International sanctions against Iran's nuclear program forced the Islamic Republic to strengthen trade relations with countries in Southeast Asia who have benefited from Iran's isolation, experts say.

• May 4, 2011

International sanctions against Iran's nuclear program forced the Islamic Republic to strengthen trade relations with countries in Southeast Asia who have benefited from Iran's isolation, experts say.

• May 4, 2011

The second plenary session of the Turkic Parliamentary Assembly, where the chairmanship passed from Azerbaijan to Kazakhstan, ended in Astana recently. How are ties developing between Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan?

• May 3, 2011

The planned South Stream natural gas pipeline meant to avoid Ukrainian territory is a blow to national interests, the Ukrainian energy minister said.

• May 3, 2011

Ambassador of the Russian Federation to Turkey Vladimir Ivanovskiy has said Russia will not only build a planned nuclear plant but will also train and educate Turks since in time the project will need a substantial number of experts and qualified people to run it. He also says the plan is to further technology sharing in such other areas as space science.

• May 3, 2011

China is planning a “New Silk Road” that will run through Central Asia and continue into Europe facilitating improved transport and trade.

• May 2, 2011

Ukrainian Prime Minister Mykola Azarov has said that the formula of gas price for Ukraine should be based on the same principles as that for the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Germany, Poland and other European countries.

• May 2, 2011

Key Points for Policy Makers:

• The crisis in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) is demonstrating that it is high time for Brussels to re- think its strategy towards the countries of the south bank of the Mediterranean
• EU political initiatives in MENA have often focused on democratisation capacity building, when most of the grievances which sparked this year’s revolts on the Arab street have been predominantly socio-economic in character
• Brussels needs to devise effective mechanisms to overcome divisiveness in the narrow priorities of individual member states if it is to become a credible force in the sphere of international crisis management. It also needs to improve its early warning crisis prevention and detection instruments – or develop such capacities
• MENA remains clouded by substantial uncertainty. There is no guarantee that democracy will emerge in the recently “liberated” MENA countries. However, Turkey might be able to offer such countries a credible model of democratic growth.
• Any major disruption in the supply of energy from the Middle East to international markets, as a result of the ongoing protests and civil conflict in the region, is unlikely
• A general realignment may be starting to take place in the Caspian and Central Asian energy markets: Russian may be losing its grip over the region

• May 2, 2011