Gazprom completed an agreement last month to purchase Kyrgyzstan’s state gas company Krygyzgaz for $1, after Russia wrote off a large portion of Kyrgyz debt in return and Gazprom pledged to invest $570 million in repairing and modernizing gas infrastructure. This will also alleviate some stress on the Krygyzstan-Uzbekistan relationship, from which Kyrygzstan draws about…

Abdullah Abdullah, long considered the frontrunner for the future president of Afghanistan, has suspended his involvement with the Independent Election Commission (IEC), recalling his party monitors from commission offices, on account of what he has described as “industrial-scale fraud,” saying that “the counting process should stop immediately and if that continues, it will have no…

The Chinese government has executed 13 individuals for crimes of terrorism in China’s troubled Xinjiang province. The executions, which were carried out on Monday, were justified by Chinese government officials who claimed the individuals had encouraged terrorist activity and “planned violent terrorist attacks” while killing “police officers, government officials and civilians.” The attacks mentioned were…

New President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko said he would introduce a new ceasefire framework that would allow separatist groups and government forces to engage in peaceful negotiation and settlement. Despite the institution of these new rules of engagement, Poroshenko reported to the Ukrainian National Security Council that there was no need to involve the country…

Any semblance of trust that had existed between Ukraine and Russia during this past weekend has quickly evaporated after reports emerged that tanks provisioned by Moscow rolled across Ukraine’s borders, apparently under the command of rebel forces. Ukrainian officials have reported that rebels are now in possession of three Russian tanks and an assortment of…

Ramsar, Iran, a beach-lined Iranian city bordering the Caspian Sea in Iran’s northwest, recently played host to a meeting of the working group for the legal status of the Caspian Sea. The attendees of the meeting included delegations sent from Russia, Azerbaijan, Iran, Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan. The five countries, in addition to enjoying mostly amicable…

Just a day after it appeared that talks between Russia and Ukraine would fail to bear fruit, both sides renewed their commitment to substantive negotiations over the two nations’ economic and political relations. Officials from Kiev and Moscow met along with a delegation from Poland in St. Petersburg in order to discuss, among other things,…

Talks have stalled at the summit between energy officials from Ukraine and Russia hosted by the European Commission in Brussels yesterday. A breakthrough had occurred at 3 am on Tuesday, which was the deadline that Kiev had been set by officials of Gazprom and Moscow. Russia has threatened Ukraine if it defaults on its debt…

Flash Floods in Northern Afghanistan have claimed the lives of more than 70 Afghans who had previously inhabited villages in the remote Baghlan province. The death toll, which has been estimated at between 80 and 100, has driven hundreds more from homes that have been quickly washed away by the rapid influx of water.  This…

Afghan presidential frontrunner Abdullah Abdullah escaped assassination on Friday morning when two charges detonated outside of a hotel. Six people are confirmed dead, and the blasts destroyed several cars in Abdullah’s convoy. Twenty-two bystanders were also injured. The blasts took place in the Kote Sangi area of western Kabul, next to the Ariana Hotel. Police…