China kept silent on Friday about a reported visit by North Korea's secretive leader, Kim Jong-il, that analysts say appears intended to line up Beijing behind his dynastic succession plans.

• August 28, 2010

Diversification of the gas market in Lithuania will eliminate the need for ties to the Russian energy sector by 2020, the Lithuanian energy minister said.

• August 28, 2010

Two years ago, Abkhazia declared its independence from Georgia with Russian support. This summer, the breakaway republic announced its possession of Russian missiles in a bid to demonstrate its claimed sovereignty.

• August 26, 2010

Pakistan has proposed to Turkmenistan to supply gas via Iran by using the Iran-Pakistan (IP) gas pipeline, instead of laying a pipeline through the war-torn Afghanistan, under swap arrangement, Business Recorder has learnt. Experts of the two countries will review the proposal in the 11th Steering Committee meeting on TAPI gas pipeline project scheduled for September 15-20 in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan.

• August 26, 2010

The base price for Russian natural gas is still disadvantageous for Ukraine despite a new deal reached last April and the Kiev government will press Moscow to bring it down, Ukraine's prime minister said on Wednesday.

• August 25, 2010

China is Kyrgyzstan's important strategic partner on the international arena, Kyrgyz Foreign Minister Ruslan Kazakbayev said in an interview with Xinhua ahead of his visit to China starting on Wednesday.

• August 25, 2010

Denying claims that the ruling government bargained with a terrorist group to boost support for the upcoming referendum, PM Erdoğan has said any negotiations would go through the state.

• August 25, 2010

Nabucco Gas Pipeline International GmbH plans to supply the natural-gas transmission route to Europe with links to Turkey’s borders with Georgia and Iraq and has decided against a link to the country’s border with Iran.

• August 24, 2010