China is challenging Russia as Turkmenistan’s main buyer of natural gas. Ashgabat’s shift could put the Kremlin in a precarious position.

• December 2, 2011

Russians vote Sunday for a new parliament that critics call the "Approval Ministry" for rubber-stamping bills advocated by the Kremlin. Voting will take place among growing discontent with Russia’s strongman of the last decade, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin.

• December 2, 2011

Kazakhstan has restricted gas supplies to Kyrgyzstan, the managing director for KazMunaiGas's (Kazakh oil and gas company) gas projects, Daniyar Berlibayev, wrote on his Twitter page on Thursday.

• December 1, 2011

Russian gas export monopoly Gazprom said on Thursday it had made "significant progress" in talks with Ukraine, a key export market and transit route to Europe, and hoped to agree on future supply terms by year end.

• December 1, 2011

Russia on Thursday urged North Korea to halt its uranium enrichment programme after the Stalinist state reported rapid progress on what some experts believe is a second way of making nuclear weapons.

• December 1, 2011

Kazakh Defense Minister Adilbek Dzhaksybekov and U.S. Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense Asian and Pacific Security Affairs discussed future cooperation on Wednesday, Kazakh Defense Minister reported.

• November 30, 2011

APA-ECONOMICS. Until 2025, SOCAR intends to invest $15 bln in Turkey, head of SOCAR Investments Department Vagif Aliyev said, APA reports citing Turkish media.

• November 30, 2011

Britain began pulling its diplomats out of Iran on Wednesday, a day after protesters stormed and ransacked its embassy and residential compound in the capital Tehran.

• November 30, 2011