Carnegie Moscow Center
Religious services held inside Turkey’s borders by Pontic Greeks are a sign of the breakthrough in Turkish-Greek relations and a similar initiative at an Armenian church inside Turkey would be another step toward the normalization of relations between Turkey and Armenia.
The best hope for a two state solution is a new, comprehensive approach that involves the most important regional players, including Saudi Arabia and Syria.
The ineffectiveness of the Collective Security Treaty Organization during the recent violence in Kyrgyzstan shows that its member states must take important steps in order to turn the organization into a real instrument for guaranteeing regional security.
If Russia wants to be a principal security provider and peace guarantor in the CIS space, it will need to refocus its strategy away from resisting NATO's drive and U.S. deployments and toward conflict prevention and conflict resolution.
As Central Asia’s geopolitical role grows, its states face a number of transnational issues, including instability in Afghanistan, energy resources and development, and transport communications, which have a significant impact on regional security.
Following the June violence, Kyrgyzstan remains gripped by uncertainty surrounding rebuilding in the South and the upcoming parliamentary election. There is a strong potential for continued conflict in the country if these issues are not addressed.
The Russian government’s drive to modernize its economy is increasingly reflected in its foreign policy priorities, including its relations with the United States, Europe, and China and its position on Iran's nuclear program.
After seven years, the United States is in the final stages of exiting Iraq. Only 50,000 U.S. troops will remain by the end of August, but the country is far from stable as political squabbling keeps the country gridlocked, the economy is in shambles and violence is once again rising.
Central Asia has significant importance to U.S. national interests and the Obama administration has a role to play in promoting human rights in the region.
The international community can help bring much-needed stability to Kyrgyzstan, which has experienced violent ethnic clashes as its leaders lay the groundwork for Central Asia’s first genuine parliamentary democracy.