Turkmenistan's authoritarian president was sworn in Friday for a second term during a lavish ceremony filled with adulation for the man increasingly referred to as the "protector" of this tightly controlled, resource-rich nation.

• February 17, 2012

European milling wheat futures rose on
Friday as hopes Greece will clinch a long-awaited bailout deal heartened
investors and as a report Ukraine will limit wheat exports for the rest of the
season added some fundamental support.    

• February 17, 2012

The Russian Embassy in Ukraine will submit a proposal to the leadership of the Ukrainian Energy and Coal Industry Ministry to resume gas talks

• February 17, 2012

BSIS, University of Kent, Brussels, 8 December 2011 Provisional summary of seminar findings

By Dr Marat Terterov and Mr. George Vlad Niculescu, European Geopolitical Forum, Brussels

On December 8 2011, The European Geopolitical Forum staged a seminar on the topic “The Unresolved Conflicts in the South Caucasus: Implications for European and Eurasian Integration” at the University of Kent/Brussels School of International Studies. The seminar represented a concerted attempt by the organizers to provide a platform for a lively and objective roundtable debate where experts of different orientations would have the opportunity to engage in a frank exchange of positions on the highly sensitive subject matter of South Caucasus unresolved conflicts. In contrast to many events taking place in Brussels, the organizers of the December 8 seminar did not have the objective of taking sides in political disputes, or seeking to promote the merits of one side at the expense of the other. READ MORE

• February 17, 2012

The U.S. and Uzbekistan consider it important to expand partnership in the cultural-humanitarian field. This was discussed at a meeting at the Foreign Ministry on Thursday with the U.S Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Educational and Cultural Affairs Adam Ereli, the press service of the Foreign Ministry said.

• February 16, 2012

Kazakh Industry and Trade Minister Asset Issekeshev met today with a large French business delegation which participated in the Kazakh-French Business Council, the Ministry's press service said.

• February 16, 2012

Iran's ambassador to Russia said plans to cut off supplies of Iranian crude to Europe would only benefit the Islamic republic, which in the past has been heavily dependent on imported fuel due to restricted refining capacity.

• February 16, 2012

In a recent interview for "The Voice of Russia", EGF Expert on Radical Islamic Movements, Mikhail Roshchin, explained the political dynamics emerging between Islamist and secular political parties in Egypt following recent parliamentary elections. His key message for all stakeholders engaged in the formation of new governance institutions in Egypt was that the Muslim Brotherhood, which now forms the largest political bloc in Egypt's new parliament, is more likely to broker political deals with secular parties rather than develop any sense of "ideological alliances" with other, more radical, Islamist factions. This will most likely remove the concerns over "new shades of green" emerging in the ensuing Egyptian political landscape and lead to further fragmentation of the political environment in advance of the country's looming presidential elections, which are currently scheduled for June 2012. Click HERE for the entire interview.
 

• February 16, 2012