One month after the Tulip Revolution in Kyrgyzstan, the new government headed by interim president Kurmanbek Bakiyev is facing extensive criticism of its slow and sometimes ambiguous political program. The Kyrgyz mass media has condemned Bakiyev for taking foolish steps in building the interim government... MORE

There are increasingly strong indications that the United States and Afghanistan are considering a long-term U.S. military presence in Afghanistan. The hints have come from both sides. The latest discussion on the subject came when U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld visited Afghanistan last week. In... MORE

On April 15 Russian border guards began their long-awaited withdrawal from the "Moskva" patrolled areas of the Tajik-Afghan border, handing over control of the sensitive area to Tajikistani border units. Despite Russia's apparent step back from its well-established role in Tajik border security, Moscow will... MORE

Russia is apparently ready to flaunt its arms sales programs to countries at risk -- or who pose a risk -- of war and to do so in Africa. Recent reports announce that Moscow will continue modernizing Eritrean aircraft and sell Eritrea 80 of its... MORE

The past two weeks have marked new, intensified efforts by the international community to ensure that Azerbaijan conducts free and fair parliamentary elections, which are set for November of this year. Outsiders are putting more pressure on the Azerbaijani authorities to democratize and implement reforms.... MORE

The presidents of Georgia, Ukraine, Azerbaijan, and Moldova -- the GUAM group of countries -- will meet on April 21-22 in Chisinau to revitalize the dormant organization and, possibly, to initiate its enlargement. The presidents of Romania, Poland, and Lithuania have been invited to attend... MORE

Following a series of recent setbacks, the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) has been dismissed as an irrelevant institution. In an apparent attempt to reinvent itself, the CIS has clinched a fresh deal with the China-dominated Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO). Yet despite claims of "unanimity"... MORE

Former Ukrainian prime minister Viktor Yanukovych has taken his first steps to unify the opposition for the first time since he lost the presidential election to Viktor Yushchenko last December. On April 13 Yanukovych presided over a meeting that proclaimed the creation of an opposition... MORE