack Obama; and the ways of that involvement have not always been productive. Azerbaijan continues to believe... MORE

In less than two years, China-U.S. military relations have experienced a remarkable turnaround. President Xi Jinping in particular has expressed strong support for developing more military exchanges as part of his concept of a “new type great power relationship” between the People’s Republic of China... MORE

For the People’s Republic of China, its relationship with Guyana has been one of its longest, most consistently close relationships in Latin America and the Caribbean. Yet, between June and August 2013, Chinese companies lost almost a billion dollars in work in the country, including... MORE

On September 19, a roundtable on inter-ethnic relations took place in Simferopol, Crimea. At this gathering, the European Union’s Commissioner for Enlargement and European Neighborhood Policy Stefan Fule met with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Leonid Kozhara and other members of Ukraine’s Cabinet of Ministers, deputies of... MORE

Negotiating a phased withdrawal of Armenian troops from Azerbaijan’s territory is the top national security priority for Baku. Recent trends in the region pose additional challenges to Azerbaijan in the run-up to its presidential election. These include: Russia’s growing clout, Armenia’s decision to join the... MORE

On September 9, Russian diplomat Dmitry Vishernev was killed in Sukhumi, the capital of the breakaway Georgian region of Abkhazia, which Moscow has “recognized” as independent along with South Ossetia following Russia’s brief August 2008 war with Georgia. Vishernev was first secretary at the Russian... MORE