President Barack Obama promised in a letter released on Monday to tackle "serious issues" straining relations with Azerbaijan, an important link in Afghan supply lines and energy export routes to the West.

• June 8, 2010

Israel has begun expelling the latest group of activists detained for trying to break the Gaza blockade. Meanwhile, Israel's ambassador to the US has rejected a probe into an earlier deadly raid on a Gaza aid flotilla.

• June 7, 2010

Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates arrived here today to express U.S. gratitude to this former Soviet republic on the western shore of the Caspian Sea for its contributions to the coalition’s efforts in Afghanistan.

• June 7, 2010

Iran hopes to finalise a deal this week for a much-delayed pipeline to export natural gas to Pakistan by 2015, an energy official said on Sunday.

• June 7, 2010

A year ago, the Kremlin issued a stark warning: that growing competition for control of global energy resources could spark wars on Russia's borders, including those in Central Asia.

• June 3, 2010

A year ago, the Kremlin issued a stark warning: that growing competition for control of global energy resources could spark wars on Russia's borders, including those in Central Asia.

• June 3, 2010

By Richard Galpin BBC News, Moscow Russia pumps oil from Kazakhstan to a Black Sea port for export A year ago, the Kremlin issued a stark warning: that growing competition for control of global energy resources could spark wars on Russia's borders,

• June 3, 2010

While its relations with Israel continue to plummet to new depths in the wake of the Gaza flotilla raid, Turkey is considering how to handle the US as Washington tries to balance its ties with Jerusalem and Ankara.

• June 3, 2010