Iran’s recent economic expansion in Tajikistan appears to be part of Tehran’s broader strategy to strengthen its influence in the country. In addition to pledging to invest more in the Tajik economy, Tehran has reiterated its calls for Dushanbe to foster closer cultural cooperation and... MORE

Russia’s plans to modernize its oil production sector by pursuing international energy partnerships has been dealt a blow as a major deal became mired in legal disputes. Plans by Russia’s largest oil firm Rosneft to implement a share swap agreement with BP were hindered by... MORE

The Croatian government has reversed a move that would have jeopardized its goal to complete accession negotiations with the European Union this year. A government meeting on April 2 was set unilaterally to impose a 49 percent limit on shareholding in the INA oil and... MORE

Croatia hopes to complete accession negotiations with the European Union during the course of this year. However, the government would put its own EU accession goals at risk if it were to re-orient its energy policy toward Russia, or away from EU competition policy. The... MORE

The future of the nuclear power plant at Metsamor and Armenia’s continued reliance on atomic energy has come under pressure following the nuclear disaster in Japan. The Armenian government is facing renewed calls by local environmentalists to shut down the plant that generates about 40... MORE

On April 5, a statement made by a group of Circassians to the embattled head of Libya, Muammar Gaddafi, spread in the Internet. An Israeli specialist on the Circassians, Avraham Shmulevich republished the highly unusual statement offering Circassian assistance to Gaddafi on his blog. The... MORE

One year ago, the plane carrying President Lech Kaczynski and scores of Polish officials crashed 100 meters from the runway hidden by dense fog in Smolensk oblast.  On April 11, President Dmitry Medvedev and his Polish counterpart Bronislaw Komorowski will visit the site of this... MORE

The nuclear crises at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant in neighboring Japan that began with the March 11 earthquake and tsunami has induced the Chinese government to pause and perhaps moderate its civilian nuclear buildup. Describing safety as its top priority, the State Council... MORE

The protests and revolutions that are sweeping across North Africa since the beginning of 2011 pose a serious test for Chinese diplomacy. The circumstances forced Chinese diplomats to adapt quickly to the unfolding situation, a measure Beijing has been adept at doing elsewhere in Africa... MORE

Expectations raised by Russia’s Foreign Affairs Minister, Sergei Lavrov, about re-starting negotiations to resolve the Transnistria conflict, have shattered on both counts: process and substance. Transnistria’s Moscow-installed authorities have defiantly contradicted Lavrov, with apparent impunity. Moscow has quickly backtracked, and Tiraspol has aborted the attempt... MORE