South Korea and Japan have held their first talks on creating unprecedented agreements to share military intelligence and equipment. It is something the United States has encouraged because of recent attacks blamed on North Korea and Pyongyang’s continuing nuclear threat. But both Seoul and Tokyo may find it necessary to move cautiously because of historical legacies and concern about how Beijing will react.

• January 14, 2011

Iran’s proposal for a diplomatic tour of its nuclear sites floundered on Thursday after China effectively rejected the invitation and Russia said such a trip could never replace United Nations inspections or negotiations with world powers.

• January 14, 2011

For Europe’s last old-style dictator, this has become the week when the walls close in, as neighbouring democracies move to deprive his regime of travel, money, skilled citizens and – perhaps most galling – hockey.

• January 14, 2011

European Commission’s president Jose Manuel Barroso continues his visit Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan to complete tomorrow.

• January 14, 2011

A Serbian oil company controlled by Russia's Gazprom Neft announced that it secured a multimillion-dollar contract to drill for oil in Turkmenistan.

• January 13, 2011

Azerbaijan agreed to export at least 1 billion cubic meters of natural gas a year to Iran, its southern neighbor, the day before meetings with the European Union on a new fuel transit corridor.

• January 13, 2011

Ukraine in 2010 cut export of electric energy to the European countries by 59.4 percent against 2009 to 1.173 billion kWh, the Ukrainian Energy and Coal Industry Ministry said

• January 13, 2011

China effectively rejected Iran's invite to tour Tehran's nuclear facilities on Thursday, potentially smoothing a source of friction ahead of President Hu Jintao's state visit to the United States next week.

• January 13, 2011