The U.S. and its allies have invited Iran to participate in international talks over Syria’s future, potentially indicating a shift in its strategy related to the Iranian nuclear program. The next talks are planned for Thursday in Vienna where Secretary of State John Kerry, Foreign Minister of Russia, Sergei Lavrov and top European and Arab diplomats are…
The start of this week has seen Russian and Iranian officials comment on cooperation in the defense, communications and energy sectors. RIA Novosti quoted the head of Russia’s largest defense company claiming that there are plans for Iran to withdraw its $4 billion lawsuit against Russia concerning non-delivery of weaponry in 2010. The Iranian Communications…
Local elections were held across Ukraine on October 25, excepting one city where elections were canceled amid allegations of erroneously printed ballots. The Ukrainian governments stated that elections were canceled in the provincial capital of Mariupol in Ukraine’s eastern region. The steel company that printed the ballots is owned by Ukraine’s richest man Rinat Akmetov,…
A report from earlier this month published by the Associated Press focused on the market for nuclear materials in Moldova. The report, compiled by investigators working in conjunction with Moldovan law enforcement agencies and the FBI, details a black market of nuclear materials available in Moldova. As has been documented in some detail here and…
In response to sagging oil prices, the Organization of the Petroleum Export Countries (OPEC) held a meeting in Vienna first time with eight non-member states including Russia and Kazakhstan. Previously, Russia and some other oil producers refused to work with OPEC. Participation from Russia, Kazakhstan, Mexico, Colombia and Brazil created the hope that they may assist in taking…
For the first time since 2006, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe launched a six-day tour in Central Asia with the goal of boosting energy cooperation in the region. Tokyo is believed to be on the edge of the implementation of a new policy for increasing its presence in Central Asia, ostensibly aimed to counter China’s…
Kazakhstani President Nursultan Nazarbayev stated that the country is facing a crisis worse than that of 2007-2008, as he charged the government with drawing up an anti-crisis plan on October 19. Nazarbayev forecast that the country’s economic situation would not face an upturn soon, citing decreasing prices for natural gas and other resources exported from…
Iran’s top nuclear negotiator expressed hopes that an agreement will be reached on Iran’s rollback of its nuclear program in exchange for sanctions relief before the end of the year. Negotiator Abbas Araqchi’s comments came a day after US President Obama approved sanctions waivers on October 18, the symbolic implementation day for the nuclear deal…
In response to the increasing instability in Northern Afghanistan, Russia has bolstered its diplomatic and security activities in Central Asia, grasping the opportunity to endorse its vision of “greater Eurasia”. Russian grand strategy of reshaping security dynamics in the region has already included strengthening its existing alliances while vying internationally to be considered a great…
US President Barack Obama announced the extension of the current presence of 9,800 troops in Afghanistan into 2016, with a drawdown to 5,500 through the end of his term in 2017. The announcement is contrary to the administration’s earlier plans to withdraw the majority of US military forces from Afghanistan by the end of 2017,…
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