Armenia’s trade with Russia has increased dramatically this year, paralleling the growing Russian economic presence in the country, which has sparked concerns about Armenia’s economic independence and even national security. The almost 62% year-on-year rise in Russian-Armenian trade registered in the first eight months of... MORE

Turkish media reports from the country’s border with Iraq suggest that the Turkish authorities have begun to apply economic pressure against the Iraqi Kurds ahead of possible full-scale sanctions. On October 24, a statement released after a six-hour meeting of Turkey’s National Security Council (NSC)... MORE

Expectations before the regular meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and the EU leadership had set a new record low, and the summit in Mafra, Portugal, last Friday, October 26, generally lived up to them. The top priority for the Portuguese EU presidency has been... MORE

On October 21 London refocused British diplomatic efforts in Central Asia from Kazakhstan to Turkmenistan. The Turkmen state news agency publicized a visit to Ashgabat by an official from the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO), wrongly suggesting this was the FCO’s director for Russia... MORE

The unprecedented tough line taken by the Kazakh government in its row with the Italian Agip consortium may set an ominous precedent for prolonged confrontations with other Western companies. In a second challenge to Western investment, the district court in Atyrau region recently upheld the... MORE

Restoring the monarchy in Georgia has become a declared goal of the United Opposition, an umbrella of numerous small parties. Their leaders have quickly moved from the slogan “Georgia Without a President”—meaning without President Mikheil Saakashvili—to the idea of monarchical restoration. This idea would remain... MORE

On October 19 Russian Natural Resources Minister Yuri Trutnev reported to President Vladimir Putin on the progress of the Eastern Siberia-Pacific Ocean (ESPO) pipeline and pledged to crack down on energy companies found to be violating their license agreements. The use of natural resources in... MORE

As Azerbaijan’s ruling Yeni Azerbaijan party celebrates the fourth anniversary of Ilham Aliyev’s presidency, political parties and groupings in the country are already looking ahead to the 2008 presidential election. On September 19, leaders of Musavat, one of the main opposition parties in the country,... MORE