Majlis (Parliament) of Turkmenistan at a regular meeting of the fourth convocation ratified the Protocol Concerning Regional Preparedness, Response and Cooperation in Combating Oil Pollution Incidents to the Framework Convention for the Protection of the Marine Environment of the Caspian Sea, an official Turkmen source said.

• December 24, 2012

Kyrgyzstan's state-owned natural gas company says it is to be sold to Russia's energy monopoly Gazprom, raising hopes of an end to debilitating energy shortages in the impoverished Central Asian nation.

• December 24, 2012

Russia and India signed weapons deals worth billions of dollars today as president Vladimir Putin sought to further boost ties with an old ally

• December 24, 2012

Chemical weapons are under the control of the Syrian government, which has consolidated them in one or two locations, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Saturday.

• December 22, 2012

Russia and the European Union believe the Palestinians and Israelis should open direct peace negotiations without any preconditions, the Russian Foreign Ministry said on Saturday, December 22, according to RIA Novosti.

• December 22, 2012

The deployment of NATO's advanced surface-to-air Patriot missiles along the Turkish border with Syria would be detrimental to Turkey, PressTV reported with the reference to Iranian Defense Minister Brigadier General Ahmad Vahidi.

• December 22, 2012

The Trans-Anatolian gas pipeline (TANAP) will help to integrate the economies of the Caucasus with those of Europe and the West generally, Investor's Business Daily (IBD) reported.

• December 21, 2012

The U.S. Department of State hosted meetings of the U.S.-Georgia Strategic Partnership Commission (SPC) working groups on Economic, Energy, and Trade on December 17, and People-to-People and Cultural Exchanges on December 18, to review progress on goals set at the plenary session of the SPC in June in Batumi, U.S. State Department's website reported.

• December 21, 2012