Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan on Friday signed a decree to set up a joint body to oversee and regulate the economy and trade in the three nations, paving the way for an economic union of the three former Soviet republics.

• November 18, 2011

Defense ministers Safar Abiyev and Mikhail Yejel discussed the issues of bilateral cooperation, press service of the Ukrainian defense ministry said. They signed the bilateral cooperation and action plans for 2012.

• November 18, 2011

Italy, Japan and 10 other countries joined in on the draft resolution by the Iran Six that is expected to be submitted to the International Atomic Energy Agency Board of Governors on Friday.

• November 18, 2011

Russia will support Kazakhstan and Belarus in their efforts to join the World Trade Organization (WTO) after Moscow itself joins the trade bloc, Russia's top WTO negotiator Maxim Medvedkov said

• November 17, 2011

Azerbaijan and Turkey have started work on a trans-Anatolian pipeline project to carry Azeri gas across Turkey, the president of Azeri state energy company SOCAR Rovnag Abdullayev said on Thursday.

• November 17, 2011

The United Nations nuclear watchdog said on Thursday it wanted to send representatives to Iran to seek answers from the Islamic republic about a report containing intelligence that Tehran has worked on developing a nuclear weapon, dpa reported.

• November 17, 2011

Kazakhstan's Prime Minister Karim Massimov discussed bilateral cooperation with the Heads of diplomatic missions of Italy, Germany and the U.S. accredited in Kazakhstan, Kazakh Prime Minister's press-service reported.

• November 16, 2011

Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev signed the law "On ratification of the Agreement between the Government of the Republic of Kazakhstan and the Government of the Kyrgyz Republic on the provision of free military-technical assistance," the President's press service reported on Wednesday.

• November 16, 2011