In a press conference for local and foreign media on Tuesday, Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko said that his country has no stereotyped policies towards Latvia and Lithuania, and that Minsk is prepared to cooperate if these countries have a ''respectful attitude'' towards Belarus

• January 16, 2013

Turkey has announced a tender among companies importing electricity in the country to increase the electricity supply from Iran by existing available electric power facilities, the statement published on the website of Turkey's Energy Market Regulatory Authority (EPDK) said.

• January 16, 2013

The IAEA delegation has arrived in Tehran early this morning, led by the deputy director general of the agency, Herman Nackaerts, ISNA reported.

• January 16, 2013

International mediator Lakhdar Brahimi and envoys from Russia and the United States - backers of opposing sides in Syria's civil war - failed to make a breakthrough in talks on Friday seeking a political solution to the conflict.

• January 15, 2013

The United States sent its top Asian diplomacy and security officials to South Korea and Japan to calm tensions between two U.S. allies whose squabbling has frustrated efforts to deal with a troublesome North Korea and an increasingly assertive China.

• January 15, 2013

Prime Minister of Latvia Valdis Dombrovskis met the new Ambassador of Japan to Latvia Toshiyuki Taga. Both parties agreed that the two countries have stable relations in politics, economy, culture and education. It will become a stimulus for new projects, particularly in economics, and in the investment area, informed BC the State Chancellery and the Latvian Institute.

• January 15, 2013

By Anna Ohanyan, EGF Affiliated Expert on South Caucasus region building

There is much enthusiasm among researchers and policymakers alike concerning the pacifying effects of trade and broader interdependence among states. The European Union is an often cited example of greater regional integration as a way to enhance peace and security among neighboring states. This comparative regional study draws from the cases of the Balkans and South Caucasus in order (1) to offer a descriptive account of patterns and processes of regionalism in politically divided conflict areas, and (2) to examine the extent to which such regional engagement can positively affect ongoing conflict management efforts in a given conflict region. The study advocates promoting regional structures as a new and potentially effective approach to peace-building and security enhancement, toward managing the many 'frozen conflicts' both in the Balkans as well as in the South Caucasus. READ MORE

• January 15, 2013

Iran is working with southern secessionists in Yemen to expand its influence and destabilize the strategic region around the Straits of Hormuz, the U.S. envoy to Yemen was quoted as saying, Reuters reported.

• January 14, 2013