Monday, May 23, was the last day to register as a candidate for Afghanistan's new parliament. The Joint Electoral Management Body (JEMB) extended the deadline by six days in Nangarhar province and three days in the other 33 provinces to accommodate more candidates. The eastern... MORE

The Armenian authorities claim to have taken a further step toward meeting their membership commitments to the Council of Europe with the May 20 passage of amendments to the country's controversial laws on elections and rallies. President Robert Kocharian's leading political allies say the move... MORE

Russia State Duma deputies have launched a concerted effort to rally opposition to the American military's rising interest in, and possible future deployments around, the Caspian region. Specifically, some deputies fear that the Baku-Ceyhan oil pipeline might be used as a pretext for stepping up... MORE

As Russia and China officially resolved their lingering border dispute, officials in Moscow hailed the agreement despite criticism from the opposition, the public, and the media. "For the first time in our history, bilateral relations with China will not be marred by a border dispute,"... MORE

While Russia helped Iran build its nuclear reactor at Bushehr, Moscow now appears to be pushing Tehran to abandon dreams of further nuclearization (Interfax April 28, 29). Iran claims to have suspended some nuclear activities relating to uranium enrichment as part of a deal with... MORE

Russian President Vladimir Putin justified his policy of supporting Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych in the 2004 Ukrainian presidential elections by stating that it was Russian policy to only work with the elected authorities, not with the opposition. Russia has also declared that the election-monitoring missions... MORE

In April Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili and his Armenian counterpart Robert Kocharian held talks in Tbilisi following unrest in Georgia's predominately Armenian-populated southern region, Samtskhe-Javakheti. The disturbances, which calmed down soon, coincided with a parliamentary resolution about the withdrawal of Russian military bases from Georgia,... MORE

On May 19, a Russian delegation led by Andrei Kokoshin, chairman of the State Duma Committee on the Commonwealth of Independent States, met with Kyrgyzstan's Acting President Kurmanbek Bakiyev in Bishkek. A number of Russian news agencies reported that they discussed many bilateral issues, including... MORE