Energy & Environment

Chinese and Russian troops in central Asia war games

By Robin Paxton, Reuters

NATO Reset With Russia, but With Reassurance

By Linas Linkevicius, the International Herald Tribune

From Linas Linkevicius, the International Herald Tribune: The strategic concept will have to explain to our societies what NATO stands for in the 21st century. Allies approach this task from two different perspectives.

As Azeri and Armenian forces continue fighting, EU fears escalation

By Zaman

From Zaman:  The Azerbaijani Defense Ministry said on Tuesday that tensions between Azerbaijani and Armenian forces is continuing to mount, as fierce fighting persisted between the two nations on Monday and early Tuesday.

Lukashenko says Moscow ‘thugs’ may be behind embassy attack

By RIA Novosti

From RIA Novosti: [Belarusian President Alexander] Lukashenko told journalists on Wednesday that a theory about Moscow’s involvement in the incident was "interesting" and that police would investigate it. "Most likely, they probably needed this incident. To demonstrate how bad Lukashenko is – why, he nearly carried out that "terrorist attack," as they put it, on his […]

Europe’s Last Dictator Under Pressure from Moscow

By Benjamin Bidder, der Spiegel

From Benjamin Bidder, der Spiegel:  The 65-year-old [President of Belarus Alexander] Lukashenko has been in office for 16 years, but never before have Moscow and the Belarusian autocrat had such irreconcilable differences. Bilateral relations have never been as bad as they are now, says the Belarusian political scientist Alexander Klaskovski.

Why We Need Big Oil

By Alexandros Petersen

In the aftermath of the largest oil spill in history, Big Oil — never the greatest of PR cases — has lost most of the few friends it ever had. When BP — whose assets stretch from Azerbaijan to Libya to the Alaskan Arctic — announced last month that it was planning to shrink in […]

Russian Espionage Targeting New NATO Members

By Gregory Feifer, RFE/RL

From Gregory Feifer, RFE/RL:  The three Czech generals make an impressive roster: the head of the president’s military office, the country’s NATO representative in Europe, and a deputy head of the chief of staff.

New NATO division to deal with Emerging Security Challenges

By NATO

From NATO:  A new Division within the NATO International Staff has been created in order to deal with a growing range of non-traditional risks and challenges. The new Emerging Security Challenges Division (ESCD) started its work beginning of August and will be focusing notably on terrorism, the proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction, cyber defence, […]

Turkey to follow UN sanctions on Iran, not tougher EU or US bans

By Hürriyet

Who is winning Eastern Europe’s great game?

By Katinka Barysch, the Center for European Reform

From Katinka Barysch, the Center for European Reform:  The US is withdrawing from the former Soviet space; the European Union struggles to be taken seriously there. Does that leave Russia free to strengthen its influence in the countries around its borders? Not necessarily, for the situation in the region is complex. … Although by far […]