On June 28, Uzbekistan announced its decision to suspend its membership in the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO). The CSTO is a predecessor of the Collective Security Treaty that was signed on Uzbekistan’s own initiative in Tashkent on May 15, 1992, at the peak of... MORE

On July 3, the prime minister of Adygea, Murat Kumpilov, received a member of the Jordanian parliament, Munir Sobrok. The visitor from Jordan reportedly came to Adygea to explore the situation in the republic and make inquiries as to whether the Adygean authorities were prepared... MORE

On July 9, speaking to Russian reporters at an air show near London, Vyacheslav Dzirkaln, a deputy director of Russia’s Federal Military-Technical Cooperation Service (FSVTS), which supervises the arms trade, announced that Moscow will not be signing new arms trade contracts with Syria or “sending... MORE

On July 4, NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said he hoped to expand the alliance’s dialogue with China, because “NATO needs to better understand China and define areas where [the two] can work together to guarantee peace and stability” as part of the transformation... MORE

After a period of relative calm, Beijing’s promotion of the ever expanding number of overseas Confucius Institutes (CIs) since 2004 came to the attention of the international community once again. As stated in the 2011 Annual Report issued by the Confucian Institute headquarters, there are... MORE

During weekend talks in Geneva about Syria, Western diplomats made an effort once again to enlist Moscow’s help in removing President Bashar al-Assad. Western attempts to shift Russia on Syria have been encouraged by statements from Russian officials that Moscow is not backing the Assad... MORE

On June 27-29 in Brussels, Moldovan Prime Minister Vlad Filat wrapped up four agreements between Moldova and the European Union, advancing his country’s European integration process. Filat led a governmental delegation to the high-level annual meeting of the EU-Moldova Cooperation Council. The sectoral agreements just... MORE

On June 18, the Federal National-Cultural Autonomy of Lezgins held its first conference in Moscow. Issues facing ethnic Lezgins and Avars, both of whom are divided between Dagestan and Azerbaijan, were discussed at the forum. The political importance of the event was reflected in the... MORE

A statement from the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) issued on June 21 warned that last week’s Boko Haram attacks on Christians in Kaduna and Zaria and the subsequent reprisals against innocent Muslims represented a descent into a complete social... MORE

Abu Yahya al-Libi might not have lived long enough to become the next Osama Bin Ladin, but over al-Libi’s seven-year career with al-Qaeda he had an indelible impact. Al-Libi evolved from an ideologue to a military commander to senior leadership. It would not be a... MORE