In 2002 the U.S.ambassador to the UN John R.Boston assigned Syria to the „rogue states“ cooperating with the „axis of evil“. B.Obama‘s administration is also suspicious toward this country, but it realizes that in order to reach peace in the Middle East it will have to find the ways of cooperation with Syria. However, so far the policy of warming the relations with Syria does not give positive results.

The shale gas fever which has changed the U.S.gas market in a decade is approaching Europe. Initial test drilling for shale gas has already been taken place in Poland and Hungary and now moves toward Romania, Ukraine and Bulgaria.

The first uprising in Kyrgyzstan took place in April 2010, a new draft Constitution was announced in May, and on 27 June the voters approved the Constitution. Let’s consider the future political situation in Kyrgyzstan and the perspectives for the establishment of a stable power in the country.

Nearly two years have passed since the Russian-Georgian war which revealed the weak points of the Russian Army and raised discussions on what army could be the most appropriate for Russia: professional army consisting of professional contract soldiers, or a conscript army recruited according to the Russian Law on Military Service. These discussions have been lasting for several decades.

When during the meetings in Strasbourg and Kiel (in April 2009) the leaders of NATO decided to start discussions on a new strategic concept of NATO, nobody expected easy agreements.  Nevertheless all the countries of the Alliance agreed that the key goal of NATO should be the establishment of the secure political environment. To this end the Alliance shall elaborate effective measures for the elimination of threats.

It seems that efforts are made to establish the energy autonomy in the Kaliningrad Region.. This was demonstrated at the end of May during the meeting of the regional governor G.Boos with president D.Medvedev. President was asked to commit the Federal Tariff Council to coordinate the prices of gas supplied to the Kaliningrad Region with the average price of the European regions, since, according to G.Boos, „during the recent six years [...] it has increased more than twice“.

Political situation in Russia shows that there is no lack of opposition forces in the country, however, none of them play the key role. During the recent decade the model of the authoritarian state has been developed in Russia, and such a form of power does not tolerate the oppositionism. The current opposition forces are either persecuted by the authorities or have been simply domesticated.

Sinikka Hurskainen, Rapporteur on the political situation in Belarus of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) has arrived in Minsk for “collecting information, for meeting with people and for discussing the situation in the country”.

The Mayor of Moscow Jurij Lushkov is visiting Riga on 25 August.  According to the Telegraph, the top leaders of Latvia ignore this visit.

Belarus is dealing with the issue concerning the acquisition of the antiaircraft-missile complex C-400 from Russia, reported to the BELTA correspondent Major-General Igor Azarionok, the Commander of the military air forces and ABM of Belarus.

Journalists of the Kaliningrad newspaper “Страж Балтики“ (‘Guard of the Baltics’ – the official publication of the Baltic Fleet) have disclosed certain specific details about the naval exercise of maritime forces, which were carried out in the Baltic Sea in June 2010.

The president of Syria Bashar Asad is paying an official visit to Belarus on 26- 27 July.

The President Viktor Janukovich signed the earlier approved by the Parliament Law on “The Principles of Foreign and Internal Policy”, which enforces the status of the Ukraine outside the block and revokes the joining of the country into the NATO, reported on 15 July NEWSru.ua referring to the press office of the Government.

Military officials of the region have been substituted by the strategic commandment