TOPICS

George Perkovich Carnegie As negotiations and debate proceed over a comprehensive nuclear agreement with Iran, comparisons will inevitably be made with the 1994 Agreed Framework that sought to end North Korea’s (the DPRK’s) nuclear weapons program. That earlier agreement failed due to a combination of factors. Many observers …

James L. Schoff U.S. NEWS & WORLD REPORT As Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe prepares to visit the United States next week, attention is focused on the historic nature of the trip. Abe will be the first Japanese leader to speak before a joint session of Congress, an …

 Egor Popov, Yelizaveta Kuznetsova, Kommersant Russia’s civil aviation industry, whose main project is the regional aircraft Sukhoi Superjet-100 (SSJ-100), is to receive record state support, with the government promising anti-crisis funding of more than 127 billion rubles ($2.5 billion). According to observers, the financing will help to support …

By Zackary Keck The Buzz Russia has launched what it claims to be the “quietest submarine in the world.” This week, Admiralty Shipyards—a Russian defense company— held a ceremonial launching for its newest Varshavyanka-class diesel-electric submarines. Dubbed the Krasnodar, the vessel is the fourth of a planned six …

By Siarhei Bohdan Belarus Daily Speaking last week at a Moscow conference on global security, Belarusian Defence Minister Andrei Raukou said that Minsk views the increasing number of NATO forces on its borders as a challenge to the military security of the country. He did not explain how his …

Voice of Warsaw: The Polish government will negotiate the purchase of Raytheon’s Patriot system for its planned missile defense shield with the American government, President Bronislaw Komorowski said following a meeting with PM Ewa Kopacz and Defense Minister Tomasz Siemoniak. On Tuesday the government decided to choose the …

By Nasser Arrabyee Despite its stated aims, the main beneficiary of the Saudi-led Operation Decisive Storm at least so far  is Al-Qaeda and its jihadist followers, writes Nasser Arrabyee in Al Ahram Weekly. It has been about one month since Saudi Arabia started airstrikes on all Yemeni provinces …

Azeri Daily: The European Union’s foreign policy chief has expressed hope Iran can play a constructive role in a renewed United Nations push to restart negotiations to end Syria’s four-year civil war, RFE/RL reports. Federica Mogherini was speaking in New York on April 28 ahead of talks with …

Trend: The regulatory authorities in TAP’s host countries – Greece, Italy and Albania – have released a joint opinion, prolonging the validity period of TAP’s exemption from certain provisions of the EU Gas Directive. TAP’s exemption has been updated in line with the planned commencement date of Shah Deniz …