Turkish President Abdullah Gul has stressed the importance of eradicating nuclear weapons in the region, saying the atomic disarmament of Israel would be the key to resolving outstanding issues pertaining to Iran’s nuclear energy program.

• January 5, 2013

Seeking closer economic ties, Iran posited itself as an attractive transit destination to other countries and a net provider of energy security at a press conference by top official Saeed Jalili, who is being spoken as a presidential candidate to replace Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on his completion of two terms in office

• January 5, 2013

Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili recalled ambassadors from several countries, presidential administration reported.

• January 4, 2013

Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovich said his country planned to sign an Association Agreement with the EU in the course of 2013. But he also stressed that the country would develop its relations with Russia’s Custom’s Union in areas which do not contradict other “international obligations”.

• January 4, 2013

Thanks to relative political stability and strong oil and gas prices, Russia's retail turnover more than quintupled from 2001 to 2011 and now exceeds US$600 billion annually. Data suggest that this sector is entering the steepest part of its growth curve. How will Russia's retailers face the challenges of this critical period of expansion? Will foreign retailers manage to get a slice of this growing pie?

• January 3, 2013

Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Georgia and the government will be more oriented towards integration into the European Union. Euro-Atlantic course of Georgia will be unchanged in the next year, Minister of Foreign Affairs Maya Panjikidze in an interview to "Rustavi-2".

• January 2, 2013

Russian leaders come to India for a few hours and go back with defence deals worth billions. Much like last year, the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, was in India on Monday for less than 24 hours and the two nations ended up signing deals worth $4 billion.

• January 2, 2013

Pakistani hardline party Jamaat-e-Islami's (JI) chief Azad Kashmir Abdur Rasheed Turrabi has said the discussions between Pakistan and India would not be proved fruitful until the latter took serious steps towards resolution of Kashmir issue.

• December 31, 2012