On Tuesday, Defense Minister of the Republic of Kazakhstan Adilbek Dzhaksybekov met with United States Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus.

• July 10, 2012

Russia despatched a flotilla of warships to its naval base in the Syrian port of Tartus on Tuesday in an apparent show of support for President Bashar al-Assad.

• July 10, 2012

A senior Russian official said Monday that Moscow is halting its weapons sales to Syrian authorities until the situation there calms down.

• July 9, 2012

New U.S., Canadian and European economic sanctions against Iran have taken effect over the last eight days, aimed at finally persuading Iran to give up its quest for nuclear weapons.

• July 9, 2012

Syrian forces bombarded towns in the northern province of Aleppo on Saturday, as the conflict spilled into neighbouring Lebanon and opposition representatives in France welcomed the defection of a general who was close to President Bashar al-Assad.

• July 7, 2012

Russian-Tajikistan relations are becoming strained over Russia’s military base on the territory of the Central Asian Republic. Moscow accused the Tajik government of demanding unacceptable conditions to renew the lease on the No. 201 military base and suspended its funding. Tajikistan called Russian stance politically inappropriate, Kommersant reported.

• July 6, 2012

The OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media, Dunja Mijatović, at the 14th Central Asia Media Conference which opened today in Ashgabat, called upon the authorities in Central Asia to ensure that the Internet is a free and open space and to guarantee freedom of the media and expression online, the organization reported on Thursday.

• July 5, 2012

Iran's announcement that it plans to build its first nuclear-powered submarine is stoking speculation it could serve as a pretext for the Islamic state to produce highly enriched uranium and move closer to potential atom bomb material.

• July 5, 2012