Russia criticised the European Union on Wednesday for imposing new sanctions on Iran over its nuclear programme and called for a fresh round of talks between world powers and Tehran as soon as possible.

• October 18, 2012

A group of European ambassadors in Dushanbe visited Tajikistan's eastern region of Gorno-Badakhshan, the scene of a recent bloody military operation.

• October 18, 2012

New Kazakh Ambassador has been appointed to North Korea, the Kazakh presidential press-service reported today.

• October 18, 2012

Nuclear envoys from South Korea, the United States and Japan agreed on Wednesday to closely cooperate on North Korean nuclear issues, foreign ministry officials here said.

• October 17, 2012

General William M. Fraser III, current Commander of United States Transportation Command (USTRANSCOM), arrived in Turkmenistan for consultations, the U.S. Embassy in Turkmenistan reported.

• October 17, 2012

Kazakhstan has announced the signing of a new regional agreement on the transit of goods. Kazakh Ambassador to Azerbaijan Serik Primbetov has stated that Azerbaijan, Georgia, Kazakhstan and Turkey are preparing an agreement on the transit of goods by rail via the being built route of Baku-Tbilisi-Kars.

• October 17, 2012

Two North Korean government officials told a top U.S. official dealing with North Korea that the hermitic Stalinist state would not continue on its path to denuclearization, as promised in 2005, until the United States ends what it sees as America's hostile policy to the DPRK.

• October 16, 2012

European Union governments plan to ratchet up sanctions pressure against Iran over its nuclear programme on Monday, approving new measures against Tehran’s banking sector, industry and shipping.

• October 15, 2012