GEORGIA: EU Takes the Diplomatic Lead

The Russia-Georgia peace deal indicates that the EU is acting as an independent power and plans to maintain dialogue with Moscow in spite of pressure by some of its own members and the U.S. to switch to sanctions.

EUROPE: Divisions Rise Over Ex-Soviet Countries

Few, if any, regions present a greater challenge for the European Union's foreign policy than the former Soviet Union.

EU: For European People Too

Several events over the past year have raised fundamental questions about whether the European Union's primary mission is to ensure the smooth operation of an economic bloc or to ensure a decent quality of life for its 490 million citizens.

EUROPE: Russia Triggers A New Cold War Threat

A spectre is haunting Europe, the spectre of a new Cold War in the wake of Russian President Dmitry Medvedev signing a decree Tuesday formally recognising the breakaway Georgian provinces of South Ossetia and Abkhazia as independent states.

SERBIA: Uneasy Over the Kosovo Parallel With Georgia

Serbia was remarkably quiet in the days following the conflict in South Ossetia that began Aug. 8. Speculation by international politicians and in media of a parallel with Kosovo simply could not fit into a simple picture.

EUROPE: Georgia War Steps Up Support for U.S. Missile Bases

Following tough negotiations, the U.S. and Poland have signed a deal on extension of the U.S. missile defence system to Eastern Europe, weeks after the outbreak of the Georgian-Russian conflict.

CZECH REPUBLIC: Georgia Sets Off an Old Debate

The coinciding of military confrontation between Russia and Georgia and the 40th anniversary of the brutal crushing of the 'Prague Spring' in 1968 in what was Czechoslovakia has triggered a debate on whether a comparison between the two events is justified.

US-GEORGIA: Expats Unite Against Russia

When the Russian military launched a military invasion of its small neighbour Georgia - operating at will in Georgia’s secessionist provinces of Abkhazia and South Ossetia, as well as Georgia proper - New York’s Georgian-American community responded almost immediately by gathering outside United Nations Headquarters here to protest the invasion of their homeland.

POLITICS: U.S. Debates Putin’s Ambitions

Just days after the outbreak of war between Russia and Georgia, the debate in Washington over how to view the crisis historically has become nearly as contentious as the debate over how to respond politically.

BULGARIA: Small Farmers Strike for Survival

Thousands of Bulgarian milk and meat producers have been protesting for more than a week in various regions around the country, warning the government that life for small farmers has become impossible in Bulgaria.

GEORGIA: ‘Provoked Into Aggression’

Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvilli has become an uncertain sort of leader. At first, he won praise after successfully leading the popular 'Rose Revolution' in 2003 that catapulted him into power. Now he has received global condemnation for the military attack that he ordered in the breakaway republic of South Ossetia.

GEORGIA: Saakashvili Asked To Step Down

A few hours after the 15 member U.N. Security Council discussed a draft resolution aimed to ask Russia to stop using massive force in Georgia Monday evening behind closed doors, Russia said it would stop military action. This came Tuesday, after five days of bombing and destruction of cities and military bases in Georgia and the deaths of more than 2,000 people.

GEORGIA: How the Hawks Won

Georgia's step towards military confrontation comes after an increase in authoritarian and militaristic tendencies in a country that dealt catastrophically with Russia's pressure.

GEORGIA: Israeli Arms Sales Raise New Concerns

With the eruption of fighting between Russia and Georgia, Israel has found itself in an awkward position as a result of its arms sales to Georgia, caught between its friendly relations with Georgia and its fear that the continued sale of weaponry will spark Russian retribution in the form of increased arms sales to Iran and Syria.

RIGHTS-BALKANS: Bringing Roma in From the Fringes

Some weeks ago, Serbia said farewell to folk singer Saban Bajramovic who died of heart failure at age 72 in the southern city of Nis. In an unusual gesture, Serbian President Boris Tadic attended the funeral, paying his last respects to 'The King of Gypsy Music'.

GEORGIA: Where the Cold War Never Ended

As war breaks out in Georgia, the geopolitical struggle between the U.S. and Russia becomes more violent and closer to Russia's border than ever.

UKRAINE: Russian Language Toned Down

Russian speakers in Ukraine say the lack of state recognition for the biggest linguistic minority in Europe amounts to discrimination, but opponents argue that recognition will endanger the development of Ukrainian language.

TURKEY: Government Survives Shakily

Turkey has barely managed to avoid a 'judicial coup' to overthrow its elected government, but others may be in the offing.

BALKANS: Another Step Away From Reconciliation

Radovan Karadzic, one of the most wanted war crimes indictees from the Bosnian war, faces charges of genocide and crimes against humanity for his role in the bloody 1992-95 conflict, but there is no sign that his arrest and extradition will bring reconciliation in the region.

GREECE: Chinese Fur Unwraps a New Threat

Local people were heartened to see 30 Russian ladies getting off a bus last week in Kastoria, a little town up in the mountains 600km northwest of Athens. Kastoria is more popular with winter tourists.

EUROPE: Transition Brings AIDS

Poverty and social displacement, increased availability of drugs, and chaos in the healthcare systems that accompanied transition from state socialism to the market economy have contributed to the spread of HIV in Eastern Europe.